Tobacco treatment
View Patent ↗A method of treating tobacco is disclosed. It comprises a first conditioning step wherein the moisture content of the tobacco is increased to a first level, and a second separate conditioning step wherein the pH of the tobacco is increased to at least pH 7.
1. A method of treating tobacco, the method comprising:
a first conditioning step including increasing a moisture content of a tobacco to a first moisture level of at least 19% on a Moisture Content Wet Basis (MCWB);
after the first conditioning step and before any other step that substantially modifies the MCWB of the tobacco, cutting or comminuting the tobacco at the first moisture level; and
immediately after cutting or comminuting the tobacco, a second separate conditioning step including increasing a pH of the tobacco to at least pH 7 to retain the organoleptic effect of the tobacco leaves.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second conditioning step includes increasing the pH of the tobacco to within a range of pH 9 to 10.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second conditioning step includes adding an alkaline liquid solution including sodium salt to the tobacco.
4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second conditioning step includes increasing the moisture content of the tobacco to at least 25% MCWB.
5. The method according to claim 1 , the method further comprising a third step following the second conditioning step, the third step including processing the tobacco to prepare a tobacco extract.
6. The method according to claim 1 , the method further comprising drying the tobacco by heat treatment.
7. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising:
comparing an actual moisture content of tobacco subjected to heat treatment with a predetermined moisture content; and
continuing the heat treatment if the actual moisture content of the tobacco is above the predetermined moisture content.
8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second conditioning step is carried out at a temperature ranging from 28 to 140° C.
9. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
exposing the tobacco to heat treatment after said first and second conditioning steps; and
subsequently determining an actual moisture content of the tobacco and comparing the actual moisture content with a predetermined moisture content.
10. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising continuing the heat treatment if the actual moisture content of the tobacco is above the predetermined moisture content.
11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein a temperature of the heat treatment and a length of time of the heat treatment are selected in dependence on the actual moisture content of the tobacco.
12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the temperature of the heat treatment does not exceed 100° C.
13. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising cooling the tobacco if the actual moisture content of the tobacco is below the predetermined moisture content.
14. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the second conditioning step is carried out at a temperature ranging from 28 to 95° C.
15. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the second conditioning step is carried out at a temperature ranging from 28 to 75° C.
16. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the second conditioning step is carried out at a temperature ranging from 40 to 75° C.