The invention relates to a method for producing homogenized tobacco material, comprising the steps of: selecting a first target value for a first tobacco characteristic; separately grinding (102) different tobacco types so as to obtain a plurality of different ground tobacco powders; blending (104) at least two of the plurality of different ground tobacco powders so as to form a first tobacco powder blend; blending (104) at least two of the plurality of different ground tobacco powders so as to form a second tobacco powder blend; checking (1123) a value of the first tobacco characteristic in the first tobacco powder blend; if the value of the first characteristic of the first tobacco powder blend is different from the first target value, adding the second tobacco powder blend to the first tobacco powder blend in order to obtain a value of the first tobacco characteristic in a mixture of the first and the second tobacco powder blends different from the value of the first tobacco characteristic in the first tobacco powder blend; and adding (1129) the second tobacco powder blend while mixing the first tobacco powder blend.

The invention relates to a homogenized tobacco sheet production line comprising: A tank (501) adapted to contain a slurry formed by a tobacco powder blend, a binder and an aerosol former in an aqueous medium; A cast apparatus (600) adapted to receive slurry from the tank and to cast the slurry so as to form a homogenized tobacco material; A movable transporting support (606) on which said slurry is casted and adapted to transport the homogenized tobacco material along a transport direction; A slitter (611) located downstream the cast apparatus adapted to slit the homogenized tobacco material along the transport direction so as to form portioned homogenized tobacco sheets; and A winding station (613) located downstream the slitter adapted to receive the portioned homogenized tobacco sheets from the slitter and to wind at least one of the portioned homogenized tobacco sheets in a bobbin. It also relates to a method for inline production of a homogenized tobacco sheet.

The invention relates to a homogenized tobacco sheet production line comprising: A tank (501) adapted to contain a slurry formed by a tobacco powder blend, a binder and an aerosol former in an aqueous medium; A cast apparatus (600) adapted to receive slurry from the tank and to cast the slurry so as to form a homogenized tobacco material; A movable transporting support (606) on which said slurry is casted and adapted to transport the homogenized tobacco material along a transport direction; A slitter (611) located downstream the cast apparatus adapted to slit the homogenized tobacco material along the transport direction so as to form portioned homogenized tobacco sheets; and A winding station (613) located downstream the slitter adapted to receive the portioned homogenized tobacco sheets from the slitter and to wind at least one of the portioned homogenized tobacco sheets in a bobbin. It also relates to a method for inline production of a homogenized tobacco sheet.

The present invention relates to a method to produce a homogenized tobacco material for use in a heat-not-burn aerosol-generating article, comprising the steps of: selecting a first target value for a first tobacco characteristic, said first tobacco characteristic being reducing sugars and the first target value being comprised between about 8 percent and about 18 percent in dry weight basis of a total amount of tobacco present within the homogenized tobacco material; selecting a second target value of a second tobacco characteristic, wherein the second tobacco characteristic is one of total ammonia and total alkaloids; blending graded tobacco types so as to form the tobacco blend, each graded tobacco type comprising a predetermined amount of the first and second tobacco characteristics, so that the first and second target values of said first and second tobacco characteristics are obtained in said blend within a predetermined tolerance range; grinding said tobacco blend into a blended tobacco powder; forming a slurry comprising the blended tobacco powder; and forming a web of homogenous tobacco web from the slurry.

The present invention relates to a method to produce a homogenized tobacco material for use in a heat-not-burn aerosol-generating article, comprising the steps of: selecting a first target value for a first tobacco characteristic, said first tobacco characteristic being reducing sugars and the first target value being comprised between about 8 percent and about 18 percent in dry weight basis of a total amount of tobacco present within the homogenized tobacco material; selecting a second target value of a second tobacco characteristic, wherein the second tobacco characteristic is one of total ammonia and total alkaloids; blending graded tobacco types so as to form the tobacco blend, each graded tobacco type comprising a predetermined amount of the first and second tobacco characteristics, so that the first and second target values of said first and second tobacco characteristics are obtained in said blend within a predetermined tolerance range; grinding said tobacco blend into a blended tobacco powder; forming a slurry comprising the blended tobacco powder; and forming a web of homogenous tobacco web from the slurry.

The present invention relates to method for production of a slurry for homogenized tobacco material, said method comprising: Selecting tobacco of one or more tobacco types; Coarse grinding said tobacco; Blending said tobacco of one or more tobacco types; and Fine grinding said tobacco of one or more tobacco types.

The present invention relates to method for production of a slurry for homogenized tobacco material, said method comprising: Selecting tobacco of one or more tobacco types; Coarse grinding said tobacco; Blending said tobacco of one or more tobacco types; and Fine grinding said tobacco of one or more tobacco types.

A tobacco preparation method, where a tobacco material is prepared through at least one extrusion process including compressing the material with an increase in pressure and temperature and mechanically processing and abruptly flash drying the material at an extruder outlet, where the tobacco material includes a tobacco lamina material, where a tobacco preparation device includes a dosing conveyor and an extruder which compresses a tobacco material with an increase in pressure and temperature and mechanically process and abruptly flash dries the material at the extruder outlet, where the components are designated as a unit which can be modularly delimited for processing a tobacco material including a tobacco lamina material, where an arrangement of several tobacco preparation devices and a smoking article or cigarette manufacturing device inlcudes such a device or such a device arrangement which is connected upstream of a cigarette maker or a secondary unit as a tobacco preparation module.

A tobacco preparation method, where a tobacco material is prepared through at least one extrusion process including compressing the material with an increase in pressure and temperature and mechanically processing and abruptly flash drying the material at an extruder outlet, where the tobacco material includes a tobacco lamina material, where a tobacco preparation device includes a dosing conveyor and an extruder which compresses a tobacco material with an increase in pressure and temperature and mechanically process and abruptly flash dries the material at the extruder outlet, where the components are designated as a unit which can be modularly delimited for processing a tobacco material including a tobacco lamina material, where an arrangement of several tobacco preparation devices and a smoking article or cigarette manufacturing device inlcudes such a device or such a device arrangement which is connected upstream of a cigarette maker or a secondary unit as a tobacco preparation module.

The present disclosure provides tobacco Nic1b locus and associated genes (e.g., a group of ERF genes). Also provided are tobacco plants with altered total alkaloid and nicotine levels and commercially acceptable leaf grade, their development via breeding or transgenic approaches, and production of tobacco products from these tobacco plants. Further provided are compositions and methods for producing tobacco plants having novel mutations or alleles to reduce nicotine levels. Further provided are sequence polymorphisms and molecular markers for breeding tobacco with reduced nicotine or alkaloids while maintaining tobacco leaf grade and tobacco product quality.