METHOD OF PRODUCING A BLENDED LIQUID TOBACCO EXTRACT FROM TWO OR MORE TOBACCOS

Abstract

A method of producing a blended liquid tobacco extract, including: preparing a first tobacco starting material having a first reducing sugar content and a first nicotine content; preparing a second tobacco starting material having a second reducing sugar content and a second nicotine content, the first and the second starting materials being different from each other and have not been subjected to a prior extraction; heating the first tobacco starting material at a first extraction temperature; heating the second tobacco starting material at a second extraction temperature lower than the first extraction temperature; collecting volatile compounds released from the first and the second starting materials during heating; and combining the collected volatile compounds released from the first and the second starting materials and forming the blended liquid tobacco extract from the combined volatile compounds.

Claims

1.-18. (canceled)

19. A method of producing a blended liquid tobacco extract, the method comprising the steps of: preparing a first tobacco starting material having a first reducing sugar content S1 and a first nicotine content N1; preparing a second tobacco starting material having a second reducing sugar content S2 and a second nicotine content N2, wherein the first tobacco starting material and the second tobacco starting material are different from each other, and wherein the first tobacco starting material and the second tobacco starting material have not been subjected to a prior extraction; heating the first tobacco starting material at a first extraction temperature T1; heating the second tobacco starting material at a second extraction temperature T2, wherein the second extraction temperature T2 is lower than the first extraction temperature T1; collecting volatile compounds released from the first and the second tobacco starting materials during heating; and combining the collected volatile compounds released from the first and the second tobacco starting materials and forming the blended liquid tobacco extract from the combined volatile compounds.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the first and the second extraction temperatures are selected from within a range of 100 degrees Celsius to 160 degrees Celsius.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein a difference between the first and the second extraction temperatures (T1−T2) is at least 10 degrees Celsius.

22. The method according to claim 19, wherein the second reducing sugar content S2 is higher than the first reducing sugar content S1.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein a difference between the first and the second extraction temperatures (T1−T2) corresponds to at least 1 degree Celsius per 1 percent difference between the first and the second reducing sugar contents (S2−S1).

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein a percentage difference between the first and the second extraction temperatures is at least 0.5 times a percentage difference between the first and the second reducing sugar contents.

25. The method according to claim 22, wherein the second reducing sugar content is at least 10 percent greater than the first reducing sugar content, and wherein the first extraction temperature is at least 10 degrees Celsius higher than the second extraction temperature.

26. The method according to claim 19, wherein the second nicotine content N2 is lower than the first nicotine content N1.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein a difference between the first and the second extraction temperatures (T1−T2) corresponds to at least 0.5 degrees Celsius per 1 percent difference between the second and the first nicotine contents (N1−N2).

28. The method according to claim 19, wherein each extraction temperature is selected such that the collected volatile compounds from the corresponding tobacco starting material contains no more than 0.8 milligrams of 2-furanmethanol per gram of tobacco starting material.

29. The method according to claim 19, wherein the first and the second extraction temperatures are selected to provide a liquid tobacco extract having a nicotine content of at least 0.02 percent by weight based on the dry weight of the liquid tobacco extract.

30. The method according to claim 19, wherein the first and the second extraction temperatures are selected to provide a ratio by weight of (β-ionone+β-damascenone) to (phenol) of at least about 0.25.

31. The method according to claim 19, wherein the first and the second extraction temperatures are selected to provide a ratio by weight of (furaneol+(2,3-diethyl-5-methylpyrazine)*100)) to (nicotine) of at least about 5×10.sup.−4.

32. The method according to claim 19, wherein the first tobacco starting material is Burley tobacco and the second tobacco starting material is Bright tobacco.

33. The method according to claim 19, wherein the step of combining the collected volatile compounds from the first and second tobacco materials comprises determining a target range for a content of 2-furanmethanol in the liquid tobacco extract and adjusting a ratio of the collected volatiles from the first tobacco material and the second tobacco material to provide the blended liquid tobacco extract with a 2-furanmethanol content within the target range.

34. The method according to claim 19, wherein each of the first and the second tobacco starting materials is heated at the corresponding extraction temperature for at least 90 minutes.

35. The method according to claim 19, wherein each of the first and the second tobacco starting materials is heated in a flow of inert gas.

36. A blended liquid tobacco extract produced by the method according to claim 19.

Description

EXAMPLE

[0183] A first tobacco starting material is prepared from a Burley tobacco material having a reducing sugar content of less than 2 percent by weight. A second tobacco starting material is prepared from a flue-cured Bright tobacco material having a reducing sugar content of approximately 12 percent by weight. For each of the tobacco starting materials, the tobacco material is cut to form tobacco shreds having dimensions of 2.5 millimetres by 2.5 millimetres and the tobacco shreds are loaded into an extraction chamber, without compression. The tobacco starting material is heated within the extraction chamber. During heating, a flow of nitrogen is passed through the extraction chamber at a flow rate of about 40 litres per minute.

[0184] The first tobacco starting material is heated at a temperature of 140 degrees Celsius for 120 minutes. The second tobacco starting material is heated at a temperature of 130 degrees for 180 minutes.

[0185] For each tobacco starting material, the volatile compounds released during the heating step are collected by absorption into a liquid solvent formed of propylene glycol, at minus 10 degrees Celsius and with agitation of 750 rpm. The solution of propylene glycol with the collected volatile compounds is dried in a desiccation process to reduce the moisture level of the solution to approximately 15 percent.

[0186] The collected volatiles from the first tobacco starting material contains less than 0.05 mg of 2-furanmethanol per gram of tobacco. The collected volatiles from the second tobacco starting material contains around 0.65 mg of 2-furanmethanol per gram of tobacco.

[0187] The resultant concentrated solutions of collected volatiles from the first and second tobacco starting materials are blended at a ratio of approximately 60:40 in order to produce a blended liquid tobacco extract.

[0188] The blended liquid tobacco extract provides optimised levels of nicotine and desirable flavour compounds such as β-damascenone and β-ionone whilst retaining relatively low levels of 2-furanmethanol.