ABNORMALLY-SHAPED TOBACCO GRANULES AND PREPARATION METHOD THEREOF, TOBACCO PRODUCT AND PREPARATION METHOD THEREOF

Abstract

Abnormally-shaped tobacco granules are provided. The tobacco granules comprise a tobacco granule body and a coating attached to the surface of the tobacco granule body. The coating contains an adhesive. The surface of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granule has one or more grooves and/or ridges, and/or, the abnormally-shaped tobacco granule has through holes therein. The surface grooves of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules can serve as smoke channels after the tobacco granules are bonded, cured and shaped, so that the air permeability inside a total-granule tobacco product is greatly improved. The smoking resistance of cigarettes is reduced. The flammability of cigarettes is improved and the consumption of tobacco raw materials is reduced. A preparation method of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules, a tobacco product comprising the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules, and a preparation method thereof are also provided.

Claims

1. Abnormally-shaped tobacco granules, comprising a tobacco granule body and a coating attached to a surface of the tobacco granule, wherein: the coating contains an adhesive; and the surface of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granule has one or more grooves and/or ridges, and/or; the abnormally-shaped tobacco granule has through holes therein.

2. The abnormally-shaped tobacco granules according to claim 1, wherein: the said groove has a width of 40-120 μm; and the said ridge has a width of 50-150 μm.

3. The abnormally-shaped tobacco granules according to claim 1, wherein the tobacco granule body is in the shape of at least one of a column, a sheet, and a ball.

4. The abnormally-shaped tobacco granules according to claim 1, wherein: the tobacco granule body comprises, in parts by weight, 100 parts of tobacco raw material, 1-15 parts of tobacco extract, 5-30 parts of atomizing agent, and 0-100 parts of first accessory; and the first accessory comprises at least one of microcrystalline cellulose, denatured starch, dextrin, cellulose, sugar powder, calcium carbonate, and carbon powder.

5. The abnormally-shaped tobacco granules according to claim 1, wherein: the tobacco granule body comprises, in parts by weight, 90-99 parts of tobacco raw material, 0.01-1 part of flavor, 0.1-5 parts of humectant, and 0-5 parts of second accessory; and the second accessory comprises at least one of sandalwood, agarwood, and tea.

6. The abnormally-shaped tobacco granules according to claim 1, wherein the coating comprises one or more of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, polyvidone, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, starch, and dextrin.

7. The abnormally-shaped tobacco granules according to claim 1, wherein the bulk density of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules is 0.2-0.8 g/cm3.

8. A preparation method of abnormally-shaped tobacco granules, comprising the following steps: S1, selecting or designing a mold according to a shape of tobacco granule bodies, and installing the mold to an extrusion molding machine; S2, injecting raw materials into a feed port of the extrusion molding machine, and performing extrusion molding, cutting and drying to obtain tobacco granule bodies; and S3, coating the tobacco granule bodies to obtain the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules.

9. The preparation method according to claim 8, wherein step S1 comprises: based on weight parts, pulverizing 100 parts of tobacco raw material into tobacco powder with a diameter of less than 60 meshes, adding 0-100 parts of first accessory, and stirring uniformly to obtain a mixture; mixing 1-15 parts of tobacco extract, 5-30 parts of atomizing agent and 10-50 parts of 40-90 vol % ethanol solution uniformly, spraying to the mixture, and stirring uniformly to obtain a raw material; and selecting or designing a mold according to the shape of tobacco granule bodies and relevant parameters, and installing the mold to an extrusion molding machine.

10. The preparation method according to claim 8, wherein step S1 comprises: based on weight parts, pulverizing 90-99 parts of tobacco raw material into tobacco powder with a diameter of less than 60 meshes, adding 0-5 parts of second accessory, and stirring uniformly to obtain a mixture; mixing 0.01-1 part of flavor, 0.1-5 parts of humectant and 10-50 parts of 30-90 vol % ethanol solution uniformly, spraying to the mixture, and stirring uniformly to obtain a raw material; and selecting or designing a mold according to the shape of tobacco granule bodies and relevant parameters, and installing the mold to an extrusion molding machine.

11. A tobacco product, mainly formed by tobacco granules, wherein the tobacco granules comprise abnormally-shaped tobacco granules according to claim 1.

12. The tobacco product according to claim 11, wherein: the tobacco product is in a shape of a solid rod, cake or hollow cylinder, and preferably, the density of the tobacco product is 0.3-1.2 g/cm3.

13. A preparation method of the tobacco product according to claim 11, comprising the following steps: (1) heating and humidifying the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules with wet hot air to activate the adhesion of the coating on the surfaces of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules to obtain wet hot abnormally-shaped tobacco granules; wherein, the temperature of the wet hot air is 90-150° C., and the humidity is 95% to 100%; (2) using the wet hot abnormally-shaped tobacco granules as a raw material, molding and removing excess water, thus obtaining a tobacco product blank; and (3) wrapping with cigarette paper, connecting cigarette filters, and cutting to obtain the tobacco product.

14. A tobacco product, mainly formed by tobacco granules, wherein the tobacco granules comprise abnormally-shaped tobacco granules prepared by the preparation method according to claim 8.

15. The tobacco product according to claim 14, wherein the tobacco product is in the shape of a solid rod, cake or hollow cylinder, and preferably, the density of the tobacco product is 0.3-1.2 g/cm3.

16. A preparation method of the tobacco product according to claim 14, comprising the following steps: (1) heating and humidifying the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules with wet hot air to activate the adhesion of the coating on the surfaces of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules to obtain wet hot abnormally-shaped tobacco granules; wherein, the temperature of the wet hot air is 90-150° C., and the humidity is 95% to 100%; (2) using the wet hot abnormally-shaped tobacco granules as a raw material, molding and removing excess water, thus obtaining a tobacco product blank; and (3) wrapping with cigarette paper, connecting cigarette filters, and cutting to obtain the tobacco product.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0063] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a abnormally-shaped tobacco granule in Examples 1, 4 and 7 of the present invention;

[0064] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a abnormally-shaped tobacco granule in Examples 2 and 5 of the present invention;

[0065] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a abnormally-shaped tobacco granule in Examples 3 and 6 of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0066] The following examples are intended to illustrate the content of the present invention, not to further limit the protection scope of the present invention.

EXAMPLE 1

[0067] A preparation method of abnormally-shaped tobacco granules in this embodiment included the following steps:

[0068] 1) a tobacco raw material was mechanically pulverized into tobacco powder of less than 60 meshes; 2) a tobacco extract, propylene glycol, and 50 vol % alcohol were mixed uniformly in a mass ratio of 1:5:10 to obtain a mixed solution; 3) the mixed solution and the tobacco powder were mixed uniformly in a mass ratio of 25:75 to form a soft material; 4) the soft material was extruded into strips by means of a mold with six sharp bulges at edges of extrusion holes, the strips were cut into small granules, and the small granules were stood for 10 min, then dried at a low temperature of 60° C., further shaped, and screened to select granules of 15-35 meshes; and 5) a 10% polyvidone solution was prepared, and the prepared granules were coated to obtain required abnormally-shaped tobacco granules, wherein the coating was 0.5% of the weight of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granule, the bulk density of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules was 0.60 g/cm.sup.3, and the schematic cross-sectional view of the granules was shown in FIG. 1.

[0069] A preparation method of a total-granule low temperature smoke producing body included: the prepared abnormally-shaped tobacco granules were conveyed to a conveyor belt of a granule hot-curing molding device via a quantitative adding system, and the feed was further controlled via a flow limiting valve to enter a granule hot-curing molding cavity; the granules were quickly heated and humidified under the action of high-temperature water vapor, the surface adhesive coating was activated, and the loose granules were quickly bonded into continuous wet cigarette rods under negative pressure; the wet cigarette rods quickly lost moisture and were cooled and cured into total-granule cigarette rods under the action of a cooling and moisture discharge system; and the total-granule cigarette rods were conveyed to a cigarette gun of a subsequent cigarette making machine by a conveying system, then wrapped with cigarette paper, cooled, wrapped with tipping paper, and cut into heating non-burning granule cigarettes with proper length like traditional cigarettes.

EXAMPLE 2

[0070] A preparation method of abnormally-shaped tobacco granules in this embodiment included the following steps:

[0071] 1) a tobacco material was mechanically pulverized into tobacco powder of less than 60 meshes; 2) a tobacco extract, propylene glycol, glycerin, and 75 vol % alcohol were mixed uniformly in a mass ratio of 2:5:5:15; 3) the mixed solution and the tobacco powder were mixed uniformly in a mass ratio of 30:70 to form a soft material; 4) the soft material was extruded into strips by means of a mold with ten arc bulges at edges of extrusion holes, the strips were cut into small granules, and the small granules were stood for 10 min, then dried at a low temperature of 60° C., further shaped, and screened to select granules of 15-35 meshes; and 5) a 8% polyvinyl alcohol solution was prepared, and the prepared granules were coated to obtain required abnormally-shaped tobacco granules, wherein the coating was 1.5% of the weight of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granule, the bulk density of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules was 0.65 g/ml, and the schematic cross-sectional view of the granules was shown in FIG. 2.

[0072] A preparation method of a total-granule low temperature smoke producing body included: the prepared abnormally-shaped tobacco granules were conveyed to a conveyor belt of a granule hot-curing molding device via a quantitative adding system, and the feed was further controlled via a flow limiting valve to enter a granule hot-curing molding cavity; the granules were quickly heated and humidified under the action of high-temperature water vapor, the surface adhesive coating was activated, and the loose granules were quickly bonded into continuous wet cigarette rods under negative pressure; the wet cigarette rods quickly lost moisture and were cooled and cured into total-granule cigarette rods under the action of a cooling and moisture discharge system; and the total-granule cigarette rods were conveyed to a cigarette gun of a subsequent cigarette making machine by a conveying system, then wrapped with cigarette paper, cooled, wrapped with tipping paper, and cut into heating non-burning granule cigarettes with proper length like traditional cigarettes.

EXAMPLE 3

[0073] A preparation method of abnormally-shaped tobacco granules in this embodiment included the following steps:

[0074] 1) a tobacco raw material was mechanically pulverized into tobacco powder of less than 60 meshes; 2) a tobacco extract, propylene glycol, glycerine, and 75 vol % alcohol were mixed uniformly in a mass ratio of 2:5:10:105; 3) the mixed solution was mixed uniformly with microcrystalline cellulose in a mass ratio of 1:3 to prepare a wet material; 4) the wet material and the tobacco powder were mixed uniformly in a mass ratio of 1:1 to prepare a soft material; 5) the soft material was extruded into strips by means of a mold with solid cakes in centers of extrusion holes, the strips were cut into small granules, and the small granules were stood for 10 min, then dried at a low temperature of 60° C., further shaped, and screened to select granules of 15-35 meshes as tobacco granule bodies; and 6) a 10% mixed solution was prepared wherein the mass ratio of polyethylene glycol and polyvidoneis 1:1, and the prepared tobacco granules were coated to obtain required abnormally-shaped tobacco granules, wherein the coating was 1% of the weight of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granule, the bulk density of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules was 0.75 g/ml, and the schematic cross-sectional view of the granules was shown in FIG. 3.

[0075] A preparation method of a total-granule low temperature smoke producing body included: the prepared abnormally-shaped tobacco granules were conveyed to a conveyor belt of a granule hot-curing molding device via a quantitative adding system, and the feed was further controlled via a flow limiting valve to enter a granule hot-curing molding cavity; the granules were quickly heated and humidified under the action of high-temperature water vapor, the surface adhesive coating was activated, and the loose granules were quickly bonded into continuous wet cigarette rods under negative pressure; the wet cigarette rods quickly lost moisture and were cooled and cured into total-granule cigarette rods under the action of a cooling and moisture discharge system; and the total-granule cigarette rods were conveyed to a cigarette gun of a subsequent cigarette making machine by a conveying system, then wrapped with cigarette paper, cooled, wrapped with tipping paper, and cut into heating non-burning granule cigarettes with proper length like traditional cigarettes.

EXAMPLE 4

[0076] A preparation method of abnormally-shaped tobacco granules in this embodiment included the following steps:

[0077] 1) a tobacco raw material was mechanically pulverized into tobacco powder of less than 80 meshes; 2) based on mass parts, 0.02 part of cigarette flavor and 0.1 part of maltooligosaccharide were added to 20 parts of 75 vol % alcohol, followed by uniform stirring, uniform spraying to 100 parts of tobacco powder, and uniform stirring to obtain a soft tobacco material; 3) the soft tobacco material was extruded into strips by means of a mold with six sharp bulges at edges of extrusion holes, the strips were cut into small granules, and the small granules were stood for 10 min, then dried at a low temperature of 60° C., further shaped, and screened to select granules of 15-35 meshes; and 4) a 10% polyvidone solution was prepared, and the prepared granules were coated to obtain required abnormally-shaped tobacco granules, wherein the coating was 0.5% of the weight of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granule, the bulk density of the granules was 0.55 g/ml, and the schematic cross-sectional view of the granules was shown in FIG. 1.

[0078] A preparation method of total-granule cigarettes included: the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules were conveyed to a conveyor belt of a granule hot-curing molding device via a quantitative adding system, and the feed was further controlled via a flow limiting valve to enter a granule hot-curing molding cavity; the granules were quickly heated and humidified under the action of high-temperature water vapor, the surface adhesive coating was activated, and the loose granules were quickly bonded into continuous wet cigarette rods under negative pressure; the wet cigarette rods quickly lost moisture and were cooled and cured into total-granule cigarette rods under the action of a cooling and moisture discharge system; and the total-granule cigarette rods were conveyed to a cigarette gun of a subsequent cigarette making machine by a conveying system, then wrapped with cigarette paper, cooled, wrapped with tipping paper, and cut into total-granule cigarettes with proper length like traditional cigarettes.

EXAMPLE 5

[0079] A preparation method of abnormally-shaped tobacco granules in this embodiment included the following steps:

[0080] 1) a tobacco raw material was mechanically pulverized into tobacco powder of less than 80 meshes; 2) based on mass parts, 0.05 part of cigarette flavor and 0.4 part of D-galactopyranouronic acid were added to 30 parts of 50 vol % alcohol, followed by uniform stirring, uniform spraying to 100 parts of tobacco powder, and uniform stirring to obtain a soft tobacco material; 3) the soft tobacco material was extruded into strips by means of a mold with ten arc bulges at edges of extrusion holes, the strips were cut into small granules, and the small granules were stood for 20 min, then dried at a low temperature of 60° C., further shaped, and screened to select granules of 15-35 meshes; and 4) a 8% polyvinyl alcohol solution was prepared, and the prepared granules were coated to obtain required abnormally-shaped tobacco granules, wherein the coating was 1% of the weight of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granule, the bulk density of the granules was 0.65 g/ml, and the schematic cross-sectional view of the granules was shown in FIG. 2.

[0081] A preparation method of total-granule cigarettes included: the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules were conveyed to a conveyor belt of a granule hot-curing molding device via a quantitative adding system, and the feed was further controlled via a flow limiting valve to enter a granule hot-curing molding cavity; the granules were quickly heated and humidified under the action of high-temperature water vapor, the surface adhesive coating was activated, and the loose granules were quickly bonded into continuous wet cigarette rods under negative pressure; the wet cigarette rods quickly lost moisture and were cooled and cured into total-granule cigarette rods under the action of a cooling and moisture discharge system; and the total-granule cigarette rods were conveyed to a cigarette gun of a subsequent cigarette making machine by a conveying system, then wrapped with cigarette paper, cooled, wrapped with tipping paper, and cut into total-granule cigarettes with proper length like traditional cigarettes.

EXAMPLE 6

[0082] A preparation method of abnormally-shaped tobacco granules in this embodiment included the following steps:

[0083] 1) a tobacco raw material was mechanically pulverized into tobacco powder of less than 80 meshes; 2) based on mass parts, 0.08 part of cigarette flavor, 0.2 part of D-galactopyranouronic acid and 0.3 part of glycerin were added to 30 parts of 50 vol % alcohol, followed by uniform stirring, uniform spraying to mixed powder of 100 parts of tobacco powder and 1 part of nano iron oxide, and uniform stirring to obtain a soft tobacco material; 3) the soft tobacco material was extruded into strips by means of a mold with solid cakes in centers of extrusion holes, the strips were cut into small granules, and the small granules were stood for 20 min, then dried at a low temperature of 60° C., further shaped, and screened to select granules of 15-35 meshes; and 4) a 10% mixed solution was prepared wherein the mass ratio of polyethylene glycol and povidoneis 1:1, and the prepared granules were coated to obtain required abnormally-shaped tobacco granules, wherein the coating was 1% of the weight of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granule, the bulk density of the granules was 0.45 g/ml, and the schematic cross-sectional view of the granules was shown in FIG. 3.

[0084] A preparation method of total-granule cigarettes included: the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules were conveyed to a conveyor belt of a granule hot-curing molding device via a quantitative adding system, and the feed was further controlled via a flow limiting valve to enter a granule hot-curing molding cavity; the granules were quickly heated and humidified under the action of high-temperature water vapor, the surface adhesive coating was activated, and the loose granules were quickly bonded into continuous wet cigarette rods under negative pressure; the wet cigarette rods quickly lost moisture and were cooled and cured into total-granule cigarette rods under the action of a cooling and moisture discharge system; and the total-granule cigarette rods were conveyed to a cigarette gun of a subsequent cigarette making machine by a conveying system, then wrapped with cigarette paper, cooled, wrapped with tipping paper, and cut into total-granule cigarettes with proper length like traditional cigarettes.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1

[0085] In order to compare the differences of smoke producing bodies prepared from abnormally-shaped tobacco granules and conventional tobacco granules, the conventional tobacco granules were prepared in this example according to the proportion and steps of Example 1, including the following steps:

[0086] 1) a tobacco raw material was mechanically pulverized into tobacco powder of less than 60 meshes; 2) a tobacco extract, propylene glycol, and 50 vol % alcohol were mixed uniformly in a mass ratio of 1:5:10 to obtain a mixed solution; 3) the mixed solution and the tobacco powder were mixed uniformly in a mass ratio of 25:75 to form a soft material; 4) the soft material was extruded into strips by means of a conventional round hole mold, the strips were cut into small granules, and the small granules were stood for 10 min, then dried at a low temperature of 60° C., further shaped, and screened to select granules of 15-35 meshes; and 5) a 10% polyvidone solution was prepared, and the prepared granules were coated to obtain required tobacco granules, wherein the coating was 0.5% of the weight of the tobacco granule, the bulk density of the tobacco granules was 0.75 g/cm.sup.3, and the schematic cross-sectional view of the granules was shown in FIG. 1.

[0087] A preparation method of a total-granule low temperature smoke producing body included: the prepared tobacco granules were conveyed to a conveyor belt of a granule hot-curing molding device via a quantitative adding system, and the feed was further controlled via a flow limiting valve to enter a granule hot-curing molding cavity; the granules were quickly heated and humidified under the action of high-temperature water vapor, the surface adhesive coating was activated, and the loose granules were quickly bonded into continuous wet cigarette rods under negative pressure; the wet cigarette rods quickly lost moisture and were cooled and cured into total-granule cigarette rods under the action of a cooling and moisture discharge system; and the total-granule cigarette rods were conveyed to a cigarette gun of a subsequent cigarette making machine by a conveying system, then wrapped with cigarette paper, cooled, wrapped with tipping paper, and cut into heating non-burning granule cigarettes with proper length like traditional cigarettes.

TABLE-US-00001 Sample Smoking evaluation Example 1 Smooth smoking, relatively fast smoke producing speed, relatively sufficient smoke, relatively good fragrance Example 2 Smooth smoking, fast smoke producing speed, sufficient smoke, relatively good fragrance Example 3 Smooth smoking, fast smoke producing speed, very sufficient smoke, good fragrance Example 4 Smooth smoking, relatively fast smoke producing speed, adequate smoke, relatively good fragrance Example 5 Smooth smoking, relatively fast smoke producing speed, adequate smoke, relatively good fragrance Example 6 Smooth smoking, relatively fast smoke producing speed, adequate smoke, relatively good fragrance Comparative Not very smooth smoking, relatively slow Example 1 smoke producing speed, relatively adequate smoke, relatively good fragrance

[0088] The contents illustrated by the above examples should be understood as these examples are merely used for illustrating the present invention more clearly, rather than limiting the scope of the present invention. Various equivalent modifications made to the present invention by those skilled in the art after reading the present invention all fall within the scope defined by the appended claims of the present application.