A method of manufacturing a natural plant aerosol-generating substrate for an electrically heated smoking article, and products and uses thereof

Abstract

The application discloses a manufacturing method of a natural plant aerosol generating substrate for an electronic heating smoking set, and products and applications thereof, and the manufacturing method comprises the following steps: step A: low-loss permeabilization treatment is performed on a natural plant raw material; and step B: high-loss permeabilization treatment is performed on the natural plant raw material subjected to the low-loss permeabilization treatment, so that the natural plant aerosol generating substrate is obtained. According to the method, the low-loss permeabilization treatment such as cell wall degradation is used first, and the tobacco raw material is modified in a quantifiable and controllable manner, so that the relatively thin cell walls are partially broken, and an aerosol carrier is formed; meanwhile, the relatively thick cell walls are partially thinned, and the high-loss permeabilization treatment such as pressure difference destruction treatment is more beneficial to the breaking of the cell walls to form the aerosol carrier.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of tobacco, and in particular to a method for manufacturing a natural plant aerosol generating matrix for electronically heated smoking devices, and a product and application thereof. Background Art

[0002] Aerosol-generating products such as heated cigarettes have achieved a good smoking experience after rapid development and optimization in recent years. However, due to the special heating method of heated cigarettes, the existing traditional tobacco for cigarettes cannot be used as the core material of heated cigarettes, so the core material is mostly made of reconstituted tobacco, that is, tobacco flakes. The tobacco is mainly composed of tobacco dust, tobacco leaf fragments, tobacco stems or low-grade tobacco leaves with adhesives and other additives. It is mainly prepared by three methods: papermaking, thick pulp and roller pressing. It is quite different from traditional tobacco and requires a new production line. There are also attempts to use traditional tobacco for heated cigarettes. In order to release enough flavor substances under heating conditions, traditional tobacco needs to be subjected to high-loss permeability treatments such as steam explosion and freeze drying. However, direct high-loss permeability treatment will seriously reduce the processability of tobacco, the whole-thread rate is low, and it is also difficult to roll and twist the tobacco on the production line. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art and actual needs, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a natural plant aerosol generating matrix for electronic heated smoking devices, as well as its products and applications. The method can reduce the influence of high-loss permeability treatment on the processability of heated cigarette tobacco, and further improve the whole shred rate while meeting the high aerosol load.

[0004] In order to achieve the purpose of the invention, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0005] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a natural plant aerosol generating substrate for an electronic heated smoking device, the manufacturing method comprising the following steps:

[0006] Step A: subjecting natural plant materials to low-loss permeability treatment;

[0007] Step B: subjecting the natural plant raw material that has been subjected to low-loss permeability treatment to high-loss permeability treatment to obtain the natural plant aerosol generating matrix.

[0008] Furthermore, the maximum load capacity of the natural plant raw material is increased by more than 100%, more than 150%, more than 200%, more than 250%, more than 300%, more than 350% or more than 400% through the low-loss permeability treatment, and the whole silk rate is more than 60%, more than 65%, more than 68%, more than 70%, more than 72%, more than 75%, more than 78% or more than 80%.

[0009] Furthermore, the maximum load capacity of the natural plant raw material is increased by more than 100% through the high-loss permeability treatment, and the whole silk rate is reduced to less than 75%, less than 70%, less than 65%, less than 60%, less than 55% or less than 50%.

[0010] Furthermore, the natural plant is tobacco, the natural plant raw material is tobacco leaves, the sheet form of the natural plant raw material is tobacco sheets, and the thread form of the natural plant raw material is shredded tobacco.

[0011] Furthermore, in step A, the low-loss permeability treatment includes 1 to 5 enzymatic hydrolysis treatments, and each of the enzymatic hydrolysis treatments includes:

[0012] Step A-1: ​​spraying the active enzyme solution evenly on the natural plant raw material;

[0013] Step A-2: The sprayed natural plant raw material is sealed and subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis reaction under constant temperature and humidity conditions.

[0014] Furthermore, in step A-1, the active enzyme includes any one of pectinase, hemicellulase, cellulase or amylase, or a combination of at least two of them; the weight ratio of the active enzyme composition to the natural plant raw material is 0.5-1.0%, 1.0-1.5%, 1.5-2.0%, 2.0-2.5% or 2.5-3.0%.

[0015] Further, in the step A-2, the conditions of each enzymatic hydrolysis reaction are independently: temperature 25-30°C, 30-35°C, 35-40°C, 40-45°C, 45-50°C, 50-55°C or 55-60°C, relative humidity 15-20%, 20-25%, 25-30%, 30-35%, 35-40%, 40-45%, 45-50%, 50-55%, 55-60%, 60-65%, 65-70%, 70-75% or 75-80%; the total enzymatic hydrolysis reaction time is 0.5-1.0h, 1.0-2.0h, 2.0-4.0h, 4.0h-6.0h, 6.0-8.0h, 8.0-12.0h or 12.0-24.0h.

[0016] Furthermore, in step A-2, the conditions of each enzymatic hydrolysis reaction are independently: temperature 25-35°C and relative humidity 60-80%, temperature 35-45°C and relative humidity 40-60%, or temperature 50-60°C and relative humidity 20-30%; the total enzymatic hydrolysis reaction time is 1.0-4.0h.

[0017] Furthermore, in the step B, the high-loss permeability treatment is a pressure difference destruction treatment.

[0018] Furthermore, the pressure difference destruction treatment includes any one of freeze drying treatment, CO2 supercritical extraction treatment, vacuum explosion treatment or steam explosion treatment, or a combination of at least two of them.

[0019] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a natural plant aerosol generating substrate for electronic heated smoking devices, wherein the natural plant aerosol generating substrate for electronic heated smoking devices is prepared according to the manufacturing method described in the first aspect.

[0020] In a third aspect, the present invention provides a heated cigarette for an electronically heated smoking device, wherein the heated cigarette for an electronically heated smoking device comprises the natural plant aerosol generating substrate described in the second aspect.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0022] (1) The method of the present invention first uses low-loss permeable treatment methods such as cell wall degradation to quantitatively and controllably modify the tobacco raw materials, so that the thinner cell walls are partially broken to form an aerosol carrier; compared with the simple use of low-loss permeable treatment methods, the method of the present invention does not require long-term degradation or large-dose use of degrading enzymes, so the original thinner cell walls will not be completely degraded, thereby avoiding excessive degradation of the cell wall and a large amount of degrading enzymes causing smoke odor. Compared with the simple use of high-loss permeable treatment methods or the use of high-loss permeable treatment methods first and then low-loss permeable treatment methods, since the enzyme dosage, reaction conditions, and time of enzyme degradation are all artificially controllable, quantitative control of the wall breaking rate can be achieved.

[0023] At the same time, the thicker cell wall is partially thinned, which is more conducive to breaking the wall through high-damage permeable treatment such as pressure difference destruction treatment to form an aerosol carrier. Since the thinner cell wall has been broken by enzymatic hydrolysis, the pressure inside and outside the cell wall is balanced during the subsequent pressure difference treatment process and cannot be broken again, which can retain the shape of the aerosol carrier and maintain the overall processability; and the thicker cell wall is usually only partially able to break during the pressure difference treatment process, but since the present invention pre-degrades the cell wall to make it thinner, it can basically break during the subsequent pressure difference treatment process, thereby improving the overall load capacity of the tobacco material. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The above content and the following specific embodiments of the present invention will be better understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the accompanying drawings are only examples of the technical solutions claimed for protection.

[0025] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the processing flow of natural plant raw materials in the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 It is a maximum atomizer loading test device in the present invention, wherein the accompanying drawings are described as follows: 1- tobacco, 2- extrusion container, 3- force probe. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] To further illustrate the technical means and effects of the present invention, the present invention is further described below in conjunction with the embodiments and drawings. It should be understood that the specific implementation methods described herein are only used to explain the present invention, rather than to limit the present invention.

[0028] The detailed features and advantages of the present invention are described in detail in the specific implementation modes below, and the contents are sufficient to enable any person skilled in the art to understand the technical contents of the present invention and implement them accordingly. Moreover, according to the description and claims disclosed in this specification, those skilled in the art can easily understand the relevant objects and advantages of the present invention.

[0029] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail below.

[0030] See also Figure 1 The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a natural plant aerosol generating matrix for electronic heating tobacco, wherein the natural plant includes a plant of the Solanaceae family or a plant of the genus Syringae, in particular, tobacco or cloves. For tobacco, whether it is a sheet of tobacco or a shredded tobacco, the method can fully improve the atomizer loading degree so as to be suitable for heating cigarettes. Specifically, the method for manufacturing tobacco sheets or shredded tobacco for heating cigarettes includes: step A: subjecting the tobacco sheets or shredded tobacco to low-loss permeability treatment; step B: subjecting the tobacco sheets or shredded tobacco treated in step A to high-loss permeability treatment.

[0031] The following embodiments all use flue-cured tobacco leaves of C3F Qinyan 96 from Mianchi, Sanmenxia, ​​Henan in 2021. In addition, the inventors also used the following flue-cured tobacco leaves for experiments: B2F, C2F, X2F from Guiyang, Chenzhou, B3F, C2F, X2F from Blue Mountain, Yongzhou, B2F, C3F, X3F from Mianchi, Sanmenxia, ​​B2F, C2F, X2F from Zunyi, Guizhou, B3F, C3F, X2F from Dafang, Bijie, Guizhou, B2F, C2F, X3F from Bijie, Yunnan, B3F, C3F, X2F from Yuxi, Yunnan, B2F, C3F, X2F from Kunming, Yunnan, B2F, C3F, X2F from Dali, Yunnan, including tobacco seed varieties such as Honghua Dajinyuan, Cuibi No. 1, and Qinyan 96. In addition, the inventors also used burley tobacco, spice tobacco, cigar tobacco, sun-cured yellow tobacco, and cloves for experiments, and similar experimental conclusions were obtained.

[0032] First, the enzyme composition was prepared according to the weight ratio given in Table 1:

[0033] Table 1: Enzyme composition ratio

[0034] serial number Abbreviation Pectinase Hemicellulase Amylase G0-G5 1:2:2 20％ 40％ 40％

[0035] Among them, the pectinase activity is 60000U / g (purchased from Beijing Xiasheng Biotechnology Development Co., Ltd., the main components are protopectinase, polygalacturonase, pectin lyase and pectinesterase), the hemicellulase activity is 50000U / g (purchased from Beijing Xiasheng Biotechnology Development Co., Ltd., the main component is mannanase), and the amylase activity is 50000U / g (purchased from Beijing Xiasheng Biotechnology Development Co., Ltd., containing cellulase, β-glucanase and xylanase and other biologically active ingredients). In addition, replacing hemicellulase with cellulase can also obtain similar test results.

[0036] The enzyme composition was diluted with ultrapure water to prepare a 200U / g enzyme composition solution, which was prepared and used immediately. The enzyme composition solution was placed in a laboratory sprayer. The tobacco raw material was directly rehumidified and shredded, and divided into 6 groups, each group of 200g, marked as G0-G5. Among them, G0 was not enzymolyzed, and G1-G5 were subjected to 1 to 5 enzymolysis reactions respectively. Each enzymolysis reaction included: spraying the enzyme composition on the tobacco at a ratio of 1.0% of the tobacco mass ratio, sealing the sprayed tobacco, placing it in a constant temperature and humidity chamber (set temperature 55°C, relative humidity 25%) for enzymolysis reaction for 4h, and placing the enzymolyzed tobacco in an oven to terminate the enzymolysis reaction (set temperature 80°C, baking time 20min). The tobacco of G1-G5 after the final enzymolysis was placed in an oven for drying (set temperature 50°C, baking time 20min) for standby use.

[0037] G0-G5 were further divided into 4 portions, each 50 g, and marked as G0A-G0D, G1A-G1D, G2A-G2D, G3A-G3D, G4A-G4D and G5A-G5D respectively.

[0038] The maximum load test was directly conducted for G0A-G5A tobacco. Figure 2As shown, a tobacco 1 with 1% atomizer (relative to the initial tobacco mass) is placed in an extrusion container 2, which is a cylindrical barrel with a diameter of (60.0±0.1) mm and a height of not less than 100 mm. A force probe 3 with a diameter of (55.0±0.1) mm can be applied on the surface of the tobacco to produce a uniform pressure of (29.4±0.5) N on the sample. The pressure speed of the force probe is (19.5±0.5) mm / s, and the pressure time of the force probe is (30.0±0.5) s. After the pressure is applied, pour the tobacco onto a flat white paper and shake it gently. If the tobacco can be well dispersed and there is no obvious agglomeration, continue to apply 1% atomizer (relative to the initial tobacco mass), and all other conditions remain unchanged, and repeat the above experiment. The experiment is terminated when the tobacco is poured onto a flat white paper and gently shaken, and the tobacco cannot be dispersed well and has obvious clumping, indicating that the atomizer has not precipitated. The amount of atomizer at this time is recorded as B%. The maximum loading amount of tobacco substances on the atomizer under this condition is (B-1)%.

[0039] For G0B-G5B tobacco, steam explosion treatment was first continued: each portion of tobacco was placed in the steam explosion equipment in turn, and saturated water vapor was used as the explosion working medium for steam explosion treatment, the steam explosion temperature was 35°C, the steam explosion time was less than 0.01 seconds, the steam pressure was 0.5MPa, and the pressure retention time was 20 seconds. Then the maximum load test was directly carried out for the number G0B-G5B.

[0040] For G0C-G5C cut tobacco, freeze drying treatment was continued respectively: pure water mist was sprayed on the cut tobacco to gradually increase the moisture content of each cut tobacco to 35%, and then the cut tobacco was cooled to 0°C, kept warm for 4 hours, and then placed in a freeze drying device for freezing for 24 hours, and finally the water in the cut tobacco was dried by sublimation through a vacuum drying system. Then the maximum load test was directly carried out for the number G0C-G5C.

[0041] For G0D-G5D cut tobacco, first continue to perform supercritical extraction treatment: spray pure water mist on the cut tobacco to gradually increase the moisture content of each cut tobacco to 13%, place the cut tobacco in a supercritical extraction device, keep the extraction temperature at 50°C and the extraction pressure at 30MPa, close the inlet and outlet of the extraction kettle, and let the extraction stand. After 3 hours, release the pressure so that the extract covers the surface of the cut tobacco. Then, the maximum load test is directly carried out for the number G0D-G5D.

[0042] In addition, the whole-shred rate of the tobacco in the above-mentioned embodiments is measured according to "YC / T 178-2003 Method for Determining the Whole-shred Rate and Broken-shred Rate of Tobacco". For tobacco, tobacco leaves, cloves and other plant materials, they can also be cut into shreds in the conventional manner and measured to obtain corresponding test results.

[0043] The maximum load and the yarn straightening rate of the above-mentioned embodiments are shown in Table 2.

[0044] Table 2: Maximum load and whole tobacco rate after different treatment methods

[0045]

[0046]

[0047] It can be seen that compared with untreated tobacco (G0A), direct low-loss permeable treatment (G1A-G5A) can increase the maximum load of tobacco by more than 400% and maintain the whole-shred rate at more than 78%, and the processability fully meets the requirements of the current cigarette production line. Direct high-loss permeable treatment (G0B, G0C, G0D) can generally increase the maximum load of tobacco by more than 100%, but reduce the whole-shred rate to 50% or even below, which cannot meet the requirements of the production line.

[0048] However, by first implementing low-loss permeability treatment and then implementing high-loss permeability treatment (G1B-G5B, G1C-G5C, G1D-G5D), compared to only implementing low-loss permeability treatment (G1A-G5A), the maximum load limit of tobacco can be significantly increased while maintaining a higher whole-shred rate (relative to G0B, G0C, G0D). By adjusting the process parameters, the whole-shred rate can reach 60% or even more than 70%, and the processability basically meets the requirements of the current cigarette production line.

[0049] The tobacco cuts manufactured in the above-mentioned embodiments were loaded with glycerin accounting for 15% of the weight of the tobacco cuts and then put into the existing production line one by one for rolling and twisting. It can be found that the embodiments G1B-G5B, G1C-G5C, G1D-G5D can all pass through the production line smoothly and complete the production of heated cigarettes without any abnormality, and have good processability. However, the processing performance of G0B, G0C, and G0D is poor, the cross-section roundness of the rolled cigarettes is insufficient, and the problem of thread leakage is serious.

[0050] The tobacco reviewers used F5202-JS3 heated smoking devices to heat and smoke the above-mentioned heated cigarettes, referring to "GB5606.4-2005 Cigarettes Part 4 Sensory Technical Requirements", "YC / T 564-2018 Sensory Evaluation Method for Chinese Cigarettes Based on Consumer Experience" and "YC / T 497-2014 Sensory Evaluation Method for Chinese Cigarette Style", combined with the smoke characteristics of heated cigarettes, formulated key evaluation indicators, conducted sensory evaluations and recorded the evaluation scores according to Table 3.

[0051] Table 3: Sensory evaluation record of tobacco-type heated cigarettes

[0052] Evaluation indicators Smoke output Fragrance Aroma volume Highest score 10 10 10

[0053] The present invention focuses on evaluating the smoke yield, aroma quality and aroma quantity. The sensory evaluation record table is shown in Table 4.

[0054] Table 4: Sensory evaluation record table of each example

[0055]

[0056]

[0057] Examples G1B-G5B, G1C-G5C, and G1D-G5D all produce good tobacco aroma, and the smoking efficiency is comparable to that of sheet-type heated cigarettes.

[0058] The terms and expressions used herein are for descriptive purposes only, and the present invention should not be limited to these terms and expressions. The use of these terms and expressions does not mean to exclude any equivalent features of the illustrations and descriptions (or parts thereof), and it should be recognized that various modifications that may exist should also be included in the scope of the claims. Other modifications, variations and substitutions may also exist. Accordingly, the claims should be deemed to cover all such equivalents.

[0059] Similarly, it should be pointed out that although the present invention has been described with reference to the current specific embodiments, ordinary technicians in this technical field should realize that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, and various equivalent changes or substitutions may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, as long as the changes and modifications to the above embodiments are within the scope of the essential spirit of the present invention, they will fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a natural plant aerosol-generating substrate for electronically heated smoking devices, characterized in that: The manufacturing method comprises the following steps: Step A: subjecting natural plant materials to low-loss permeability treatment; Step B: subjecting the natural plant raw material that has been subjected to low-loss permeability treatment to high-loss permeability treatment to obtain the natural plant aerosol generating matrix.

2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The low-loss permeability treatment increases the maximum load of the natural plant raw material by more than 100%, more than 150%, more than 200%, more than 250%, more than 300%, more than 350% or more than 400%, and the whole silk rate is more than 60%, more than 65%, more than 68%, more than 70%, more than 72%, more than 75%, more than 78% or more than 80%.

3. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The high-loss permeability treatment increases the maximum load of the natural plant raw material by more than 100%, and reduces the whole silk rate to less than 75%, less than 70%, less than 65%, less than 60%, less than 55% or less than 50%.

4. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The natural plant is tobacco, the natural plant raw material is tobacco leaves, the sheet form of the natural plant raw material is tobacco sheets, and the thread form of the natural plant raw material is shredded tobacco.

5. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step A, the low-loss permeability treatment includes 1 to 5 enzymatic hydrolysis treatments, each of which includes: Step A-1: ​​spraying the active enzyme solution evenly on the natural plant raw material; Step A-2: The sprayed natural plant raw material is sealed and subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis reaction under constant temperature and humidity conditions.

6. The manufacturing method according to claim 5, characterized in that: In step A-1, the active enzyme includes any one of pectinase, hemicellulase, cellulase or amylase, or a combination of at least two of them; the weight ratio of the active enzyme composition to the natural plant raw material is 0.5-1.0%, 1.0-1.5%, 1.5-2.0%, 2.0-2.5% or 2.5-3.0%.

7. The manufacturing method according to claim 5, characterized in that: In the step A-2, the conditions of each enzymatic hydrolysis reaction are independently: temperature 25-30°C, 30-35°C, 35-40°C, 40-45°C, 45-50°C, 50-55°C or 55-60°C, relative humidity 15-20%, 20-25%, 25-30%, 30-35%, 35-40%, 40-45%, 45-50%, 50-55%, 55-60%, 60-65%, 65-70%, 70-75% or 75-80%; the total enzymatic hydrolysis reaction time is 0.5-1.0h, 1.0-2.0h, 2.0-4.0h, 4.0h-6.0h, 6.0-8.0h, 8.0-12.0h or 12.0-24.0h.

8. The manufacturing method according to claim 7, characterized in that: In step A-2, the conditions of each enzymatic hydrolysis reaction are independently: temperature 25-35°C and relative humidity 60-80%, temperature 35-45°C and relative humidity 40-60%, or temperature 50-60°C and relative humidity 20-30%; the total enzymatic hydrolysis reaction time is 1.0-4.0h.

9. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step B, the high-loss permeability treatment is a pressure difference destruction treatment.

10. The manufacturing method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The pressure difference destruction treatment includes any one of freeze drying treatment, CO2 supercritical extraction treatment, vacuum explosion treatment or steam explosion treatment, or a combination of at least two of them.

11. A natural plant aerosol generating matrix for electronic heating smoking articles, characterized in that: The natural plant aerosol generating matrix for electronically heated smoking articles Prepared according to the manufacturing method described in any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A heated cigarette for an electronically heated smoking device, characterized in that: The heated cigarette for an electronically heated smoking device comprises the natural plant aerosol generating substrate according to claim 11.

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