Preparation method of heat-not-burn cigarette particles and product of heat-not-burn cigarette particles

Abstract

The invention provides a preparation method of heat-not-burn cigarette particles and a product of the heat-not-burn cigarette particles. Tobacco leaves with the high sugar content are selected in a targeted mode, smoke agents (glycerinum and propylene glycol) serve as infiltration liquid, viscous substances such as sugar, pectin, hemicellulose and protein in tobacco powder are leached out through an aging method, the extract serves as an adhesive, the steps of adding water and the adhesive and drying are omitted, and the'water-free and adhesive-free 'tobacco particles are prepared. The aroma retention rate of the cigarette particles is increased, and the sensory feeling is improved. And extrusion forming is performed under the condition that water and chemical adhesives are not additionally added, and the high hardness and the high forming yield are achieved as well.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of tobacco, in particular to a preparation method of a heating-not-burning tobacco granule and a product thereof. BACKGROUND

[0002] As a harm-reduction substitute for traditional cigarettes, heating-not-burning (HNB) tobacco products release nicotine and flavor substances by precisely controlling the heating temperature (usually below 350℃), avoiding the generation of tar and a large amount of harmful substances caused by high-temperature combustion of tobacco, and have become an important direction for the transformation of the global tobacco industry. The tobacco granule inside the core component of the cartridge not only needs to have good physical strength to adapt to the automatic filling equipment, but also needs to achieve efficient aerosol release, high flavor restoration, and stable physicochemical properties under low-temperature heating. The unique working mechanism of HNB products puts forward higher requirements on the formula design and preparation process of the tobacco granule than traditional cigarettes: not only to avoid combustion, but also to simulate the satisfaction similar to traditional cigarettes. This contradiction constitutes a challenge for the basic research and application development in the field of HNB.

[0003] Currently, the mainstream preparation of tobacco granules follows the traditional process of reconstituted tobacco, and generally uses the "wet papermaking" technology. These processes usually add water as a dispersion medium and rely on chemical adhesives such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and guar gum to ensure the forming strength. Subsequently, high-temperature drying must be carried out to remove water. This process has inherent defects: (1) the high-temperature drying process will cause a large loss of valuable volatile aroma components in tobacco, severely weakening the sensory quality of the product; (2) the addition of exogenous chemical adhesives may introduce off-flavors and may change the natural aroma of tobacco to some extent, affecting the purity of flavor; (3) the addition and removal of water is a high-energy consumption link, and is prone to cause uneven structure of the granule, affecting the uniformity and stability of the quality of the final product. SUMMARY

[0004] In order to solve the above problems, the first aspect of the present application provides a preparation method of a heating-not-burning tobacco granule, comprising the following steps: Step S1, tobacco leaf preparation tobacco powder: the stem-removed tobacco leaf is dried and pulverized to prepare tobacco powder; Step S2, tobacco powder compounding: the tobacco powder is stirred and mixed; the tobacco powder is a mixed tobacco powder of flue-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder, burley tobacco leaf tobacco powder, Oriental tobacco leaf tobacco powder, and sun-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder; the mass ratio of the flue-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder, the burley tobacco leaf tobacco powder, the Oriental tobacco leaf tobacco powder, and the sun-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder in the total tobacco powder is 60%-75%, 8%-20%, 8%-15%, and 3%-8%, respectively; Step S3, liquid component addition: mix glycerol, propylene glycol, essence and flavor with tobacco powder, the mass ratio of glycerol to tobacco powder being 20%-25%, the mass ratio of propylene glycol to tobacco powder being 2%-10%, and the mass ratio of essence and flavor to tobacco powder being 2%-10%; Step S4, aging: place the mixed material in a sealed container for aging; Step S5, particle forming and screening: extrude the aged mixture into a strip through a screen and spin cut into short particles; screen the short particles to obtain tobacco particles.

[0005] As a preferred technical solution, in step S1, the drying temperature is 80-90°C; the drying equipment is a hot air oven; the tobacco powder particle size is 100-200 mesh, and the tobacco powder moisture mass fraction is 6%-9%.

[0006] As a preferred technical solution, in step S2, the stirring and mixing time is 30-40 minutes, and the temperature is 20-30°C; the stirring and mixing is performed in a stirring tank.

[0007] As a preferred technical solution, in step S3, the mixing time is 30-40 minutes, and the temperature is 20-30°C.

[0008] As a preferred technical solution, in step S4, the aging temperature is 22-28°C, the aging relative humidity is ≤60%, and the aging time is 24-48 hours. The aging process enables the tobacco powder to fully absorb the liquid, stabilizes the structure, and improves the uniformity and stability of subsequent particle forming.

[0009] As a preferred technical solution, in step S5, the tobacco particle size is 850-1180 μm; the screen is a circular screen with a pore size of 1.0-1.2 mm.

[0010] The second aspect of the present application provides a heat-not-burn tobacco particle prepared by any one of the preparation methods of the first aspect.

[0011] The third aspect of the present application provides a method for improving the aroma retention rate of a tobacco particle, which adopts any one of the preparation methods of the first aspect.

[0012] The fourth aspect of the present application provides a method for improving the forming yield of a tobacco particle, which adopts any one of the preparation methods of the first aspect.

[0013] The present application is aimed at selecting tobacco leaves with high sugar content, using a smoking agent (glycerol and propylene glycol) as an infiltrating liquid, and using the aging method to leach sugar, pectin, hemicellulose, protein and other sticky substances in the tobacco powder, using the leachate as an adhesive, omitting the addition of water and adhesive and the drying step, to prepare "water-free and adhesive-free" tobacco granules, improve the aroma retention rate of the tobacco granules, and improve the sensory perception. The tobacco granules prepared by the method can be successfully extruded without additional addition of water and chemical adhesive, and also have high hardness and forming yield. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] In order to make the above-mentioned objectives, characteristics and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the applicant analyzes and explains through specific examples and comparative examples.

[0015] Example 1

[0016] Step S1, tobacco leaf preparation tobacco powder: the tobacco leaf without stem is dried, crushed and made into tobacco powder; the drying temperature is 80-90℃; the drying equipment is a hot air oven; the particle size of the tobacco powder is 100-200 mesh, and the moisture content of the tobacco powder is 6-9% by mass fraction; Step S2, tobacco powder compatibility: the tobacco powder is stirred and mixed, the stirring and mixing time is 30-40 minutes, and the temperature is 20-30℃; the stirring and mixing is carried out in a stirring tank; the tobacco powder is a mixed tobacco powder of flue-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder, burley tobacco leaf tobacco powder, oriental tobacco leaf tobacco powder and sun-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder; the mass ratio of the flue-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder, burley tobacco leaf tobacco powder, oriental tobacco leaf tobacco powder and sun-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder in the total tobacco powder is 60%, 20%, 15% and 5%, respectively; Step S3, liquid component addition: glycerol, propylene glycol and flavoring spices are mixed with the tobacco powder, the mass ratio of glycerol to tobacco powder is 21%, the mass ratio of propylene glycol to tobacco powder is 4.5%, and the mass ratio of flavoring spices to tobacco powder is 4.5%; the mixing time is 30-40 minutes, and the temperature is 20-30℃; Step S4, aging: the mixed material is sealed in a gas-tight container and aged; the aging temperature is 22-28℃, the relative humidity is ≤60%, and the aging time is 24-48 hours; Step S5, granule forming and screening: the aged mixture is extruded into a strip through a screen and rotary cut into short granules; the short granules are screened to obtain tobacco granules; the particle size of the tobacco granules is 850-1180μm; the screen is a circular screen with a pore size of 1.0-1.2mm.

[0017] Example 2

[0018] Step S1, tobacco leaf preparation tobacco powder: tobacco leaf after drying, crushing, made of tobacco powder; the drying temperature is 80~90℃; the drying equipment is hot air oven; the particle size of the tobacco powder is 100~200 mesh, the moisture content of the tobacco powder is 6%~9% by mass fraction; Step S2, tobacco powder compatibility: the tobacco powder is stirred and mixed, the stirring and mixing time is 30~40 minutes, the temperature is 20~30℃; the stirring and mixing is carried out in a stirring tank; the tobacco powder is a mixed tobacco powder of flue-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder, burley tobacco leaf tobacco powder, oriental tobacco leaf tobacco powder and sun-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder; the mass ratio of flue-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder, burley tobacco leaf tobacco powder, oriental tobacco leaf tobacco powder and sun-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder in total tobacco powder is 65%, 15%, 15% and 5% respectively; Step S3, liquid component addition: glycerol, propylene glycol and essence and flavor are mixed with tobacco powder, the mass ratio of glycerol and tobacco powder is 22%; the mass ratio of propylene glycol and tobacco powder is 4%; the mass ratio of essence and flavor and tobacco powder is 4%; the mixing time is 30~40 minutes, the temperature is 20~30℃; Step S4, aging: the mixed material is sealed in a gas-tight container and aged; the aging temperature is 22~28℃, the relative humidity is ≤60%, and the aging time is 24~48 hours; Step S5, particle forming and screening: the aged mixture is extruded into a strip through a screen and rotary cut into short particles; the short particles are screened to obtain tobacco particles; the particle size of the tobacco particles is 850~1180μm; the screen is a circular screen with a pore size of 1.0~1.2mm.

[0019] Example 3

[0020] Step S1, tobacco leaf preparation tobacco powder: tobacco leaf after drying, crushing, made of tobacco powder; the drying temperature is 80~90℃; the drying equipment is hot air oven; the particle size of the tobacco powder is 100~200 mesh, the moisture content of the tobacco powder is 6%~9% by mass fraction; Step S2, tobacco powder compatibility: the tobacco powder is stirred and mixed, the stirring and mixing time is 30~40 minutes, the temperature is 20~30℃; the stirring and mixing is carried out in a stirring tank; the tobacco powder is a mixed tobacco powder of flue-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder, burley tobacco leaf tobacco powder, oriental tobacco leaf tobacco powder and sun-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder; the mass ratio of flue-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder, burley tobacco leaf tobacco powder, oriental tobacco leaf tobacco powder and sun-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder in total tobacco powder is 70%, 10%, 15% and 5% respectively; Step S3, liquid component addition: mix glycerol, propylene glycol, essence flavor with tobacco powder, the mass ratio of glycerol to tobacco powder is 23%; the mass ratio of propylene glycol to tobacco powder is 3.5%; the mass ratio of essence flavor to tobacco powder is 3.5%; the mixing time is 30-40 minutes, and the temperature is 20-30℃; Step S4, aging: seal the mixed material in a gas-tight container for aging; the aging temperature is 22-28℃, the aging relative humidity is ≤60%, and the aging time is 24-48 hours; Step S5, particle forming and screening: extrude the aged mixture into a strip through a screen, and spin cut into short particles; screen the short particles to obtain tobacco particles; the tobacco particle size is 850-1180μm; the screen is a circular screen with a pore size of 1.0-1.2mm; Example 4 Step S1, tobacco leaf preparation tobacco powder: de-stemmed tobacco leaves are dried and crushed to prepare tobacco powder; the drying temperature is 80-90℃; the drying equipment is a hot air oven; the tobacco powder particle size is 100-200 mesh, and the tobacco powder moisture content is 6-9% by mass; Step S2, tobacco powder compatibility: mix tobacco powder by stirring; the stirring time is 30-40 minutes, and the temperature is 20-30℃; the stirring is performed in a stirring tank; the tobacco powder is a mixed tobacco powder of flue-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder, burley tobacco leaf tobacco powder, Oriental tobacco leaf tobacco powder, and sun-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder; the mass ratio of the flue-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder, burley tobacco leaf tobacco powder, Oriental tobacco leaf tobacco powder, and sun-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder to the total tobacco powder is 75%, 9%, 8%, and 8%, respectively; Step S3, liquid component addition: mix glycerol, propylene glycol, essence flavor with tobacco powder, the mass ratio of glycerol to tobacco powder is 20%; the mass ratio of propylene glycol to tobacco powder is 5%; the mass ratio of essence flavor to tobacco powder is 5%; the mixing time is 30-40 minutes, and the temperature is 20-30℃; Step S4, aging: seal the mixed material in a gas-tight container for aging; the aging temperature is 22-28℃, the aging relative humidity is ≤60%, and the aging time is 24-48 hours; Step S5, particle forming and screening: extrude the aged mixture into a strip through a screen, and spin cut into short particles; screen the short particles to obtain tobacco particles; the tobacco particle size is 850-1180μm; the screen is a circular screen with a pore size of 1.0-1.2mm; Example 5 Step S1, tobacco leaf preparation tobacco powder: tobacco leaf without stem is dried, crushed and made into tobacco powder; the drying temperature is 80-90℃; the drying equipment is a hot air oven; the particle size of the tobacco powder is 100-200 mesh, and the moisture content of the tobacco powder is 6-9% by mass fraction; Step S2, tobacco powder compatibility: the tobacco powder is stirred and mixed, the stirring and mixing time is 30-40 minutes, and the temperature is 20-30℃; the stirring and mixing is carried out in a stirring tank; the tobacco powder is a mixed tobacco powder of flue-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder, burley tobacco leaf tobacco powder, Oriental tobacco leaf tobacco powder and sun-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder; the mass ratio of the flue-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder, burley tobacco leaf tobacco powder, Oriental tobacco leaf tobacco powder and sun-cured tobacco leaf tobacco powder in the total tobacco powder is 75%, 10%, 10% and 5% respectively; Step S3, liquid component addition: glycerol, propylene glycol and flavoring spices are mixed with the tobacco powder, the mass ratio of the glycerol to the tobacco powder is 25%, the mass ratio of the propylene glycol to the tobacco powder is 5%, and the mass ratio of the flavoring spices to the tobacco powder is 5%; the mixing time is 30-40 minutes, and the temperature is 20-30℃; Step S4, aging: the mixed material is sealed in a gas-tight container and aged; the aging temperature is 22-28℃, the aging relative humidity is ≤60%, and the aging time is 24-48 hours; Step S5, particle forming and screening: the aged mixture is extruded into a strip through a screen and rotary cut into short particles; the short particles are screened to obtain tobacco particles; the particle size of the tobacco particles is 850-1180μm; the screen is a circular screen with a pore size of 1.0-1.2mm; Comparative Example 1 In step 3, water and adhesive are additionally added, the mass ratio of water to tobacco powder is 20%, and the mass ratio of adhesive to tobacco powder is 4%; the adhesive is sodium carboxymethyl cellulose; in step S5, the obtained tobacco particles are additionally dried at 70℃ for 20 minutes to remove moisture. The other steps and parameters are consistent with those of Example 1.

[0021] Detection Example 1, sensory evaluation

[0022] Referring to the tobacco industry standard "YC / T 415-2011 Tobacco in Product Sensory Evaluation Method", the sensory evaluation indexes are scored by 7 tasters according to the 10-point scoring method, and the average value is taken. The scoring standard is shown in Table 1.

[0023] Table 1 Sensory evaluation index scoring standard

[0024] The sensory evaluation results are shown in Table 2. The overall score of the comparative example is lower than the examples. Since the comparative example adds moisture and adhesive in the preparation process, it must be dried to make the finished product. The drying process causes the loss of volatile aroma components, reducing the sensory evaluation.

[0025] Table 2 Sensory evaluation results

[0026] Detection of Example 2, main items of tobacco granules

[0027] The detection results of the comparative example and the examples are shown in Table 3. The "water-free and adhesive-free" granules also have high hardness and forming yield. The tobacco granules prepared by this method can be successfully extruded without additional addition of water and chemical adhesive, mainly due to the following reasons.

[0028] (1) High sugar content tobacco powder design

[0029] The formula design is mainly based on high-sugar flue-cured tobacco, supplemented by burley, oriental tobacco, and air-cured tobacco. The purpose is not only to adjust the flavor, but also to use the chemical components as a natural bonding matrix. The abundant soluble sugars (such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose) in flue-cured tobacco are fully leached out by the hydrophilic properties of glycerol during the aging process. When heat is generated by subsequent extrusion and friction, these sugars will melt or soften, showing high viscosity like syrup, and playing a key role in adhesion between granules.

[0030] Pectin, hemicellulose, and protein in tobacco cell walls belong to natural high molecular polymers. Under the action of heat and pressure generated during extrusion, the molecular chain segment movement ability of these polymers is enhanced, and they soften and exhibit thermoplasticity, allowing the granules to fuse with each other and maintain a new shape after deformation.

[0031] Some nicotine salts will precipitate a small amount of liquid phase in a high-temperature and high-pressure environment, further enhancing the plasticizing effect of the granule interface and assisting in forming.

[0032] (2) Leaching effect of smoke generating agent during aging

[0033] The high proportion of glycerol and propylene glycol in the formula not only acts as a smoke generating agent, but also as a leaching agent and plasticizer. Glycerol has very high viscosity at room temperature (about 1412 mPa·s at 25°C), even at processing temperature (such as 60°C, viscosity about 108 mPa·s), it still maintains sufficient viscosity. Propylene glycol has lower viscosity (about 52 mPa·s at 25°C) and strong permeability. During the aging process, the smoke generating agent can penetrate into the tobacco powder, leaching out the sticky substances such as sugar, pectin, hemicellulose, and protein in the tobacco powder; at the same time, it softens the tobacco tissue; when extruded, the smoke generating agent forms a firm liquid bridge (liquid bridge) between the tobacco powder particles, like natural glue, bonding the particles together to form a granular structure.

[0034] Table 3. Results of main item tests of Examples and Comparative Examples

[0035] The above description is merely the preferred specific embodiments of the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art, according to the technical range disclosed by the present application and the inventive concept thereof, can make equivalent replacements or changes, and all of them should be covered in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for preparing heated non-combustible smoke pellets, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step S1, tobacco leaf preparation into tobacco powder: destemmed tobacco leaves are dried and pulverized to make tobacco powder; Step S2, tobacco powder formulation: The tobacco powder is stirred and mixed; the tobacco powder is a mixture of flue-cured tobacco powder, burley tobacco powder, aromatic tobacco powder, and sun-cured tobacco powder; the mass ratios of flue-cured tobacco powder, burley tobacco powder, aromatic tobacco powder, and sun-cured tobacco powder in the total tobacco powder are 60%–75%, 8%–20%, 8%–15%, and 3%–8%, respectively. Step S3, addition of liquid components: Glycerin, propylene glycol, flavoring and fragrance are mixed with tobacco powder, wherein the mass ratio of glycerin to tobacco powder is 20%–25%; the mass ratio of propylene glycol to tobacco powder is 2%–10%; and the mass ratio of flavoring and fragrance to tobacco powder is 2%–10%. Step S4, Aging: Place the mixed materials in a sealed container for aging; Step S5, Particle Forming and Screening: The aged mixture is extruded into strips through a screen and then rotary cut into short particles; the short particles are screened to obtain tobacco particles.

2. The preparation method according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S1, the drying temperature is 80℃~90℃; the drying equipment is a hot air oven; the particle size of the tobacco powder is 100 mesh~200 mesh; and the moisture content of the tobacco powder is 6%~9%.

3. The preparation method according to claim 2, characterized in that, In step S3, the mixing time is 30 to 40 minutes, and the temperature is 20°C to 30°C.

4. The preparation method according to claim 3, characterized in that, In step S4, the aging temperature is 22℃~28℃, the relative humidity is ≤60%, and the aging time is 24 hours~48 hours.

5. A type of heated non-combustible smoke pellets, characterized in that, The heated non-combustible smoke particles are prepared by the preparation method described in claim 1.

6. A method for improving the aroma retention rate of tobacco particles, characterized in that, The method described herein employs the preparation method as described in claim 1.

7. A method for improving the yield of tobacco pellets, characterized in that, The method described herein employs the preparation method as described in claim 1.

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