Reconstituted Tobacco Sheet Manufacturing via Solvent Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional reconstituted tobacco leaf sheets for smoking articles often retain high levels of nicotine and nitrate, which can affect flavor and user experience, as these components are not effectively removed during manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a paper-making process to separate solid and liquid parts from a tobacco material, where the solid part is used to create a sheet, which is then dried, pulverized, and mixed with pulp to form a slurry, reducing nicotine and nitrate content, and subsequently used to manufacture a smoking article sheet with improved flavor profiles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional reconstituted tobacco leaf sheets are manufactured using tobacco material, then the sheet can be produced with basic functionality, but the nicotine and nitrate content remains high which affects flavor and user experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies extraction by separating the tobacco material into solid and liquid parts through soaking in aqueous solvent and pressurizing. The liquid part containing nicotine and nitrate is removed, and only the solid part (cellulose) is used to manufacture the sheet, thereby reducing harmful components while maintaining manufacturing feasibility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the tobacco material processing into distinct stages: soaking and pressurizing to separate solid and liquid parts, forming a sheet with the solid part, drying, pulverizing, and mixing with pulp. This segmentation allows systematic removal of harmful components at specific stages while maintaining overall manufacturing efficiency
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the liquid part containing nicotine and nitrate is removed from tobacco material, then the flavor is improved, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the aqueous solvent serve multiple functions: it acts as a solvent to extract harmful components, a heating medium to facilitate separation, and a carrier for the solid part during processing. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate processes while achieving flavor improvement
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines several operations into integrated steps: soaking and pressurizing are combined to achieve separation; forming a sheet, drying, and pulverizing are combined in a sequential flow. This merging reduces the number of discrete process steps while maintaining the removal of harmful components and flavor improvement
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method effectively reduces nicotine and nitrate content while maintaining excellent flavor characteristics, comparable to or superior to conventional smoking articles, even when these specific components are minimized.
Implementation Method 1
putting a tobacco material into an aqueous solvent, and soaking and pressurizing it to separate a solid part and a liquid part
Implementation Method 2
putting a tobacco material into an aqueous solvent, and heating it to 50° C. to 90° C. for 20 to 40 minutes
Implementation Method 3
forming a sheet with the solid part, and then drying and pulverizing the sheet
Implementation Method 4
drying and pulverizing the sheet
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a sheet for a smoking article, and more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a sheet for a smoking article, the method comprising the steps of: putting a tobacco material into an aqueous solvent, and soaking and pressurizing it to separate a solid part and a liquid part (S1); removing the liquid part, forming a sheet with the solid part, and then drying and pulverizing the sheet (S2); preparing a slurry by mixing pulp with the pulverized sheet (S3); and injecting the slurry to form a sheet (S4), wherein the sheet has a reduced specific component, and the specific component includes one or more selected from the group consisting of nicotine and nitrate. A smoking article comprising the sheet manufactured by the above manufacturing method is characterized by having a reduced specific component and excellent flavor.