Thermal treatment process for tobacco materials

US8944072B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY · US

Inventors

• Gong Chen · Clemmons, US
• Anthony Richard Gerardi · Winston-Salem, US
• John-Paul Mua · Advance, US
• Darrell Eugene Holton, Jr. · Clemmons, US
• Daniel Verdin Cantrell · Lewisville, US
• Frank Kelley St. Charles · Perry, US
• Serban C. Moldoveanu · Winston-Salem, US
• Paul Andrew Brinkley · Winston-Salem, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 12, 2010
• Grant date: Feb 3, 2015
• Expiry date: Mar 20, 2032

Classification

• Technology area (CPC A): Human Necessities
• CPC primary: A24D3/00
• WIPO field: Other consumer goods
• WIPO sector: Other fields

Abstract

A method of preparing a tobacco material for use in a smoking article is provided, including (i) mixing a tobacco material, water, and an additive selected from the group consisting of lysine, glycine, histidine, alanine, methionine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, proline, phenylalanine, valine, arginine, di- and trivalent cations, asparaginase, saccharides, phenolic compounds, reducing agents, compounds having a free thiol group, oxidizing agents, oxidation catalysts, plant extracts, and combinations thereof; (ii) heating the mixture; and (iii) incorporating the heat-treated mixture into a smoking article as a smokable material. A smoking article in the form of a cigarette is also provided that includes a tobacco material pre-treated to inhibit reaction of asparagine to form acrylamide in mainstream smoke. Upon smoking, the smoking article is characterized by an acrylamide content of mainstream smoke that is reduced relative to an untreated control smoking article.