Tobacco flakes, also known as reconstituted tobacco leaves, are produced from raw materials such as tobacco leaf fragments, tobacco dust, and tobacco stems. The production of tobacco flakes began with the mechanization of the cigar industry in the United States in the 1950s. At that time, in order to ensure that the burning of cigar wrappers did not affect the quality of the cigars themselves, American cigar manufacturers first developed tobacco flakes. Afterwards, cigarette industry enterprises began to use tobacco flakes for ordinary cigarettes as a method of recycling residual materials such as cigarette dust and stems. In the 1940s and 1950s, the production technology of tobacco flakes developed rapidly. Since its large-scale application in the tobacco industry in the 1960s, the global use of tobacco flakes has been increasing year by year. This is closely related to the trend of low coking in cigarettes and the continuous improvement of the comprehensive utilization rate of tobacco raw materials.
Automatic Tobacco Paper Making Machine
The manufacturing methods of tobacco flakes mainly include rolling method, thick pulp method, and papermaking method.
Roll pressing method is to crush tobacco raw materials, mix them with natural fibers, add a solution of adhesive and other additives, stir evenly, and then roll press and dry them to make thin sheet products. The production of tobacco flakes by roll pressing method has simple equipment, low energy consumption, and low cost, which is suitable for small and medium-sized production. However, the produced flakes have poor strength, high density, low filling performance, and high tar content. The thick paste method is to crush tobacco raw materials, evenly disperse them in water, add adhesives and other additives, and then spread the uniform paste on a rotating metal belt for drying and peeling to make tobacco flakes. The strength, specific gravity, filling properties, tar content, and production cost of tobacco flakes produced by the thick pulp method are between those of papermaking and roll pressing methods.
The production process of papermaking tobacco flakes is to utilize the physical properties of tobacco raw materials, formulate and extract them, and further evaporate and concentrate soluble liquids through solid and liquid separation to extract tobacco components into coating liquid. Insoluble tobacco raw materials are then thinned and ground into pulp, which is dehydrated, dried, and sliced using papermaking technology to obtain tobacco flakes. Finally, evenly apply the formulated coating solution onto the substrate, dry and tear the sheet, and make tobacco flakes according to technical requirements.
To some extent, using papermaking to produce tobacco flakes can change the chemical composition of tobacco during processing, effectively remove harmful substances from tobacco leaves, and reasonably adjust and control the chemical composition of tobacco leaves, thereby reducing the tar content in cigarettes. At the same time, it can accelerate tobacco combustion and reduce tar release. Tobacco flakes produced by papermaking have a lower density and properties similar to natural tobacco leaves. They release less tar and can maximize the improvement of the intrinsic quality of cigarettes. Meanwhile, tobacco flakes have advantages such as easy transportation and long-term storage. At present, the technology of processing tobacco flakes using papermaking has been widely applied.
The utilization rate of tobacco raw materials has been improved by processing and remanufacturing tobacco leaves using paper-making methods with tobacco leaf fragments, tobacco dust, tobacco stems, and other raw materials. According to relevant data, for every 10000 tons of papermaking tobacco flakes used in cigarette production, it is equivalent to saving 70000 acres of tobacco planting land. Tobacco foil technology is not only beneficial for the development of circular economy, but also for saving arable land resources, which is both environmentally friendly and economical. The use of paper-making tobacco flakes can not only improve the formulation of leaf groups and effectively enhance the intrinsic quality of cigarettes, but also effectively reduce coke without affecting the aroma and flavor of cigarettes. It has become a quite effective way to reduce coke and harm in cigarettes. In addition, paper-making tobacco flakes have strong plasticity, providing a new carrier for flavoring and adding materials to cigarettes, and offering great freedom for cigarette formulation work. It enriches the resources of cigarette formula and can be applied to the development of various types of cigarette products, becoming one of the important means of formula innovation. It is worth mentioning that paper-making tobacco flakes can maximize the improvement and enhancement of cigarette product quality according to requirements, and increase the value of low-grade tobacco leaves.