Defibrated tobacco material

Abstract

Embodiments also include bleached tobacco raw material obtainable by the process.

1 . A process for production of bleached tobacco raw material comprising:
 (I) mechanically defibrating an uncooked tobacco raw material to produce a defibrated tobacco raw material; and   (II) treating the defibrated tobacco raw material with at least one bleaching agent to produce a treated tobacco raw material.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one bleaching agent is selected from the group consisting of: Cl 2 , ClO 2 , NaOCl, Cl 2 O, O 2 , O 3 , Na 2 S 2 O 4 , potassium peroxymonosulfate, dimethyldioxirane, peroxides, peroxy acids, enzymes, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising treating the treated tobacco raw material, with at least one second bleaching agent. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 3 , wherein said at least one second bleaching agent is selected from the group consisting of: Cl 2 , ClO 2 , NaOCl, Cl 2 O, O 2 , O 3 , Na 2 S 2 O 4 , potassium peroxymonosulfate, dimethyldioxirane, peroxides, peroxy acids, enzymes, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 3 , wherein at least one of the bleaching agent and the second bleaching agent are chosen from the group consisting of: peroxides, peroxy acids, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one bleaching agent is peroxyacetic acid. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 3 , wherein said at least one second bleaching agent is hydrogen peroxide. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the defibrated tobacco raw material from (I) is subjected to an acid wash step before (II). 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 3 , further comprising subjecting the treated tobacco raw material to a chelation treatment to remove a metal before the treated tobacco raw material is treated with said at least one second bleaching agent. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the defibrated tobacco raw material is subjected to a cooking step, in which the defibrated tobacco raw material is treated at an acidic or neutral pH and at a temperature range of from about 20° C. to about 200° C. for a total period of up to about 180 minutes with an aqueous solution comprising one or both of sulfite ion and bisulfite ion, to produce cooked tobacco raw material, before (II). 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 10 , wherein said cooked tobacco raw material is subjected to an acid wash step before (II). 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 10 , wherein the defibrated tobacco raw material from (I) is treated in at a temperature of from about 20° C. to about 200° C. for a period of about 120 minutes, and then at a temperature of from about 150° C. to about 200° C. for a remaining part of the treatment. 
     
     
         13 . Bleached tobacco raw material obtainable by the process of:
 (I) mechanically defibrating an uncooked tobacco raw material to produce a defibrated tobacco raw material; and   (II) treating the defibrated tobacco raw material with at least one bleaching agent to produce a treated tobacco raw material.   
     
     
         14 . The bleached tobacco raw material of  claim 13 , wherein the bleached tobacco raw material has an ISO brightness that is not less than about 40. 
     
     
         15 . The bleached tobacco raw material of  claim 14 , wherein said ISO brightness remains substantially unaffected when the bleached tobacco raw material is subjected to fluids having pH values of about pH 7 to about pH 12.