US3229697A - Method of removing carbon-monoxide generated from tobacco - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent 3,229,697 METHOD OF REMOVING CARBON-MONOXIDE GENERATED FROM T OBACCO Shun-ichi Maebashi, Tokyo, Japan, assignor to Herman V. Albrecht, Brooklyn, N.Y. No Drawing. Filed Mar. 6, 1962, Ser. No. 177,741 1 Claim. (Cl. 131140) This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 94,695, filed March 10, 1961, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to the treatment of smoking tobacco to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide resulting from burning the tobacco in a smoking device such as a cigar, cigarette or pipe.

Heretofore, tobacco has been smoked in large quantities and it is well known that the smoke of the tobacco is harmful to the smoker by producing various products of combustion including carbon monoxide. Although it has been known that carbon monoxide is harmful even in small concentrations such as 5 parts of carbon monoxide to 10,000 parts of air, it is known that in the gases passing into the human body from a smoking device, the carbon monoxide content may be as high as 4.2% of the gas which corresponds to 420 parts of carbon monoxide to 10,000 parts of other gases and, accordingly, it should be evident that such high concentration of carbon monoxide is extremely harmful to the smoker.

An object of the present invention is to treat tobacco so that the carbon monoxide resulting from the combustion of the tobacco in a smoking device is reduced to more tolerable limits.

Another object of the invention is to provide catalytic agents in the tobacco to produce a lower concentration of carbon monoxide in the resulting gases from combustion of the tobacco in a smoking device.

In practicing the present invention, an aerogel is formed of finely divided gold in an amount of approximately part and finely divided zinc oxide in approximately part whereby the gold and zinc oxide form an aerogel mixture of catalytic agents. This mixture of aerogel catalytic agents is applied to one part of smoking tobacco in a uniform distribution and the so-treated tobacco is used in smoking devices such as cigars, cigarettes, pipes and the like. When the so-treated tobacco is used by a smoker, the amount of carbon monoxide passing through the mouthpiece into the body of the smoker is greatly reduced.

One way of applying the mixture of catalytic agents to the tobacco is accomplished by the provision of a vaporizer or atomizer of the catalytic substance installed in a bottomless box under the bottom of which an endless belt carries the raw materials of tobacco with the endless belt closing the bottom of the box to confine the aerogel of the catalytic agents within the box to assure proper distribution on the tobacco. Both the atomizer and the box are electrically insulated from the belt and in operation the catalytic substances are sprayed out from the Patented Jan. 18, 1966 atomizer into the box. A direct current electric potential difference is applied between the catalytic substances and the tobacco raw material so that the catalytic substances have a positive charge and the tobacco has a negative charge. The proper amount of the catalytic substance is controlled by controlling the electrical potential between the aerogel of the catalytic agents and the tobacco and by controlling the amount of catalytic agent sprayed out of the atomizer into the box.

What is claimed is:

The method of treating tobacco to reduce the formation of carbon monoxide reaching the lungs of a smoker in the burning of the tobacco in smoking devices such as cigars, cigarettes, pipes and the like comprising mixing catalytic agents of approximately part of gold with approximately 7 part of zinc oxide forming an aerogel, applying a positive potential to such aerogel, applying such aerogel to approximately 1 part of smoking tobacco by applying a negative charge to the smoking tobacco of the proper potential to uniformly distribute the aerogel in the tobacco whereby the presence of the catalytic agents of gold and zinc oxide in the tobacco in a smoking device under the conditions of a limited supply of oxygen and under relatively low temperatures in smoking appreciably reduces the formation of carbon monoxide in the smoking device thereby reducing the amount of carbon monoxide received into the body of the smoker.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,007,407 7/1935 Sadtler 131-17 2,215,620 9/1940 Skumburdis 131-208 2,669,995 2/1954 Troy 131-10 2,739,913 3/1956 Lieser 13117 3,039,475 6/1962 Neukomrn et al. 131140 FOREIGN PATENTS 327,508 12/1902 France.

711,397 6/1931 Francev 1,123,608 2/1862 Germany.

654,994 7/1951 Great Britain.

685,822 1/1953 Great Britain.

841,074 7/1960 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES A. A. Daglish and D. D. Eley, Actes International Congress Catalyse, 2e, Paris, pages 1615-1626, 1649-1651.

P. H. Emmett, Catalysis, vol. VII, published 1960 by Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, N.Y., page 316.

Lowry, Inorganic Chemistry, pub. 1931 by Macmillan and Co., Ltd, London, page 529.

F. Ephraim, Inorganic Chemistry, published 1954 by Oliver and Boyd, London, pages 814, 815.

ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner.

F. RAY CHAPPELL, Examiner.