Abstract: Burley tobacco when cured is sought after as a component of commercial cigarette blends. The inventors have found that, to avoid its less desirable features, one may replace Burley with cured bright tobacco which has been heated in the presence of ammonia at moderate temperature.

Abstract: The present invention relates to reclaiming tobacco and paper from cigarettes. The apparatus of the invention entails a structural frame which carries a hopper intended to temporarily store a supply of cigarettes. Suitable conveying means connected to the frame convey the cigarettes consecutively from the hopper to sequential points of treatment. The tobacco is removed from each cigarette by an intermediate air jetting means connected to the frame at an intermediate station. Air from the jetting means is introduced into a receiving end of each cigarette as the cigarette is conveyed past the intermediate station so that the tobacco is ejected from the surrounding paper tube of the cigarette. Pneumatic aligning means connected to the frame at a first station consecutively aligns the cigarettes relative to the conveying means to assure direct proximity of the receiving end of each cigarette to the intermediate jetting means.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and apparatus for opening packaged articles, particularly packs and cartons of cigarettes, in which such items are ripped open and broken apart sufficiently to allow the contents, e.g. tobacco, to be separated and recovered. The apparatus aspects of this invention involve a ripper fan, a recycling air leg, and a cyclone separator from which the materials are recovered for further processing.