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RL Enrichment Project INTRODUCTION This project proposal is the 'fifth 'in a series of Research'Department projects-in support of a project of large'scope being developed by the company. The primary objective of the corporate'project-is to develop a cig- arette of 2 mg tar delivery which has the 'taste 'level of a Kent Golden Light. ~A second corporate objective is to develop a cigarette-of 8 mg tar delivery having the taste level of a Marlboro. It is anticipated that the techno- logy attained in achieving these goals will be broadly applied to the improvements of other brands marketed by the 'company. The problems posed by the corporate project have been attacked from-several sides by the Sections of Departments assigned to develop the project. The Product Development Department has concentrated on developing the new product mainly by formulating new blends of tobacco, by modifying cigarette and filter construction, and by testing and evaluating new flavor compositions. The . Research Department, assisted by the Engineering Depart- _ ment, has supported the corporate project by investigating novel ways in which the amount of nicotine delivered relative to tar could be increased so the new products would have an appealing impact to the smoker. During the earlier projects the Research Department explored approximately twenty ideas intended to completely or partially achieve the objectives of the corporate project. This work led to some useful information, but no breakthroughs resulted. Instead, a general apprecia- tion of the difficulty of the project was realized. It became evident that if the Research Department were to accomplish its mission, process innovations would have to be confined to the RL manufacturing facility in Danville. PRESENT STATUS OF THE PROBLEM The present problem before the Research Department is to determine a timely process which can be implemented at Danville to produce an enriched RL sheet useful for in- corporation into the'2 mg product. This sheet should produce flavorful smoke'with the needed impact,. yet at the

2 - same time not produce a tar yield significantly above the sheet presently produced. The Research'Departmentand the Engineering Depart- ment have jointly conducted'experiments in Danville during `-the- pa-s~ t "'fout7Poh-ths''°to'p-roduce` sampies-_ o-f 7RL- -- . ., _ sheet containing supplemental-n.icotine:.-These-'sampYes have,been evaluated.by Product Development to determine whether the sheet produced would be useful to the'2 mg 'project by providing added impact. -It was decided that the 'sheet with 'suppleaiental-'nicotine could not be used since'it did not result in-a fully balanced product in 'this- particular Case. The limited work at Danville has brought several problems into focus. One longstanding major problem is the poor flavor of the,.RL sheet presently produced, a flavor which has been characterized as papery and acrid. It has been found that increasing the nicotine content of the RL further increases the acrid qualities of the'' smoke. This-Tcind of problem has been worked-around in the past by compensating these RL negatives with positive contributions from other components of -the blend. It _ . . - . .,. may not be possible to compensate flavor in nicotine augmented RL for use in a 2 mg product because of other limitations. Therefore, even if a process is devised to produce RL with increased nicotine content to provide °impact, it may not be 'useable - until the' `flavor'-' problems associated with the present RL are solved.- But, as an interim measure it has.been decided that the solution of the flavor pro~Tem a'ssociated w itYi not an immediate`concern of the Research Department. ` The immediate problem is to'devise a~process to'iricrease 'the nicotine content of the RL, even though-'flavor pro- 'blems"-`could preclude~its ` ~immediate usle ~irr -aiiy product. : ~ le:aq- _. ^~ Another problem resulting from'the'DanvilTe work 7is' thee realization -that -the" Research` Department has rio F.._ ~„ , r.n --;,, ; rrE::,^1,` ';:: ~acilities, ` equi.pmen't,"'or -epa~e tb ~Z~l~oate' the ;eXisting- - RL process at the Research Center. Limited test samples have been prepared by breaking into the manufacturing line at Danville. Similarly, there is no equipment at Danville to carry out certain innovative experiments, such as pursuing the proposal to produce blackwater from special by-product mixes so that it may substitute for city make up water and thereby produce an enriched RL. An attempt at the latter experiment.was carried out at the plant in May by modification of the process and .e required 24 hours to ruri. -- It-°caused°`a- heavy strain 'both on the plant supervisory personnel and the research personnel. The RL plant also lost 3 days production as

3 a-result of the experiment. 'Indeed,.it was only by the extraordinary cooperation and effort of the Danville personnel that the experiment succeeded to the extent it- did. This particular experiment clearly demonstrated it would be futile 'to consider makeshift arrangements of production ma.chinery on a protracted basis for exper- imental purposes. * In summary then, :the problem before the Research 'De-' partmerit has escalated in difficulty and has a number of unusual aspects. Two barriers for further progress are recognized as organizational and.technical. The technical barrier has always existed, but the organiza- tional problems haveassumed prominance_since it was decided to focus the technical effort on the existing RL process. . OrganizatIonal' Probl'em - The organizational problem exists because'of the short time period the Marketing Department has allocated for the solution of what has become a complex technical problem. A conventional approach toe the solution of the problem is unlikely to give timely results. At the present the Research'Department is severely hampered in the development of an enrichment process until it has proper facilities for the necessary experimentation. The Engineering Department is unable to suggest and provide facilities until a workable process has been decided upon. Product Development can not commit to an enriched RL material until the material produced is representative of a production process.. Yet neither Research nor Engineering want to propose an.expensive process or manufacturing facility unless Product Develop- ment can assure that the product produced can be used. There is an organizational problem because the project stands at the proverbial fork in the road.. Pro- gress can not be made until a determination has been made on future direction. There appears to be two ways to proceed. The first would be a conventional approach with a minimum monetary risk for technological expendi- tures, but one which may not achieve the projects ob- jectives in accordance with the marketing plan. This approach would involve a small scale duplication of the RL operation with the intended modifications until technical problems could be'solved, at which time'plans - for a full scale operation could be initiated.

4 ~ y 4The-second "appro.ach' ;--which• •appears- more favorable- and is advanced for consideration in this report, is unconventional because•it proposes` construction of-the pilot process to produce enriched RL on a scale sufficierit l,arge - ,n .S4ze, ~. ~o_,su port a successful brand. '. If it turns , di 1~- b b ch ca ~ ~'s~o l i mme ate out to e te nL y success, y i u e s ful f d ti u s l it ld s Zf f nt or pro uc on. repre u e uns cce s u cou e ;~ . a significant monetary loss-.- '_The technical approach • suggested in this report would resolve.=the•organization problems that have surfaced because"it would involve a management commitment to a specific manufacturing process. Once the:commitment has been made the technical depart- merits involved in the p-ro j ect `wi11---have definite and. specif ic technical problenis to solve, and each will have a clear cut role to play in theresolution of these problems. Technical' Problem The immediate technical problem is to devise a pro- cess to manufacture an RL sheet having 3% nicotine content,.' a maximum level judged necessary to deliver the proper impact in the resulting smoke while maintaining current ~ tar levels. Once this objective is achieved,.further effort will be directed toward obtaining a balanced flavor in the enzichedRRL sheet: It is anticipated that needed flavor enrichment materials will be bbtained from the same process which provides thenicotine-enrichment. - It is.anticipated that the~techriical`ob'jective-of -the project will be attained_.by a-process represented s,chematically b,y Figure I. The process•inust be-designed, bui,and.:.;tested to produce enriched RL sheet -at:.a capacity sufficient to "-support a `cdfti~cie'rcially°~successful ,brand. A further technical objective is to have"the process mechanically operational by March 1,-=1978i-and capable,-of ducina_a useful RL sheet by September 1,. ,1978. - _s n e ~ . -.,~ - ._.~ .....~_-,- _. ._. . .. 4~_..: .. ~- _.. . . ._.. l .. - . . _ .. DISCUSSION OF TECHNICAL APPROACH-' ---- From a theoretical point-of-view;' the process re- presented schematically in Figure I contains-all the elements necessary'to produce an-enriched RL product. -Enough is presently known about the individual steps in ,-the process to.indicate-each is-feasible.- In the event that a given;pcess pathway;does not i~ive a satisfactory

5 product in practice,,thexe'is- usually an alternative pathway available. Itis conceivable that .fewez than the indicated number of process steps represented in Figure I would ga.ve'a satisfactorily enriched RL, but this result would be fortuitous.. If technical problems are'encountered which 'indicate 'that ~additional process steps are 'riecessary, it is-unlikely that theresulting-process would beeconomi- cally advantageous to the 'company. The technical approach proposed is based on the assumption that all the processes indicated in Figure I will be necessary to optimize changes of success, and from the outset planning will be such to assure that each unit in the process interfaces properly with"every other unit. This approach avoids the alternative of a piecemeal approach where individual units of a process are tacked on to one another haphazardly. Similarly, overail planning must take into account integrating the total proposed -process with the thin RL process under development in the Product Development Department. The proposed approach should also permit a better estimation of the ultimate cost of the project from the outset and provide a mech- anism to reveal barriers to success that are not readily .,, apparent by a piecemeal approach. This proposal suggests that a commitment be made to the process illustrated in Figure I. It requires advanced planning so each unit in the process will be compatable with related units. The planning will require the selec- tion and sizing of individual pieces of equipment, and the preparation of cost estimates for the purchase and installation of the equipment. It will require a deci- sion whether individual units should be operated on a continuous or batch mode. Projections of operating costs of the completed process can also be made. Once planning has been completed for the entire process and a decision has been reached to continue, the implementation of the plan can be carried out and re- viewed in several stages to control costs. In Figure I, the enriched RL line is the existing RL manufacturing line in Danville. The nicotine metering system can be installed at once, both to the slurry and to the dryers, so the effect of purchased nicotine incorporated into the RL by different methods can be evaluated. The black- water production line is a critical element and should be installed as soon as possible so the effect of sub- stituting special by-product blackwater for citye make up water can beevaluated. If the blackwater produc-

6 tion line is constructed to operate by the batch mode rather than a continuous process~,, it'may not be necessary to install full production capacity before evaluations may be.'started. steam distillation unit required for nicotine production meet the requirements for feeding the. high pressure Theoutput of the concentrated blackwater unit should - immediately following the blackwater production line.-. ., - It is -.most -hikely -that -concentrated -blackHtater- will be 'required for a successful :product;-: and :construction of this process unit should be'scheduled for completion . The-evaluation of the enriched RL resulting from the operation of the concentrated blackwater unit will be a critical step in the evolution of the whole process. If the substitution of concentrated blackwater for city make up water in the enriched RL`-line-results-=in-a sat- isfactory product, it may be possible to avoid the in- stallation of the subsequent units for the process.~` . As the evaluation of the enriched RL produced from concentrated blackwater is carried out, plans for the nicotine production units can be finalized.-- It is an-. .ticipated that at this stage of development, a multitude of technical problems will have been identified, no doubt-many of them unanticipated and serious problems. There-will:be.an opportunity at this point to--decide.--- whether_=or not=to=-proceed with--the,~constr.uction of the nicotine production and flavor fraction,process,'or whether-..there:.-are..other-alternatives..-~ e1-:u-~~_.._-_.~u, ~._.:. the process has been operated. and water will be based upon the identification of a technical problem which precludes the direct use of concentrated blackwater. -The solution-for this tech- nical problem cannot be determined until the problem has--n been identif ied, - and this =can not-=be : done. _until:;~:-; blackwater into its component parts, nicotine,.flavor, at this point. The-decision to fractionate concentrated Plans for the flavor fraction are very nebulous ~;-r=Planning for.: the nicotine production unit; which will also produce an uncharacterized flavor fraction will'present--difficulties which-cannot be fully_.eval--_ uated at :this- point. -.The unit will- have- to be some- what near the concentrated blackwater production unit which supplies it, but separate-in the sense so-that theC-safety~'-and-'operating=prbbiemsC inherent in".the.,unit'-- will -be contained.

7 METHOD OF PROCEDURE . steps which are 'to be taken .to initiate 'the project and bring ;Lt approximately to the iaid-point of completion. It is difficult to forecast.procedures beyond this point until the anticipated techriical problems are identified. The following is -a list pf both 'general and speci.fic complete system based on the information that is presently available from Marketing, Research,' and Product Development. 1. High management must make 'a commitment to con- struct a pilot installation in Danville that is capable'of producing an enriched RL sheet in sufficient quantity to support a successful new brand. 'As a starting point, this would be a commitment to develop the process shown schema- tically in Figure I. 2. Upon a decision to proceed with the preliminary plan, Engineering should immediately begin more detailed planning for the installation of the of liquids, tanks and pipes,.and drier temper- atures. 3. In addition to the above, Engineering will pre- pare a descriptive manual for the present RL manufacturing operation in Danville for the use of those associated with the project who are not intimately familiar with the existing opera- tion. The manual should be in a convenient and portable format, and contain written and sche- matic representations of the process. Data showing normal processing parameters should be included, such as flows, pressures, temperatures It is intended the model be maintained in the equipment is added as the result of this project. 4. Engineering should construct a simplified scale model of the Danville operation, including pro- visions to expand the model as pilot process . Research Center. . because nicotine is becoming more difficult to f adequate supplies are on hand. It appears advise- able to keep larger than normal supplies on hand =' make a determination of nicotine requirement for research purposes in the months ahead to insure : 5. The Analytical Development Group in Research will obtain on a timely basis.

8 6..The Analytical Development Section will develop a plan to produce RL samples for evaluation which contain supplemental nicotine, buffered to given pH levels. 'The nicotine can be added to•the slurry or sprayed on the"dried RL sheet.- ; The effect-- of -a variety' of nicotine sal_ts --on •-:-a _ --smoke 'quality should be `evaluated further.• ; . The'Organio Chemistry Section of Research•will continue`to determine•the nature and cause of the chemical degradations of nicotine in theRL process blackwater, and to determine methods to prevent- the -degradation. -: =The Biochemistry . Section of Research will assist in this task wherever it can. - 8. The Analytical Development, Organic Chemistry, and the Biochemistry Sections of-the-Research Department will proceed immediately to decide what information is necessary and desireable to form a data base to support both-the immediate and long range objectives of the project. It is envisioned that the data base could consist of information related to the chemical composi- , tion of materials in the various production stages, the RL sheet, and the resulting-~smoke. It would be desirable to identify"the chemical or biological basis=~for chemical transforma= _ tions -occi%rring Jduring -process_ing.-- 9. Formal plans =should -be--drawn up -based on the-4- results of the preliminary planning in Step 2. Engineering.should specify"--equipment requirements by manufacturer, model and size, delivery--times for -equipment;---space"--requir-emen-ts r--necessaXy - safety equipment, capital and installation costs. This should be broken down for each of the five = process -nriits described -ear-l-ier -in . this -report. Estf~iates =s`h nii1cT ='aElsa 1~ ~+iadc CA01i the-'-lrabor• requirements and other'-expenses required to operate the installation so cost projections for enriched RL may be"determined: Planning in this stage should also be coordinated with R&D to determine the status of any additional pro- jects that may effect the Danville RL operation. 10. After f he--formal engineering-plans have been completed and cost estimates prepared, the = whole "project :~shouTd =be reViewed witht input from Engineering, -Niarketirig, -Research,' P-roduct Develop- ment, Finance,--°and Manufacturing. On the basis of this review, engineering plans may be revised. ==°

0 9 11. Bids should beIet on the final constr.uction plans. 12.' Construction should begin on this proj*ect, be- . ginning with '.the nicotine metering system, the ' blackwater production line,'.and may simultaneously include the installation of machinery to pro- duce *conceritrated bl'ackwater. By this time it may bepossible'to make a determination regarding the 'installation of the high'pressure steam dis- tillation equipment for nicotine production. 13. While Engineering is proceeding -through steps 2-4, 9-11 the Research Department will prepare samples of enriched RL sheet at Danville. The initial samples of RL sheet will have to be manually en- riched with pure nicotine since there are no facilities in existance at the Danville plant to provide an extraneous source of blackwater from the special by-product mix which has been formu= lated and selected for the enrichment project. Therefore the initial samples may seem harsh to the taste panel and out of balance since full flavor enhancement will not have been achieved. However, production of RL sheet enriched with only the nicotine component of the special by- product mix will permit a study of the effect of this component on taste, and allow a stepwise study of the effect.added components have on the enriched RL production line. 14. The Research Department will be responsible for the scheduling, production, and chemical analysis of all samples of the enriched RL produced. Research will monitor the various operating para- meters during the production of enriched RL for the purpose of identifying problems which may occur. -Research will have the responsibility to offer solutions for chemical problems, while Engineering will have the responsibility for solving mechanical problems. 15. A Research-Product Development project team will be formed to determine how the enriched RL pro- duct will be flavored. The initial efforts will be directed toward determining if the blackwater or concentrated blackwater resulting from the special by-product mix extraction process will

give the proper balance of flavor and impact without significantly increasing the-tar delivery of the enriched RL. 16. All samples-of eYiriched RL sheet produced will • be- 'fully evaluated by the Product -Development ' _ . L...... .--.-5•.:?y Department, which'will?also have"the"responsi- bility for sample'cigarette preparation:' -Product Development will supply-~-Research with complete and timely reports on each'evaluation, together withrecommendations to correct any deficiencies that may have been observed. It is recommended that Product Development expand their expert taste panel to accomodate the increased sample load. = : - 17. Manufacturing in=a11 branches, and the Leaf Department -will--have to -supply -the Research Department with timely reports, forecasts,-.and samples of all by-products and waste tobaccos produced. The formulation of the special by- product mix intended for enriched RL production is very dependant upon this information. Also, no=signi,ficant amount of tobacco waste should be sent to the dump without knowledge of the Research Department. "A - ,7 . , . .--, ` . _- . _.. _..~. '..:...._ ..._- ..,.... lil~._~_ ..-.,..v_- v._ .....a_..._..-_ WLi_L hu' t:te ~. -