Effects of single- and multi-stage drum drying on drying efficiency and aroma quality of flue-cured cut tobacco.

[objective] Effects of single-stage and multi-stage drum drying on drying efficiency and aroma quality of flue -cured cut tobacco were investigated to provide references for optimization and application of multi -stage drying process. [Method]A kind of C2F cut tobacco was dried by using the lab-scale drum device. Effects of different drying methods and temperatures on drying efficiency, petroleum ether extract and aroma components were analyzed and compared. [Result]Compared with single stage drum drying (110 °C ), the multi-stage drum drying effectively shortened the drying time and dehydration efficiency increased by 5%-15%. For two kinds of drying methods, petroleum ether extract content decreased with the increase of cylinder wall temperature. The contents of aroma components, brown reaction products and carotene degradation products showed the same variations. Multi-stage drum drying led to higher contents of petroleum ether extract and aroma components in cut tobacco than the 120-140 °C of single stage drum drying at high temperature. And aroma components went up by 12%. Under the condition of 120/110 °C multi-stage drum drying, the contents of aroma components, petroleum ether extract, brown reaction products and carotene degradation products reached the highest level. [Conclusion]Compared with single stage drum drying, 120/110°C of multi-stage drum drying is more beneficial for both the aroma quality and dehydration efficiency of flue -cured cut tobacco, thus it can be applied in the flue-cured cut tobacco dying process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]