Abstract:
In order to investigate the characteristics of oxygen consumption and influencing factors of redried flue-cured tobacco strips during aging, oxygen concentration, temperature and humidity in the sealed stack containing 8 representative redried strips were monitored for 3 years in Zhucheng, Shandong. The variation of oxygen concentration in stack, oxygen consumption rate, and influence of ambient factors were analyzed. The results showed that:1) There was obvious oxygen consumption in the aging process of redried strips, and the maximum oxygen consumption rate decreased year by year, showing a seasonal change within a year. 2) Under the conditions of this test, the oxygen consumption rate showed a linear increase trend when the temperature exceeded 20℃. 3) Oxygen concentration had different influences on the oxygen consumption rate of redried strips at different stage of aging. The lower limits of oxygen concentration required for the saturation of oxygen consumption reaction of redried strips aged for two and three years were 14% and 8%, respectively, and the reaction weakened significantly when the oxygen concentration was less than 6%. Oxygen supply required for the aging process of redried tobacco strip varies with stage of aging and storage environment. With controlled atmosphere methods, the oxygen concentration in the stack can be controlled specifically to improve the quality of tobacco and save conservation costs.