Modeling the release of key components of heated cigarette smoke based on the coupling of tobacco rod section and filter section

HUANG Duoduo; WANG Le; LEI Ping; SUN Zhiwei; LI Linhong; ZHANG Zhixuan; HUANG Feng; LI Bin

doi:10.12187/2024.06.014

Abstract：To reveal the mass transfer mechanism during the smoking process of heated cigarettes,a kinetic model for the release of key smoke components in the tobacco rod section and a puff-by-puff retention model for the filter section were developed,which were used to establish the mass transfer behavior of propylene glycol,glycerol,and nicotine in heated cigarettes. Utilizing COMSOL Multiphysics software,numerical solutions were obtained to simulate the vemaining quantities and concentration fields of these components in both the tobacco rod and filter sections during each puff. The results showed that the simulated remaining quantities of propylene glycol,glycerol,and nicotine in the tobacco rod during puffing closely matched experimental values,indicating that the kinetic model effectively reflects the release mechanisms of these three key components in heated cigarettes. Similarly,the simulated release amounts of propylene glycol,glycerol,and nicotine at the smoke outlet aligned well with experimental data,demonstrating that the retention model accurately captures the retention mechanism of these smoke components in the filter during the smoking process. It was also found that the mass transfer efficiency of solid-phase substances near the outer wall of the tobacco rod was lower than that near the heating element. As the number of puffs increased,the mass concentration of propylene glycol,glycerol,and nicotine in the smoke dynamically changed within both the tobacco rod and filter sections. The concentration in the filter section initially increased and then decreased,while in the tobacco rod,the concentration began to decline after the second puff. During each puff,the mass concentrations of propylene glycol,glycerol,and nicotine in both the tobacco rod and filter sections changed dynamically with variations in airflow velocity.