An experimental investigation into the operation of an electrically heated tobacco system

An experimental investigation of the thermal processes taking place in the tobacco substrate of a recently developed multicomponent electrically heated tobacco product (EHTP) that is part of an electrically heated tobacco system (EHTS – also referred to as the Tobacco Heating System 2.2) was carried out. Temperature profiles in the tobacco substrate of the EHTP were characterized using thermocouples positioned at different distances from the heater surface. The average maximum temperature of the tobacco measured 0.2 mm from the heater's surface was < 260 °C, well below the temperature required for the self-sustaining smoldering combustion of the tobacco substrate to occur. The chemical composition of the aerosol generated from the EHTP when the EHTS was operated under oxidative and non-oxidative atmospheres was investigated. The aerosol derived from the controlled heating of the tobacco substrate is comprised principally of water, nicotine and glycerol that are evaporated from the tobacco substrate. No significant change in aerosol composition and in the amounts of CO, NO and NOx were detected when comparing the aerosol formed under non-oxidative (where combustion processes cannot occur) and oxidative atmospheres.