Kinetic analysis-informed design of thermally conductive heat-not-burn tobacco for applications

Heat-not-burn tobacco is an innovative tobacco product that delivers satisfaction and tobacco flavor to consumers by heating the tobacco rather than burning it. Thermal conductivity is a crucial factor influencing aerosol generation temperature when heating these cigarettes. In this study, we propose an effective strategy that combines high thermal conductivity filler modification with a hot pressing process to enhance the thermal conductivity of tobacco sheets, achieving an increase of 116.7 %. Additionally, through the analysis of pyrolysis kinetics and pyrolysis gas-phase products, it was confirmed that modifying thermal conductivity could reduce the activation energy of the pyrolysis reaction and promote the formation of aerosol. This provides a stronger scientific foundation for the practical application of heat-not-burn tobacco. In the application study of heat-not-burn cigarettes, the tobacco rod section with thermally conductive modification exhibited a more uniform temperature field distribution. Aerosol analysis showed that the release amounts of ACM, nicotine, and glycerol, as well as the transfer rates of nicotine and glycerol, were all increased.