Effects of temperature, atmosphere and pH on the generation of smoke compounds during tobacco pyrolysis

The pyrolysis of tobacco under a variety of conditions was performed to examine the generation profiles of 29 known toxic compounds in tobacco smoke (hydrogen cyanide, benzo[a]pyrene, aldehydes, volatile organic compounds, phenolics, aromatic amines, etc.). The generation profiles of smoke compounds varied according to three conditions: the pyrolysis temperature (300–1000 °C), the pyrolysis atmosphere (in nitrogen and air) and pH of the tobacco leaf (2.89–7.07). Most of the smoke compounds (28 compounds) were generated primarily at temperatures less than 800 °C. More than half of the smoke compounds (17 compounds) were unaffected by the type of atmosphere, and seven compounds were significantly affected by pH. These results can provide basic and useful information to further study on the formation mechanisms and the technology involved in the control of smoke generation.