Quantitative Analysis of Evolved Gas in the Thermal Decomposition of a Tobacco Substrate

Thermogravimetry coupled to FTIR analysis of evolved gas was applied to the quantitative determination of key-components formed in the slow pyrolysis and thermal decomposition of tobacco samples. Eight key-components were selected for the study: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water, acetaldehyde, glycerol, isoprene, nicotine, and phenol. Specific calibration techniques developed for FTIR evolved gas analysis were applied to carry out the quantitative analysis of evolved gases. Deconvolution techniques were applied to identify the contributions of the key-components of interest to the overall FTIR spectra. The results obtained allowed the characterization of evolution profiles of most of the key components of interest. Phenol and isoprene results were below the detection limits of the technique, while the calibration technique was not suitable for glycerol characterization due to condensation and decomposition phenomena during calibration runs. Quantitative data were obtained for carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water, acetaldehyde and nicotine evolution in pure nitrogen and dry air.