Abstract:
In order to understand the manufacturing technology of slim cigarette in China, investigation was conducted in leading slim cigarette manufacturers in terms of the processing flow, process parameters and quality of primary processing, physical and smoke quality of products, and raw material consumption. The results showed that comparing with conventional cigarettes, 1) the slim cigarettes contained less cut stem, reconstituted tobacco and expanded tobacco in the blend, cut tobacco was narrower and sieved more carefully during primary processing and slivers were rejected more thorough during cigarette making; 2) slim cigarettes generally presented higher draw resistance, less consistent cigarette weight, draw resistance and hardness; but the smoke quality was superior to that of conventional cigarettes; 3) the efficiency of slim cigarette making and filter assembling was lower, higher failure rate resulted in higher material consumption and lower tobacco utilization.