Evaluation of Blending Uniformity of Microwave Expanded Cut Stems in Cigarette

In order to study the blending effect of microwave expanded cut stems(which were prepared by secondary cutting and similar to cut tobacco in shape) in cut tobacco and grasp their application characteristics in tobacco products,the blending uniformity in cigarette was comprehensively evaluated with three methods,characteristic value and blending uniformity method,mainstream cigarette smoke moving range method,cigarette density standard deviation method,by referring to the blending process of pneumatically dried cut stem.The blending uniformity of microwave expanded cut stem was compared with that of pneumatically dried cut stem.The results showed that:1) Blending in cylinder and reciprocating spreading effectively promoted the blending uniformity of microwave expanded cut stems in cigarette,and the blending uniformity of experimental samples was all higher than 96% at the blending ratios of 13%,23% and 33%.2) At the same blending ratio,there was no significant density difference between cigarettes blended with microwave expanded cut stems or pneumatically dried cut stems,it indicated that the blending uniformity of microwave expanded cut stems in cigarette was comparable to that of pneumatically dried cut stems.3) The fluctuation ranges of tar and CO deliveries in the mainstream smoke of cigarettes blended with microwave expanded cut stems were narrower than those with pneumatically dried cut stems,while their nicotine delivery fluctuation ranges were similar,it indicated that the blending uniformity of microwave expanded cut stems in cigarette was better than that of pneumatically dried cut stems.