Studies on thermal behavior of reconstituted tobacco sheet

Four kinds of reconstituted tobacco sheets were heated in a thermogravimetric analyzer in different atmospheres at the heating rate of 5 °C/min. The curves of thermogravimetry (TG), derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) of the reconstituted tobacco sheets were measured and compared. The profiles of the evolving product CO2 were also recorded by the thermogravimetric analyzer coupled to a Fourier transform infrared (TG-FTIR) spectrometer. The results of thermal analysis and the profiles of CO2 showed that the existence of O2 could strongly affect the thermal decomposition of the reconstituted tobacco sheets.