Filtrona Paper on Particle Measurement Made Available

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 04/11/2011

Filtrona Scientific Services (FSS) has published its latest research into the use of laser particle counters to measure particles and fibers released from cigarettes and filters during smoking. The research, conducted by Dr. Mike Taylor, director of scientific development, recommends the routine use of a procedure that uses laser particle counters and a flow switching system. "The research found that laser particle counters offer a much simpler and faster method of estimating the release of particles and fibers from cigarettes and filters than other methods currently available," said Taylor. (The full research paper is available at: www.filtronafilters.com/scientificservices.) The release of particles or fibers from cigarettes during smoking has been the subject of extensive debate in recent years. It is a commonly held belief that a faster procedure to estimate the number of particles released during smoking is needed to allow the screening of a wider range of products. Following its research, FSS recommends the use of laser particle counters that allow rapid counting of particles released from cigarettes or filters in a size range from 0.5 to 50 microns and at a range of different flow rates. The research found also that it was possible to differentiate between different types of carbon, and that modifying the air flow rate during testing allowed measurement according to different levels of puffing. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the procedure using laser particle counters, five different types of carbon (coconut, coal, wood, peat and synthetic) were studied. Enditem