The Effects of Mainstream and Sidestream Environmental Tobacco Smoke Composition for Enhanced Condensational Droplet Growth by Water Vapor

Abstract

Although tobacco smoke is well known for its adverse health effects, the hygroscopicity and droplet growth properties of the aerosol have not been thoroughly explored. In this study, cigarette smoke is further characterized and several state-of-art analysis techniques are applied to understand the effects of particle chemistry and hygroscopicity for enhanced condensational growth (ECG) by water vapor and wet particle deposition. Low nicotine (LN) and ultra-low nicotine (ULN) research cigarettes are tested with a Walton Smoking Machine (WSM); mainstream and sidestream environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) are produced. Online and offline analysis are combined to analyze the smoke. More than 99% of the mainstream and sidestream ETS mass is semivolatile aerosol and nonelemental carbon, of which more than 95% is organic. The water-soluble organic comprises 30-85% of the aerosol mass fraction and has no effect on surface tension when dissolved in water. The oxygen-to-carbon ratio (O/C) and nitrogen-to-carbon ratio (N/C) from High Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS or HR-AMS) data show that more oxidized components are present in mainstream smoke. Differences in the bulk aerosol composition have little effect on the overall water uptake. The two types of cigarettes produce aerosols of similar hygroscopicity (with single hygroscopicity parameter, κ ∼0.15 or less) in mainstream and sidestream smoke. Droplets grow at the same rate within the instrument. However, ULN reference cigarettes that produce dry particles at larger sizes are more likely to experience ECG.

Copyright 2012 American Association for Aerosol Research

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Michael Kleeman for use of the Walton Smoking Machine and Daniel Short for his contribution to EC/OC measurements. Xiaochen Tang and Akua Asa-Awuku would like to thank the National Science Foundation Proposal 1032388 for funding and support. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.