Diffusion of Ethanol Vapor in Thin Sheet Plant Material

The rates of adsorption of ethanol vapor (the principle flavoring constituent) on tobacco materials with various water contents were studied. The rates correlated well with those predicted by the internal diffusion control model. The effective diffusivities of ethanol were obtained by comparing the experimental values with the theoretical sorption curve. It was shown that the effective diffusivities at constant water content can be determined by the corrected diffusivity and the adsorption equilibrium relation. In addition, the possibility of a flavoring method dependent solely on adsorption was investigated. The results suggested that flavor can be distributed more homogeneously through tobacco by using this method rather than by spraying.