Recycling of tobacco waste: Development of reconstituted tobacco sheet with suitable strength and low-toxicity

Tobacco industry produces a large amount of tobacco waste every year, and the disposal of tobacco waste become a puzzling problem. Recycling of tobacco waste to reconstituted tobacco sheet (RTS) with suitable strength and low-toxicity was prepared in this paper. RTS with 1wt% compound adhesive that content sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and guar gum has a tensile strength (0.548 kN/m) which meet the requirements of industrial production. Strength enhancement was attributed to the synergistic effect of hydrogen bonding and physical cross-linking network through FTIR and SEM characterization. GC–MS was used to analyze the pyrolysis of RTS. The nicotine release of RTS was lower than commercial cigarettes, which significantly reduces the harmful substance. This work has been preliminarily applied to the industrial production. The production process of RTS is simple, with low water consumption and reuse of tobacco waste. Conforming to the concept of environmental protection, energy conservation, and tobacco resource recycling.