Heated tobacco products (HTPS) have been hot in recent years, receiving varying degrees of attention from consumers, manufacturers, tobacco harm reduction experts, regulators and anti-tobacco activists around the world. Big multinational tobacco companies have been around for years, and China Tobacco has also entered the game. So what are the heating and baking techniques of heating tobacco core that the military must contend for? Let’s take a look.
1. Contact heating
First of all, electric heating technology is the most mature and most widely applied mainstream technology in the patent development of heated tobacco products.
The technology is mainly divided into three heating methods:
The first is internal heating, which was the earliest method of heating, that is to say, you put a heating plate directly into the bomb and you heat it from inside out, and the heat radiation path is from inside out. Fermo International’s IQOS is the industry benchmark for internal heating methods.
The second is the way of peripheral heating, British American Tobacco Glo cigarette set is a typical product of peripheral heating.
The third is needle heating, that is, central heating. At present, the most well-known needle heating products are KT&G lil.
The electric heating technology of the above three heating modes all belong to contact heating. The problem with heating is its ability to transfer heat. Even at low temperatures, prolonged use of the equipment will cause the core part of the heating rod to burn, but the outer part of the heating rod will not be adequately heated.
On the other hand, if the temperature is too high, the outer layer will heat enough that even if no pyrolysis occurs, the core of the heating rod will definitely burn. Obviously, both of these things can affect the taste and user experience. Moreover, the sheet metal is easy to break or damage, if not replaced, the maintenance cost of the whole machine will be high. In addition, the heating chamber requires regular cleaning of soot and tar residue before normal use.
2. New non-contact heating method
So, the use of new non-contact heating method, help to solve some problems inherent in electric heating technology. First take a look at the contactless hot-air heating technology from Heechi Tech Limited in Hong Kong.
Heechi Tech Limited, a new company founded in 2021, has been promoting its contact-free hot air heating technology at tobacco fairs around the world.
The company’s products do not contain mechanical components such as heating sheets, and its technology mimics the burning pattern of traditional combustible tobacco products by progressively heating the rods from beginning to end and fully heating the core and all parts. No pyrolysis occurs at any time, and tobacco is “roasted” at temperatures below its ignition point.
Non-contact hot air heating ensures richer, richer smoke than current electric heating technology. In addition, Heechi’s technology will have a noticeable internal temperature curve as it is used.
The heating rod is freely suspended in the heating chamber, and there is no contact point around the heating chamber, and the hot gas flow can completely surround it. When the user smokes the heated tobacco product, the temperature will rise to 360 to 380℃. When the user releases the operation button, the device will switch to standby mode and the temperature will drop sharply. With the action button activated again, Heechi will automatically match the user’s previous smoking rhythm and continue to “bake” the heating stick at the optimum temperature.
Another groundbreaking heating method is infrared heating. IHEA, developed by China Tobacco Anhui in close collaboration with Hong Kong-based Kensin Bradly Global Enterprise (KBG), is a prime example of infrared heating technology.
IHEA uses infrared radiation in the wavelength range of 2.5-14.5μm to achieve satisfactory heating effect. IHEA provides fast, even and healthy heating. It also avoids the release of harmful substances because the radiators do not directly affect the pellet tobacco. In addition, to fully match IHEA’s infrared heating method, China Tobacco Anhui has also developed a special pellet tobacco formula specifically for heating rods. The infrared heating element developed by China Tobacco Anhui has been applied to many global heating tobacco brands.
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Taken together, groundbreaking new technologies such as Heechi’s hot-air heating and Anhui Zhongyan’s infrared heating are set to “heat up” the seemingly stagnant heated tobacco market, offering richer alternatives for those who want to quit but don’t want to switch to atomized smoke.