The Effect of Temperature and Time of the Hydrothermal Treatment in the SBA-15 Synthesis Process on the Structure and Textural Properties and the Ability to Reduce the Evolution of Tars in Tobacco Smoking

Abstract

Different SBA-15 (SBA, Santa Barbara Amorphous) materials were synthetized at different temperature and time during of the hydrothermal treatment. The obtained SBA-15 were characterized by N2 adsorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (DRX), and density in order to establish the influence of these variables on their properties. Mixtures of the obtained catalysts with 3R4F tobacco were prepared and smoked under the ISO 3308 conditions. Temperature of the hydrothermal treatment slightly affects the tars that evolved in the smoking process of the corresponding catalyst tobacco mixtures. Contrarily, the time of the hydrothermal treatment has a marked effect on the reductions of toxic compounds in the smoke. Developed porosity has a positive correlation with the observed tar reduction, whereas the apparent density has a negative correlation with the reduction in toxicity. Moreover, the removal of the supernatant liquors during the hydrothermal treatment does not strongly modify the properties of the materials and may represent an interesting simplification of the process.