Evaluation of the Nitrate Anion in Recon Extract by Adsorbents

The amount of nitrate in the tobacco leaf has been shown to be correlated with the levels of alkaloids and nitrosamines. Also the nitrate content of the tobacco correlated closely with the smoke delivery of nitric oxide and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs). These are related with the effect of the reconstituted tobacco leaf(Recon) using the tobacco stems. Adsorption process is gaining interest as one of the effective processes of advanced liquid treatment for liquid containing unnecessary materials. This study is focused on the evaluation of four anion exchangers, a cation exchanger and an activated carbon, as adsorbents for reduction of nitrate anion from Recon extract. In order to analyze the nitrate anion, the IC method used in this work was carried out with a Dionex ICS-2000 system. The effects of dosages of adsorbents and concentration of extract on the removal of nitrate anion were examined. Experimental results showed that for nitrate-anion exchanger, nitrate-cation exchanger and nitrate-activated carbon adsorption system, approximately 70 %, 10 %, and 4 % removal efficiencies were achieved at the Brix 10 and the 20 % addition. Although the activated carbon was little efficient for removal of nitrate ion, the removal of nicotine was very efficient at given conditions.