Abstract
E-cigarette devices are wide ranging, leading to significant differences in levels of toxic carbonyls in their respective aerosols. Power can be a useful method in predicting relative toxin concentrations within the same device, but does not correlate well to inter-device levels. Herein, we have developed a simple mathematical model utilizing parameters of an e-cigarette’s coil and wick in order to predict relative levels of e-liquid solvent degradation. Model 1, which is coil length/(wick surface area*wraps), performed in the moderate-to-substantial range as a predictive tool (R2 = 0.69). Twelve devices, spanning a range of coil and wick styles, were analyzed. Model 1 was evaluated against twelve alternative models and displayed the best predictability. Relationships that included power settings displayed weak predictability, validating that power levels cannot be reliably compared between devices due to differing wicking and coil components and heat transfer efficiencies.
Highlights
The ongoing development and popularity of electronic cigarettes have challenged scientists and regulators
A wick with a relatively large surface area will allow a larger area of e-liquid to absorb thermal energy from the heating coil, reducing e-liquid temperature and typically leading to a faster cooling post latent heat gain [20]
A straightforward model based on e-cigarette coil and wick measurements is described to enable the efficient prediction of the relative degree of e-cigarette solvent degradation between varying brands
Summary
The ongoing development and popularity of electronic cigarettes have challenged scientists and regulators. Issues faced by researchers include the rapidly evolving devices and e-liquid formulations, as well as a lack of standardized testing methods These factors have exacerbated the significant inter-laboratory variability in reported e-cigarette aerosol toxin levels [1,2,3]. Beauval et al compared carbonyl emissions from twenty different e-cigarette studies and found reported ranges from 2–342,220 ng/puff for formaldehyde and 0.3–135,468 ng/puff for acetaldehyde [4]. Factors such as puff volume [4], e-liquid consumed [5] and power output [6] are known to correlate to toxin levels intra-device; methods for understanding inter-device levels are still needed. Ten times lower toxin levels were reported in the aerosols produced by an e-cigarette operated at 50 W compared to a different e-cigarette operated at 10 W [7]
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