BIO-2 Filter Paper – Low Ignition Tendency Cigarette Test
In the past few years, many states in the United States and Canada have introduced legislation requiring cigarette manufacturers to sell cigarettes with low ignition propensity (RIP) (commonly known as fire-resistant cigarettes).
The driving force behind this legislation was that a large number of fatalities were caused by smoking-related fires. For example, in 2001, 840 people in the United States alone died from smoking-related fires (about 25% of the fire deaths in the United States in 2001). Most victims are children and the elderly. The social damage caused by cigarette fires is estimated to be approximately US $ 4 billion per year (US).
By extinguishing cigarettes on their own, the number of fires and fatalities caused by accidentally discarding cigarette ends and falling asleep to smokers is achieved.
This kind of self-extinguishing cigarette is also called a low ignition tendency cigarette.
Cigarettes can extinguish themselves in many different ways. At present, the most widely used technique is to place a cellulose belt (sometimes called a “deceleration belt”) at a distance along the entire length of the cigarette. When the cigarette burns to one of the bands, if the smoker does not actively smoke, the cigarette will extinguish by itself.
Regulatory requirements
A U.S. state that has passed legislation that only allows RIP cigarettes to be sold in New York State. 2003 From July 28, all cigarettes in New York State must be RIP. Since then, California and Vermont have also passed the legislation. In 2005, Canada passed nationwide legislation on RIP cigarette sales. In the future, other U.S. states and other countries may introduce legislation that only sells RIP cigarettes. A working group in Australia is currently working on this issue. In the United States, Massachusetts and Oregon have formed groups to actively prepare for the legislation.
Testing and certification of low ignition propensity cigarettes
RIP cigarettes must be tested and certified according to the American Society for Materials and Experiments (ASTM) E 2187-04 standard.
Currently, the United States is the country that has RIP cigarette testing standards. Subsequently, Canada may also make relevant legislation based on ASTM standards. Because changing standards will be a lengthy and expensive process, other countries that introduced RIP legislation will likely refer to ASTM standards in the future.
We can test RIP cigarettes with Hawach BIO-2 filter paper:
For testing, it is necessary to determine the possibility of cigarettes igniting upholstery and bedding. The purpose of Bio2 filter paper is to act as a heat sink (the filter paper will not be ignited during the test).
The test set was loaded with treated Hawach Bio-2 filter paper (explained below). Place a lit cigarette on filter paper (middle of metal pins to prevent the cigarette from rolling). Passing this test must ensure that only 10% of the cigarettes tested (40 cigarettes per test) can be completely burned. In other words, 90% of cigarettes must be extinguished before they burn out.
The standard requires testing with 15, 10 or 3 layers of BIO-2 filter paper. The number of filter paper layers used in the test depends entirely on the nature of the cigarette, which is entirely determined by experimentation. Currently, most tests use 10 or 15 layers of filter paper.
Bio-2 batch test requirements
According to ASTM E 2187-04, a batch of BIO-2 filter paper was used in the RIP test. Before that, two different tests were performed to evaluate the suitability of the filter paper batch. These tests are described in detail in the standards 9.3.1 and 9.3.2. The relevant sections are reproduced below.
Section 9.3.1: “For filter paper produced by different batches of the manufacturer used in the test, the average weight of the 15 layers of treated filter paper should be 26.1 ± 0.5 g. The measurement method is to pick from different packaging boxes of the manufacturer’s batch Five groups of samples, each consisting of 15 layers of filter paper and weighed. The standard deviation of the five groups of samples should be less than 0.3 g. 15 layers of filter paper are formed. Store the filter paper layer at 60 ± 2 ° C for at least 16 h. Closed in a plastic box, cooled to 23 ± 3 ° C after taking out from the oven, and weighed within 3 minutes after opening the package. The standard deviation of the five groups of samples should be less than 0.3 g “.
According to the standard, filter paper should be stored in an environment with a relative humidity of 55 ± 5% (@ 23 ± 3 ° C) for at least 1 week before testing.
Current & Future Products for RIP Testing
The product currently used for this application is the BIO-2, 150 mm round filter paper (catalog number: 1002150). Customers should perform tests in accordance with ASTM standards.
