# Simultaneous determination of moisture, 1,2-propanediol, glycerol and menthol in tobacco products using GC-TCD&FID in parallel method

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method using gas chromatography to measure moisture, 1,2-propanediol, glycerol, and menthol in tobacco products simultaneously and efficiently.

## Contribution

A parallel GC-TCD&FID method for simultaneous, accurate, and eco-friendly analysis of four components in tobacco products.

## Key findings

- The method showed high linearity (R2 > 0.995 for water and > 0.999 for alcohols) with good recovery and repeatability.
- The method reduced analysis time by 50% and used an eco-friendly solvent, anhydrous ethanol, instead of methanol.

## Abstract

Moisture, 1,2-propanediol, and glycerol are crucial quality indicators in the production and application of novel tobacco products and reconstituted tobacco leaves. However, accurately measuring these components simultaneously remains a challenge. In this study, a method applying GC-TCD&FID method for the simultaneous determination of moisture, 1,2-propanediol, glycerol and menthol was developed. The results showed that: (1) all four components exhibited good linearity, with correlation coefficients (R2) above 0.995 for water and above 0.999 for three alcohols. Recoveries ranged from 94.49 to 102.83%, and repeatability RSD ranged from 1.25 to 2.33%. The detection limit for water was 0.32 mg/mL, and the alcohols ranged from 0.04 to 0.21 mg/mL. (2) Sample pretreatment and GC analysis were combined into a single step, reducing reagent use, workload, and total analysis time by about 50%. Anhydrous ethanol replaced methanol as the solvent, aligning the method with green and low-carbon principles. This approach has been validated and successfully applied in production over the past 3 years, demonstrating its reliability and practicality.