The DIET process is a pure and natural process utilizing carbon dioxide, a naturally occurring product of metabolism in plants and animals.
Protect your brand and product by using only natural and safe components in your processes.
Achieve over 100% expansion and reduce filler costs. Obtain a powerful tool in the design of modern tobacco products.
Protect your product towards tar and nicotine legislation limits.
Airco DIET, the world’s premier supplier of tobacco expansion plants. Airco DIET is the World Leader in Tobacco Expansion with more than 50 DIET (Dry Ice Expanded Tobacco) Plants built worldwide over its 25 year history; many of which have been turn-key installation projects. 30 DIET Plants have been built by Airco DIET over the past 10 years, enabling continuous product development, while supplying the markets’ most advanced and reliable DIET plants, producing the best possible DIET product.
Continuous Technology Improvement. The constant commitment to innovation within Airco DIET has led to the introduction and commercialization of the “C” Tower in the DIET Plant Hot End, which provides highly improved heat transfer during the drying process, with much higher product yield and significantly less degradation of the expanded tobacco product. Other recent improvements include the addition of a 3rd stage CO2 recovery unit to minimize CO2 usage and have a more environmentally friendly operation and further, now under development, a completely new standardized modular Mini DIET Plant, which allows for both much lower capital and installation costs.
Airco DIET is a household name for high expansion within the tobacco industry. The DIET process itself was invented and patented as a joint venture between Airco DIET and Philip Morris and today all major players in the cigarette industry own DIET plants. The DIET process is an effective tool for tar and nicotine reduction in cigarettes using tobacco laminar; it also reduces the bulk density of the cigarette blend which significantly reduces the cost of manufacturing with utility production costs of less than €1/kg of produced DIET tobacco. Today’s inclusion rate of DIET in premium cigarettes is therefore also 20% to 30%. DIET provides product designers and developers a true tool with which to achieve desired cigarette taste, quality and delivery properties. .
The first DIET plants were built by Airco DIET 30 years ago in 1987 but these first plants where significantly different in design even though the basic process remains the same. The DIET plants have evolved radically over the years and there have been significant improvements introduced. A modern DIET plant has an uptime above 95% with a DIET dry weight yield above 98.5%. The utility requirements have at the same time been significantly lowered making the DIET plant even more profitable for the manufacture.
Airco DIET facilities are now even more environmental friendly with the lowest utility consumptions per kilo of produced DIET.
But it is not only the new Airco DIET plants that feature the newest and most optimal utility savings. Also exiting DIET plants can lower the utility usage and achieve significant cost savings.
Examples are Airco DIET's Third Stage CO2 Recovery which provides considerable savings in CO2 usage in an order of 0.2 kg of CO2 saved per kilo of produced DIET tobacco. Several of the 3rd. stage recovery systems have already been installed worldwide.Cutting CO2 consumption close to 0.1 kg of CO2 per kilo of produced DIET tobacco.
Airco also offer an additional Heat Recovery system which provide up to 30% savings in fuel with a lowered stack temperature of just above 200°C. The heat recovery systems are being installed worldwide and have proven to lower emission temperatures and provide major fuel savings.