Degradable cellulose acetate tow band comprising a filler

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a tow band comprising cellulose acetate and a filler. The filler may be selected to have a degradation rate greater than that of the cellulose acetate. The tow band may be bloomed and formed into a filter rod, which may then be incorporated into a cigarette filter. The tow, tow band, and filter structures described herein degrade more rapidly than other known tow, tow bands, and filter structures.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 116,613, filed on Nov. 20, 2020, the entire contents and disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention generally relates to tow, tow bands, and cigarette filters comprising cellulose acetate and a filler. In particular, the present invention relates to including a filler in tow, in a tow band, and in a filter, wherein the filler is selected to increase the sustainability and biodegradability of the filter.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Cellulose esters are widely used for many purposes, including as cellulose acetate tow in cigarette filters. Although cellulose esters such as cellulose acetate are biopolymers known to degrade, the rate of degradation is slower than natural cellulose. For example, cigarette filters may take up to 15 years to degrade because cellulose acetate does not degrade until sufficien...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present patent is directed to a cellulose acetate tow band that includes cellulose acetate and a filler. The filler has a faster degradation rate than the cellulose acetate. The tow band may have a weight ratio of cellulose acetate to the filler from 1:99 to 99:1. The filler may be a monosaccharide, polysaccharide, polysaccharide ester, hydrolyzed polysaccharide, oligosaccharide, or combinations thereof. The filler may be present in 0.1 to 99.9% by weight, based on the total weight of the tow band. The degradation rate of the filler is at least 3% greater than that of the cellulose acetate. The technical effect of this invention is to provide a tow band that has improved properties and can be used in the production of cigarette filters.

Problems solved by technology

Although cellulose esters such as cellulose acetate are biopolymers known to degrade, the rate of degradation is slower than natural cellulose.

Due to the degradation time of cellulose acetate and to the plasticizer contained in the filter, the litter remains longer than desirable.

Although attempts have been made to form biodegradable filters comprising cellulose acetate, these attempts have been unsuccessful for a variety of reasons, including an undesirable change to the taste of the cigarette due to modifications and / or additives and degradation time not being sufficiently reduced.

Molded articles made of cellulose esters suffer from similar deficiencies.