An environment-friendly cigarette label ink, its preparation method and application

Abstract

The present invention provides an environment-friendly cigarette label ink, a preparation method thereof and an application. The environment-friendly cigarette label ink comprises the following components: 35-40 parts of an aqueous resin, 25-40 parts of a solvent, 20-40 parts of an aqueous pigment, 1-3 parts of an antifoaming agent, 0.5-1.5 parts of a dispersant and 0.5-2 parts of an auxiliary agent; the aqueous resin comprises an acrylic resin, polyethylene oxide and polyvinyl methyl ester. In the present invention, three resins, namely an acrylic resin, polyethylene oxide and polyvinyl methyl ester, are used in combination and act synergistically, so that the prepared ink has higher stability and strong water resistance. By using an aqueous ethanol solution with a concentration ≤15%, the VOCs content in the tobacco accessories printed with the ink of the present invention can be effectively reduced, and while improving the product quality, the green environmental protection of the tobacco accessories is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of tobacco auxiliary material packaging and printing, and particularly relates to an environment-friendly cigarette label ink, a preparation method thereof and an application thereof. Background Art

[0002] Filter tip wrapping paper and inner lining paper for cigarettes are important packaging materials for cigarette production. Taking the base paper as the substrate, through processes such as pre-press design, printing and post-press processing, a special industrial paper that connects the filter tip and the cigarette rod is called filter tip wrapping paper; while the inner lining paper is the inner packaging paper for cigarette cartons, which is a cigarette packaging paper made by bonding aluminum foil paper and base paper and then printing patterns with ink. It is crucial for moisture-proof and aroma preservation of cigarette rods.

[0003] In recent years, with the continuous enhancement of people's awareness of safety, environmental protection and health, the large amount of alcohol-soluble printing inks used, the large amount of volatile organic solvents involved in the printing process, and the solvent residues (VOCs) and heavy metals in printed products have brought greater impacts on the environment, the physical and mental health of printing machine operators and cigarette consumers. For filter tip wrapping paper for cigarettes, in addition to the impact of volatile organic compounds, due to the direct contact between the filter tip and the lips during smoking, harmful heavy metal components in the filter tip wrapping paper, such as arsenic, lead, mercury, chromium, cadmium, nickel, etc., will enter the human body through the mouth and directly affect the health of consumers. Therefore, the state's consideration of the safety and hygiene of filter tip wrapping paper for cigarettes has been raised to a quite high level. The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration issued the mandatory industry standards for the solvent residues and inorganic element limits of filter tip wrapping paper for tobacco packaging: YC171-2009 "Filter Tip Wrapping Paper for Cigarettes" and YC264-2008 "Inner Lining Paper for Cigarettes" in 2007, and corresponding detection methods were formulated for this limit standard to implement strict control.

[0004] As an environment-friendly ink, water-based ink has played an increasingly important role in various printing industries. Especially in industries with strict requirements such as food, medicine, tobacco and alcohol packaging, water-based ink has become the first choice for printing. Compared with other printing inks, since water-based ink does not contain volatile toxic organic solvents, it has no adverse effects on the health of printing machine operators during the printing process. The biggest feature of water-based ink is that it reduces the emission of volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere, thus preventing air pollution and improving the printing operation environment. It can completely eliminate the harm of certain toxic substances in solvent-based ink to the human body and the pollution of packaged goods, and improve the overall environmental quality. However, due to its particularity, the bonding fastness between the ink coating and the packaging material with a transfer material on the surface layer of water-based ink is not good, which is manifested as poor adhesion fastness of water-based ink on the packaging material with a transfer material on the surface layer, restricting the application range of water-based ink.

[0005] CN109651872A discloses an environment-friendly antibacterial water-based ink for tipping paper and inner lining paper of cigarettes, which is composed of the following components in percentage by weight: 12-18% water-soluble resin solution; 35-45% solvent; 25-35% composite antibacterial filler, and the composite antibacterial filler includes nano titanium dioxide, silver ion antibacterial agent, chitosan-copper complex and soybean powder; 8-20% pigment; 0-3% auxiliary agent. The environment-friendly antibacterial water-based ink in this method eliminates the harms brought by volatile organic compounds such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, n-butyl acetate and heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium to a certain extent.

[0006] CN106566314A discloses an aqueous matte touch ink, which includes an aqueous resin and a touch auxiliary agent, and the touch auxiliary agent is at least one of polyamino silicone microemulsion and polyether amino modified silicone, and the mass ratio of the touch auxiliary agent to the aqueous resin is 1:5 to 2:5. Further provided is a tipping paper for cigarettes prepared by using the above aqueous matte touch ink and its preparation process.

[0007] CN113248970A discloses an environment-friendly gravure printing ink and its preparation method, and the printing ink is composed of acrylic resin, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, modified cyclodextrin, surfactant, emulsifier, silicon dioxide, ethanol and water. By adding modified cyclodextrin and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, the water resistance and alcohol resistance of the printing ink are improved. With its high water resistance, when the tipping paper is damp or soaked in water, it can well maintain high adhesion fastness, enhancing its applicability in the printing of tipping paper for cigarettes. By adding modified cyclodextrin and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, the adhesion fastness is further improved, and it has excellent stability and migration resistance, and has strong adhesion on the surface of the tipping paper.

[0008] Therefore, developing an environment-friendly cigarette label ink, which can have good stability and migration resistance, is friendly to the environment, and has low VOCs residue in paper, is the research focus in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0009] Aiming at the deficiencies of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an environment-friendly cigarette label ink, its preparation method and application. The environment-friendly cigarette label ink has good stability and migration resistance, and the VOCs residue in the cigarette auxiliary materials printed with this environment-friendly ink is relatively low.

[0010] To achieve the purpose of this invention, the following technical solutions are adopted by the present invention:

[0011] In a first aspect, the present invention provides an environment-friendly cigarette label ink. In terms of parts by weight, the environment-friendly cigarette label ink comprises the following components: 35-40 parts of an aqueous resin, 25-40 parts of a solvent, 20-40 parts of an aqueous pigment, 1-3 parts of an antifoaming agent, 0.5-1.5 parts of a dispersant, and 0.5-2 parts of an auxiliary agent;

[0012] The aqueous resin includes an acrylic resin, polyethylene oxide, and polyvinyl methyl ester.

[0013] The water-soluble resin solution is one of the keys to aqueous ink and is also an important factor determining the physical and chemical properties of the ink film after formation. Usually, water-soluble resins generally refer to resins containing -OH, -COOH, -NH2, which make the resin achieve water-soluble effects and are beneficial to having good film-forming properties and printing adhesion on the surfaces of cigarette tipping paper and inner lining paper. In the present invention, three resins, namely acrylic resin, polyethylene oxide, and polyvinyl methyl ester, are combined and used synergistically to make the prepared ink have higher stability and strong water resistance.

[0014] The 35-40 parts of the aqueous resin can be, for example, 36 parts, 37 parts, 38 parts, 39 parts, etc.

[0015] The 25-40 parts of the solvent can be, for example, 26 parts, 28 parts, 30 parts, 32 parts, 34 parts, 36 parts, 38 parts, etc.

[0016] The 20-40 parts of the aqueous pigment can be, for example, 22 parts, 24 parts, 26 parts, 28 parts, 30 parts, 32 parts, 34 parts, 36 parts, 38 parts, etc.

[0017] Preferably, the aqueous pigment includes aqueous iron yellow and aqueous iron red.

[0018] The 1-3 parts of the antifoaming agent can be, for example, 1.2 parts, 1.4 parts, 1.6 parts, 1.8 parts, 2 parts, 2.2 parts, 2.4 parts, 2.6 parts, 2.8 parts, etc.

[0019] The 0.5-1.5 parts of the dispersant can be, for example, 0.6 parts, 0.8 parts, 1 part, 1.2 parts, 1.4 parts, etc.

[0020] The 0.5-2 parts of the auxiliary agent can be, for example, 0.6 parts, 0.8 parts, 1 part, 1.2 parts, 1.4 parts, 1.60.6 parts, 0.8 parts, 1 part, 1.2 parts, 1.4 parts, 1.8 parts, etc.

[0021] Preferably, the mass ratio of the acrylic resin, polyethylene oxide, and polyvinyl methyl ester in the aqueous resin is (4-6):(2-4):1, and can be, for example, 4:2:1, 5:2:1, 6:2:1, 4:3:1, 5:3:1, 6:3:1, 4:4:1, 5:4:1, 6:4:1, etc.

[0022] Preferably, the solvent is an aqueous ethanol solution.

[0023] Preferably, the mass percentage content of ethanol in the aqueous ethanol solution is 10 - 15%, for example, it can be 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, etc.

[0024] Other specific point values within the above numerical ranges can be selected and will not be elaborated one by one here.

[0025] In the prior art, alcohol or ethyl acetate is mostly used as the main raw material, and the concentration of its organic solvent is above 95%. The present invention uses an aqueous ethanol solution with a concentration ≤ 15%, which can effectively reduce the VOCs content in the tobacco accessories printed with the printing ink of the present invention, and achieve the green environmental protection of the tobacco accessories while improving the product quality.

[0026] Preferably, the defoamer includes an emulsion type polysiloxane defoamer or a polyether modified silicone defoamer.

[0027] Due to the special chemical structure of silicone oil, it is neither soluble in water or substances containing polar groups, nor soluble in hydrocarbons or organic substances containing hydrocarbon groups. Due to the insolubility of silicone oil in various substances, it has a wide application range and can be used in both water systems and oil systems for defoaming; therefore, its surface tension is small, and its thermal stability and chemical stability are good. It can not only effectively break the existing foam, but also significantly inhibit the generation of foam and prevent the formation of foam.

[0028] Preferably, the dispersant includes any one of sodium lignosulfonate, polyester copolymer or polyamide copolymer.

[0029] Preferably, the sodium lignosulfonate includes sodium lignosulfonate NP - 10.

[0030] The function of the dispersant is to use a wetting dispersant to reduce the time and energy required to complete the dispersion process, stabilize the dispersed pigment dispersion, change the surface properties of the pigment particles, and adjust the motility of the pigment particles, which is specifically reflected in the following aspects: shortening the dispersion time, improving the gloss, improving the coloring power and covering power, improving the color development property and color matching property, preventing floating color and blooming, preventing flocculation, and preventing sedimentation.

[0031] Preferably, the auxiliary agent includes polyethylene wax and grease.

[0032] Preferably, the mass ratio of polyethylene wax to grease in the auxiliary agent is (8 - 12):1, for example, it can be 8.5:1, 9:1, 9.5:1, 10:1, 10.5:1, 11:1, 11.5:1, etc.

[0033] Other specific point values within the above numerical ranges can be selected and will not be elaborated one by one here.

[0034] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for preparing an environment-friendly cigarette label ink as described in the first aspect, and the preparation method includes the following steps:

[0035] (1) After heating the solvent and adding an aqueous resin, fully stirring for 10 - 15 h (for example, it can be 11 h, 12 h, 13 h, 14 h, etc.), adjust the pH value to 7.5 - 8.5 (for example, it can be 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 8, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, etc.), and cool to room temperature to obtain an aqueous resin solution;

[0036] (2) Add an aqueous pigment, an antifoaming agent, a dispersant, and an auxiliary agent to the aqueous resin solution obtained in step (1), and circularly grind for 3 - 8 h (for example, it can be 4 h, 5 h, 6 h, 7 h, etc.) to obtain the environment-friendly cigarette label ink.

[0037] Preferably, the temperature for heating is 60 - 75 °C, for example, it can be 62 °C, 64 °C, 66 °C, 68 °C, 70 °C, 72 °C, 74 °C, etc.

[0038] Preferably, the regulator used for adjusting the pH value is monoethanolamine.

[0039] Other specific point values within the above numerical ranges can be selected and will not be elaborated one by one here.

[0040] In a third aspect, the present invention provides an application of the environment-friendly cigarette label ink as described in the first aspect in cigarette accessories, and it is characterized in that the cigarette accessories include trademark paper, inner lining paper, frame paper, and tipping paper.

[0041] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0042] The present invention combines and uses three resins, namely acrylic resin, polyethylene oxide, and polyvinyl methyl ester, and through their synergistic effect, the prepared ink has higher stability and strong water resistance. Using an ethanol aqueous solution with a concentration ≤ 15% can effectively reduce the VOCs content in the cigarette accessories printed with the printing ink of the present invention, and while improving the product quality, it realizes the green environmental protection of tobacco leaf accessories. Specific Embodiments

[0043] The technical solutions of the present invention will be further described below through specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments are only for helping to understand the present invention and should not be regarded as specific limitations to the present invention.

[0044] As used herein, the terms "comprising", "including", "having", "containing", or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a composition, step, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the recited elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may also include other elements not expressly listed or elements inherent to such composition, step, method, article, or apparatus.

[0045] "Optional" or "any one" means that the subsequent described matter or event may or may not occur, and this description includes the case where the event occurs and the case where the event does not occur.

[0046] The indefinite articles "a" and "an" before an element or component of the present invention do not limit the quantity requirement (i.e., the number of occurrences) of the element or component. Therefore, "a" or "an" should be construed as including one or at least one, and the singular form of an element or component also includes the plural form, unless the quantity clearly refers only to the singular form.

[0047] The description of the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "exemplarily", "specific example", or "some examples" etc. described in the present invention means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this article, the schematic expressions of the above terms are not necessarily directed to the same embodiment or example.

[0048] Example 1

[0049] This example provides an environmentally friendly cigarette label ink, and the environmentally friendly cigarette label ink comprises components as shown in the table:

[0050]

[0051] Preparation method: (1) Heat the solvent to 70 °C, then add the waterborne resin. After fully stirring for 12 h, adjust the pH value to 8 with monoethanolamine, and cool to room temperature to obtain the water-soluble resin solution;

[0052] (2) Add the waterborne pigment, defoamer, dispersant, and auxiliary agent to the water-soluble resin solution obtained in step (1), and grind cyclically for 5 h to obtain the environmentally friendly cigarette label ink.

[0053] Example 2

[0054] This example provides an environmentally friendly cigarette label ink, and the environmentally friendly cigarette label ink comprises components as shown in the table:

[0055]

[0056]

[0057] Preparation method: (1) Heat the solvent to 75°C, add the waterborne resin, stir well for 10 h, adjust the pH value to 7.5 with monoethanolamine, and cool to room temperature to obtain the water-soluble resin solution;

[0058] (2) Add the waterborne pigment, defoamer, dispersant and additives to the water-soluble resin solution obtained in step (1), and grind in a cycle for 4 h to obtain the environmentally friendly cigarette label ink.

[0059] Example 3

[0060] This example provides an environmentally friendly cigarette label ink, and the components of the environmentally friendly cigarette label ink are as shown in the table:

[0061]

[0062] Preparation method: (1) Heat the solvent to 65°C, add the waterborne resin, stir well for 15 h, adjust the pH value to 8.5 with monoethanolamine, and cool to room temperature to obtain the water-soluble resin solution;

[0063] (2) Add the waterborne pigment, defoamer, dispersant and additives to the water-soluble resin solution obtained in step (1), and grind in a cycle for 8 h to obtain the environmentally friendly cigarette label ink.

[0064] Comparative Example 1

[0065] This comparative example provides an environmentally friendly cigarette label ink, which is different from Example 1 only in that, without adding polymethyl acrylate while keeping the total amount of waterborne resin unchanged, the insufficient part is made up by acrylic resin and polyethylene oxide in a ratio of 5:3, and the other raw materials, dosages and preparation methods are the same as those in Example 1.

[0066] Comparative Example 2

[0067] This comparative example provides an environmentally friendly cigarette label ink, which is different from Example 1 only in that, without adding polyethylene oxide while keeping the total amount of waterborne resin unchanged, the insufficient part is made up by acrylic resin and polymethyl acrylate in a ratio of 5:1, and the other raw materials, dosages and preparation methods are the same as those in Example 1.

[0068] Comparative Example 3

[0069] This comparative example provides an environmentally friendly cigarette label ink, which is different from Example 1 only in that, without adding acrylic resin while keeping the total amount of waterborne resin unchanged, the insufficient part is made up by polyethylene oxide and polymethyl acrylate in a ratio of 3:1, and the other raw materials, dosages and preparation methods are the same as those in Example 1.

[0070] Comparative Example 4

[0071] This comparative example provides a cigarette label ink, which is different from that of Example 1 only in that the 85% ethanol solution is replaced with an equal amount of 95% ethanol solution, and other raw materials, dosages and preparation methods are the same as those of Example 1.

[0072] Test Example 1

[0073] The VOC of the cigarette label inks prepared in Example 1 and Comparative Example 4 was measured, and the results are shown in Table 1.

[0074] Table 1

[0075]

[0076] According to the table data, when using the solvents commonly used in the prior art, that is, when alcohols and ethers are used as the main solvents in the solvent, the contents of organic volatile substances such as styrene, ethanol, ethyl acetate, n-propyl acetate, and acetone in the ink increase significantly, which is not environmentally friendly.

[0077] Test Example 2

[0078] Ink quality test

[0079] The test results are shown in Table 2.

[0080] Table 2

[0081]

[0082] According to the table data, when using the water-based resin provided by the present invention, that is, when three resins of acrylic resin, polyethylene oxide and polyethylene methyl ester are used in combination, the obtained ink has bright color, finer texture, moderate viscosity, moderate coloring power and better heat resistance. When any one of the water-based resins is missing, the performance of the ink drops significantly, indicating that the three work synergistically to effectively improve the quality of the cigarette label ink.

[0083] The applicant declares that the present invention illustrates the process method of the present invention through the above-mentioned embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, that is, it does not mean that the present invention must rely on the above-mentioned embodiments to be implemented. Those skilled in the art should understand that any improvement of the present invention, the equivalent replacement of the raw materials of the products of the present invention, the addition of auxiliary components, the selection of specific methods, etc. all fall within the protection scope and the disclosure scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An environment-friendly cigarette label ink, characterized in that, The environment-friendly cigarette label ink comprises the following components in parts by weight: 35-40 parts of waterborne resin, 25-40 parts of solvent, 20-40 parts of waterborne pigment, 1-3 parts of defoamer, 0.5-1.5 parts of dispersant and 0.5-2 parts of auxiliary agent; The waterborne resin includes acrylic resin, polyethylene oxide and polyvinyl formate; the mass ratio of acrylic resin, polyethylene oxide and polyvinyl formate in the waterborne resin is (4-6):(2-4):1; The solvent is an aqueous ethanol solution with the mass percentage of ethanol being 10-15%; The environment-friendly cigarette label ink is prepared by the following method, and the method comprises the following steps: (1) After heating the solvent, add the waterborne resin, fully stir for 10-15 h, then adjust the pH value to 7.5-8.5, and cool to room temperature to obtain an aqueous resin solution; the regulator used for adjusting the pH value is monoethanolamine; (2) Add the waterborne pigment, defoamer, dispersant and auxiliary agent to the aqueous resin solution obtained in step (1), and grind in a cycle for 3-8 h to obtain the environment-friendly cigarette label ink.

2. The environmentally friendly cigarette label ink according to claim 1, wherein, The defoamer includes an emulsion-type polysiloxane defoamer or a polyether-modified silicone defoamer.

3. The environment-friendly cigarette label ink according to claim 1, characterized in that, The dispersant includes any one of sodium lignosulfonate, polyester copolymer or polyamide copolymer.

4. The environmentally friendly cigarette label ink according to claim 1, characterized in that, The auxiliary agent includes polyethylene wax and grease.

5. The environmentally friendly cigarette label ink according to claim 4, characterized in that, The mass ratio of polyethylene wax and grease in the auxiliary agent is (8-12):

1.

6. A preparation method of the environment-friendly cigarette label ink according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The preparation method comprises the following steps: (1) After heating the solvent, add the waterborne resin, fully stir for 10-15 h, then adjust the pH value to 7.5-8.5, and cool to room temperature to obtain an aqueous resin solution; the regulator used for adjusting the pH value is monoethanolamine; (2) Add the waterborne pigment, defoamer, dispersant and auxiliary agent to the aqueous resin solution obtained in step (1), and grind in a cycle for 3-8 h to obtain the environment-friendly cigarette label ink.

7. The preparation method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The temperature for heating is 60-75 °C.

8. Application of the environment-friendly cigarette label ink according to any one of claims 1-5 in cigarette auxiliary materials, characterized in that The cigarette accessories include label paper, inner lining paper, frame paper and tipping paper.

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