Filters containing paper substrates modified with natural polysaccharides - Patent Application 20070122999

Abstract

The present invention relates to a filter comprising a paper substrate modified with natural polysaccharides.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention provides a filter comprising a paper substrate modified with natural polysaccharides, which can be used as a filter in smoking products and e-cigarette products. [Background technology]

[0002] Smoking and vaping product filters are generally cylindrical and generally include a plug wrap outer envelope and a substrate disposed within the envelope, which acts to prevent the user from inhaling tobacco particles and to trap harmful particulate matter, such as tar, contained in smoke or aerosol.

[0003] Conventional filters contain cellulose acetate tow. These conventional filters are also known as cellulose acetate filters. Cellulose acetate filters have nicotine-trapping properties, and users are satisfied with the filtered smoke. However, cellulose acetate filters decompose very slowly and have a negative impact on the environment. In fact, filters are not consumed during the use of smoking / e-cigarette products, but are frequently found in the environment. Therefore, cellulose acetate filters have a significant impact on the environment.

[0004] To reduce the environmental impact of cellulose acetate filters, it has been proposed to use a paper substrate obtained by the wetlaid or wetlace method instead of cellulose acetate tow. Because paper substrates are biodegradable, filters containing paper substrates decompose quickly. However, compared to cellulose acetate filters, filters containing paper substrates have higher filtration efficiency, particularly higher nicotine retention, and lower hardness. Because of the higher nicotine retention, the smoke sensation after filtering may be unsatisfactory for users. Furthermore, because of the lower hardness, the filter may collapse during use. Therefore, the sensory experience provided by filters containing paper substrates may not be as satisfying as that provided by cellulose acetate filters.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for a paper substrate that allows the production of filters that have nicotine uptake performance approaching that of cellulose acetate filters, yet have sufficient mechanical properties to provide a perceptually satisfying user experience.

[0006] It is therefore to the credit of the inventors that they have discovered that this need can be met by a paper substrate modified with natural polysaccharides. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A filter is proposed that includes a paper substrate, the paper substrate comprising: a substrate web; Natural polysaccharides include, in particular, cellulose derivatives, pullulan, chitosan, pectin, alginates, gums, agar, carrageenan or any combination thereof, more particularly, cellulose derivatives, pectin, alginates, gums or any combination thereof, even more particularly, pectin, alginates, gums or any combination thereof.

[0008] The filters of the present invention advantageously provide improved nicotine uptake performance compared to standard paper filters by approaching the nicotine uptake capacity of cellulose acetate filters.

[0009] Without intending to be bound by any theory, the inventors believe that the improved nicotine capture performance of the filters of the present invention is due to: Natural polysaccharides bind fibers together, reducing the number of standing fibers on the paper substrate surface. This is believed to be due to the fact that the air permeability of the paper substrate of the filter of the present invention is lower than that of a standard paper substrate due to the action of the natural polysaccharides.

[0010] The filter of the present invention also has excellent mechanical properties. In particular, they are stiffer than filters containing standard paper substrates, making them less susceptible to crushing.

[0011] Without intending to be bound by any theory, the inventors believe that the mechanical properties of the filters of the present invention are due to the natural polysaccharides. In fact, the natural polysaccharides allow the density of the paper substrate to be higher than that of a standard paper substrate, which results in a higher density of the filters of the present invention than a filter including a standard paper substrate, even with the same pressure drop.

[0012] Furthermore, unlike cellulose acetate filters, the composition of the filters of the present invention allows them to degrade very rapidly in the environment, which is particularly advantageous as it means that the environmental impact of the filters of the present invention is less than that of cellulose acetate filters.

[0013] In another aspect, there is provided a method for producing a filter for a smoking product or an e-cigarette product as defined above, said method comprising the steps of: (a) producing a substrate web by a wet-laid or wet-laced process, in particular by a wet-laid process; (b) applying a natural polysaccharide to a substrate web to produce a paper substrate; (c) forming a rod from the paper substrate produced in step (b); (d) wrapping the rod in plug wrap paper; (e) bonding the two ends of the plug wrap paper together to form a filter media rod; (f) cutting the filter material rod to produce filters. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] A filter is proposed that includes a paper substrate, the paper substrate comprising: a substrate web; Natural polysaccharides include, in particular, cellulose derivatives, pullulan, chitosan, pectin, alginates, gums, agar, carrageenan, or any combination thereof, more particularly, cellulose derivatives, pectin, alginates, gums, or any combination thereof, even more particularly, pectin, alginates, or any combination thereof.

[0015] As used herein, the term "substrate web" refers to a fibrous sheet.

[0016] "Natural polysaccharides" refer to natural carbohydrates in which multiple monosaccharides are linked together by glycosidic bonds. The natural polysaccharides may be derived from plants or microorganisms.

[0017] Substrate webs are conventionally used in the manufacture of filters for smoking or e-cigarette products. Therefore, a person skilled in the art would understand how to obtain a substrate web with the necessary properties to produce a paper substrate with the desired properties. Furthermore, the substrate web is obtained by a wet-laid or wet-lace process, particularly a wet-laid process. Therefore, the paper substrate in the filter of the present invention is obtained by a wet-laid or wet-lace process, particularly a wet-laid process.

[0018] Typically, the substrate web may contain more than 50% by weight of wood fibres, especially 100% by weight of wood fibres.

[0019] The wood fibers may include hardwood pulp, bleached hardwood pulp, softwood pulp, bleached softwood pulp, softwood fluff pulp, lyocell fiber (produced by grinding and dissolving cellulose fiber in N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide monohydrate to obtain fibers having a cross-sectional shape (circular, elliptical, cross, ring, flat, etc.) whose length and mass per unit length are adjusted. These fibers can be selected as needed by those skilled in the art), viscose fiber (produced by chemically modifying the hydroxyl groups of cellulose with carbon disulfide (CS2) and precipitating it in sulfuric acid (H2SO4) to obtain fibers having a cross-sectional shape (circular, elliptical, cross, ring, flat, etc.) whose length and mass per unit length are adjusted. These fibers can be selected as needed by those skilled in the art), or any combination thereof. In particular, it may contain bleached softwood pulp, softwood pulp, softwood fluff pulp, lyocell fiber, viscose fiber, or any combination thereof, and more particularly, it may contain bleached softwood pulp, softwood pulp, softwood fluff pulp, or any combination thereof.

[0020] The substrate web may further comprise natural fibers such as leaf fibers, fruit fibers, seed fibers, bast fibers, stem fibers, reed fibers or any combination thereof, particularly leaf fibers, seed fibers, bast fibers or any combination thereof, more particularly bast fibers.

[0021] In this application, the term "bast fiber" refers to plant fiber contained in the bast of a plant.

[0022] The bast fibers may be abaca fibers, hemp fibers, Indian hemp fibers, jute fibers, kenaf fibers, kudzu fibers, coin vine fibers, flax fibers, okra fibers, nettle fibers, papyrus fibers, ramie fibers, sisal fibers, esparto fibers or any combination thereof, in particular hemp fibers, flax fibers, sisal fibers or any combination thereof, more particularly flax fibers, sisal fibers or any combination thereof.

[0023] For purposes of this application, "seed fiber" refers to fiber obtained from the seeds of a plant. The seed fiber may be cotton fiber, kapok fiber, loofah fiber, milkweed fiber, or any combination thereof.

[0024] In the present invention, the natural polysaccharide is not a derivative such as starch or modified starch. In fact, the inventors have discovered that starch can deteriorate during storage, which can lead to undesirable sensory properties during use of a smoking product or e-cigarette. Furthermore, starch is difficult to process because it requires a heat treatment step during the manufacturing process of the paper substrate.

[0025] Natural polysaccharides may include derivatives of natural polysaccharides, i.e., natural polysaccharides modified using any known modification. The modified natural polysaccharides may be physically modified natural polysaccharides, chemically modified natural polysaccharides, or any combination thereof.

[0026] Cellulose derivatives are an example of derivatives of natural polysaccharides, and examples of cellulose derivatives include methyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, and any combination thereof, with carboxymethyl cellulose being particularly preferred.

[0027] The pectin may be low methoxy pectin, high methoxy pectin, amidated pectin or any combination thereof, and particularly preferably low methoxy pectin, amidated pectin or any combination thereof.

[0028] The alginate may be sodium alginate, calcium alginate, or any combination thereof. The alginate may have different ratios of mannuronic acid and guluronic acid, particularly sodium alginate having different ratios of mannuronic acid and guluronic acid.

[0029] Gums include gum arabic, gum acacia, xanthan gum, guar gum, gellan gum, gum ghatti, pullulan gum, mannan gum or any combination thereof, especially guar gum.

[0030] The natural polysaccharide may be contained in the base web in an amount ranging from 0.5% to 20% by weight, particularly in an amount ranging from 0.75% to 10% by weight, and more particularly in an amount ranging from 1% to 5% by weight.

[0031] Compared to standard paper filters, the filters of the present invention containing the above ranges of natural polysaccharides advantageously exhibit improved nicotine uptake performance, approaching that of cellulose acetate filters.

[0032] Furthermore, the filters of the present invention containing natural polysaccharides have superior mechanical properties, particularly hardness and crush resistance, compared to standard paper filters.

[0033] The natural polysaccharides may be applied to the substrate web by various impregnation or saturation processes (described in more detail below), such that the natural polysaccharides may form a layer on one or more surfaces of the substrate web, partially penetrate the substrate web, completely penetrate the substrate web, or a combination thereof, especially a combination thereof.

[0034] The terms "saturation" and "impregnation" refer to the meanings known to those skilled in the art and may be used interchangeably. These terms refer to the process of applying a natural polysaccharide to a substrate web so that the natural polysaccharide forms a layer on one or more surfaces of the substrate web, may partially penetrate the substrate web, may completely penetrate the substrate web, or a combination thereof, particularly preferably a combination thereof.

[0035] The paper substrate may further include additives commonly used in filters for smoking or e-cigarette products.

[0036] The air permeability of the paper substrate may be in the range of 350 CORESTA units (CU) to 3550 CU, particularly 1000 CU to 3250 CU, and more particularly 2000 CU to 3000 CU.

[0037] When the paper substrate is calendered, the air permeability may reach a minimum.

[0038] The above-mentioned air permeability is lower than that of the paper substrate (approximately 3600 CU) used in standard paper filters. By including a paper substrate with this air permeability range, the filter of the present invention has the advantage of having better nicotine capture performance than standard paper filters.

[0039] The air permeability of paper substrates can be measured in accordance with ISO 2965: 2009. Before measurement, it is recommended that the paper substrate be conditioned for at least 30 minutes in an environment of 23°C and 50% humidity.

[0040] The density of the paper substrate is, for example, 431 mg / cm 3 It may be more than 431 mg / cm 3 ~600mg / cm 3 More specifically, 433 mg / cm 3 ~500mg / cm 3 , and more specifically 435 mg / cm 3 ~465mg / cm3 It would be good if that were the case.

[0041] Densities within these ranges are comparable to the density of the paper substrate used in standard paper filters, i.e., approximately 429 mg / cm 3 The filters of the present invention comprising paper substrates with densities of these values ​​are superior to filters comprising standard paper substrates in terms of mechanical properties, particularly hardness and crush resistance. The inventors believe that a higher density paper substrate leads to a higher density filter, which in turn improves the hardness of the filter.

[0042] The density of a paper substrate is calculated by dividing the basis weight by the thickness.

[0043] The basis weight of paper substrates can be measured in accordance with ISO536:2012. Before measurement, it is recommended that the paper be conditioned at 23°C and 50% humidity for at least 30 minutes.

[0044] The thickness of the paper substrate can be measured according to the ISO 534:2011 standard. Measurements were performed on a single layer. Prior to the measurement, the paper substrate should be conditioned at 23°C and 50% humidity for at least 30 minutes.

[0045] Those skilled in the art will understand how to adjust the basis weight and thickness of the paper substrate to obtain the desired density.

[0046] For example, the basis weight of the paper substrate is 10 g / m 2 ~60g / m 2 and in particular 20 g / m 2 ~50g / m 2 More specifically, the range is 26 g / m 2 ~40g / m 2 It is preferable that the range is within the range of .

[0047] The thickness of the paper substrate may be in the range of 30 μm to 250 μm, particularly in the range of 37 μm to 150 μm, and more particularly in the range of 40 μm to 100 μm.

[0048] In some cases, the paper substrate has a density of 445 mg / cm 3 ~465mg / cm 3 , breathability 2000CU~3000CU, basis weight 26g / m 2 ~40g / m 2 In this case, the natural polysaccharide may be pectin, guar gum, or any combination thereof.

[0049] The paper substrate used in the filter of the present invention can be formed, in particular by crimping, embossing, folding, compressing, etc. Such forming processes can change the properties of the paper substrate and, therefore, the properties of the filter of the present invention. For example, crimping can adjust the density of the paper substrate, thereby increasing or decreasing the pressure drop without changing the weight of the filter.

[0050] The filter of the present invention may be a filter for a smoking product or an e-cigarette product.

[0051] As used herein, the term "smoking article" refers to a product containing tobacco and / or other plants intended for smoking. For example, a smoking article may include a machine-made cigarette, a roll-your-own cigarette, or a make-your-own cigarette.

[0052] Generally, a smoking article filter has a right cylindrical shape and comprises an outer wrapping containing plug wrap paper for a smoking product, in particular a cigarette, and a paper substrate disposed therein and conforming to the above definition.

[0053] As used herein, "e-cigarette product" means a product containing tobacco and / or other plant matter that is intended to be inserted into a device to vaporize the tobacco and / or other plant matter by heating without combustion and deliver an aerosol to a user. For example, an e-cigarette product may be a tobacco stick.

[0054] Typically, the filter of an electronic cigarette product has a right cylindrical shape and comprises an outer envelope of plug wrap paper, particularly for electronic cigarette products for tobacco sticks, and the aforementioned paper substrate, with the paper substrate being disposed inside the outer envelope.

[0055] The filter of the present invention has a density of 135 mg / cm 3 ~350mg / cm 3 and in particular 200 mg / cm 3 ~280mg / cm 3 and more particularly 220 mg / cm 3 ~265mg / cm 3 It is preferable that the density of the granular material is 0.05 to 0.15.

[0056] Typically, the density of a filter is measured after its manufacture and calculated by dividing the mass of the filter by its volume. If the filter is a right cylinder, the volume of the filter (Vfilter) is calculated using the formula: Vfilter = π × L × r 2 where r is the radius of the filter and L is the length of the filter.

[0057] The density of the filters of the present invention is higher than that of standard paper filters, and without intending to be bound by any theory, the inventors believe that the mechanical properties of the filters of the present invention, particularly their hardness and crush resistance, are due to the high density of the filters of the present invention.

[0058] The filter of the present invention comprises: a plug wrap paper envelope for a filter of a smoking product or an e-cigarette product; and a paper substrate disposed inside the outer envelope.

[0059] The filter of the present invention may be in the shape of a right cylinder.

[0060] According to another aspect, the present invention also relates to a smoking product comprising a filter as defined above.

[0061] According to another aspect, the present invention also relates to an electronic cigarette product comprising a filter as defined above.

[0062] The present invention also relates to a method for producing a filter as defined above for a smoking product or an electronic cigarette product, said method comprising the steps of: (a) producing a substrate web by a wet-laid or wet-laced process, in particular by a wet-laid process; (b) applying a natural polysaccharide to a substrate web to produce a paper substrate; (c) forming a rod from the paper substrate produced in step (b); (d) wrapping the rod in plug wrap paper; (e) bonding the two ends of the plug wrap paper together to form a filter media rod; (f) cutting the filter material rod to produce said filters.

[0063] The paper substrate, the substrate web and the natural polysaccharide are as defined above.

[0064] The wet-laid and wet-laced processes are conventional techniques well known to those skilled in the art, and they will understand how to adjust the parameters of these steps to produce the substrate web in step (a).

[0065] In step (b), the natural polysaccharide is applied to the substrate web by various saturation or impregnation processes (described in more detail below), whereby the natural polysaccharide may form a layer on one or more surfaces of the substrate web, partially penetrate the substrate web, completely penetrate the substrate web, or a combination thereof, particularly preferably a combination thereof.

[0066] The application in step (b) may be carried out by a size press, a film press, a saturator, dip coating, bar coating, knife coating, flexographic printing, spraying, or a combination thereof, in particular by a film press, spraying, a size press, or a combination thereof, more particularly by a size press.

[0067] These processes for applying natural polysaccharides are well known to those skilled in the art, and therefore, they will know how to adjust the parameters of these processes to produce a paper substrate.

[0068] The substrate web produced in step (a) and / or the paper substrate produced in step (b) may be formed.

[0069] Thus, the process may include, between steps (a) and (b), shaping the substrate web by crimping, embossing, folding, compressing, or a combination thereof. The inventors believe that applying the natural polysaccharide after crimping can reduce the amount of fiber fuzz that occurs during crimping.

[0070] Alternatively, or in addition, the process may include shaping the paper substrate by crimping, embossing, folding, compressing, or a combination thereof between steps (b) and (c). The inventors believe that applying a natural polysaccharide prior to crimping will bond the fibers together, thereby reducing the occurrence of fiber fuzzing during crimping.

[0071] Steps (c) to (e) are well known to those skilled in the art, and therefore, those skilled in the art will understand how to adjust the parameters of these steps to fabricate the filter of the present invention.

[0072] example

[0073] Example 1: Paper-based manufacturing

[0074] A substrate web was produced using a wet-laid process using bleached softwood fibers. The substrate web had a density of 429 mg / cm. 3 , basis weight 36g / m 2 The substrate web had a thickness of 84 μm and a breathability of 3300 CU. The substrate web was cut into four different parts. Each part was impregnated with natural polysaccharides by film pressing to produce a paper substrate. The properties of these different paper substrates are shown in Table 1 below as Examples 1.1 to 1.4.

[0075] Example 2: Filter manufacturing

[0076] A filter for a smoking product is wrapped in a paper with a basis weight of 23.5 g / m 2 The non-porous plug wrap paper of Examples 1.1 to 1.4 was used and the substrates of Examples 1.1 to 1.4 were used in standard filter manufacturing methods using crimping.

[0077] A filter for a smoking product is wrapped in a paper with a basis weight of 23.5 g / m 2 of non-porous plug wrap paper and the substrate web produced in Example 1 (shown as Comparative Paper Filter in Table 2 below).

[0078] The properties of these five filters were compared with those of a Marlboro Red France® commercial cellulose acetate filter.

[0079] The hardness of the filters was measured by standard methods using a Filtrona DHT200 instrument, and the results were expressed as the compression rate (%) of the initial diameter of the filter.

[0080] The filter characteristics are shown in Table 2 below.

[0081] Table 2 shows that the filter according to the present invention have a higher hardness than the comparative paper filter; and This indicates that the hardness is equal to or greater than that of commercially available cellulose acetate filters.

[0082] Example 3: Cigarette manufacturing and characterization

[0083] Cigarettes were made using the filter rods described in Example 2. The filters were cut to lengths of 21 mm. To form the cigarettes, the tobacco rod and cut filters were combined into a paper roll with a basis weight of 35 g / m². 2 The tobacco rods were constructed with non-porous tipping paper. Commercially available "American Blend" tobacco was used to prepare the tobacco rods. The cigarettes were prepared to achieve a pressure difference similar to that of commercially available cigarettes. The vent holes of the cigarettes were blocked.

[0084] The prepared cigarettes were smoked in accordance with ISO 3308:2000 standards using a Borgwaldt RM20 smoking machine.

[0085] The pressure drop (PD in Table 3 below) was measured according to the ISO 6565:2002 standard.

[0086] The nicotine content in the smoke after passing through the filter was measured by the following method. The nicotine content in the smoke from 10 cigarettes was measured according to the ISO 10315:2000 standard and divided by 10 to calculate the nicotine content in the smoke from one cigarette. This process was repeated three times to determine the nicotine content in the smoke from one cigarette three times. The nicotine content in the smoke after passing through the filter was calculated as the average of these three values.

[0087] The "nicotine retention" value is calculated using the following formula:

[0088]

number

[0089] In the above formula, CNAFl represents the nicotine content (mg) in smoke after passing through a filter containing a paper substrate, and CNACAF represents the nicotine content (mg) in smoke after passing through a commercially available cellulose acetate filter.

[0090] The results of the smoking test are shown in Table 3 below.

[0091] Table 3 shows that when compared at equivalent pressure drops, the difference in nicotine retention between cigarettes with filters according to the present invention and cigarettes with commercially available cellulose acetate filters is smaller than the difference in nicotine retention between cigarettes with conventional paper filters and cigarettes with commercially available cellulose acetate filters.

[0092] [Table 1]

[0093] [Table 2]

[0094] Table 3

Claims

1. A filter comprising a paper substrate, the paper substrate comprising: a substrate web; A filter comprising: a natural polysaccharide;

2. 10. The filter of claim 1, wherein the natural polysaccharide comprises a cellulose derivative, pullulan, chitosan, pectin, alginate, gum, agar, carrageenan, or any combination thereof.

3. 3. The filter according to claim 1, wherein the natural polysaccharide is contained in the substrate web in an amount ranging from 0.5% to 20% by weight.

4. The filter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the paper substrate has an air permeability of 350 CU to 3550 CU.

5. The paper base is 431 mg / cm ３ A filter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, having a density greater than

6. The paper base material is 10 g / m ２ ~60g / m ２ 6. The filter of claim 1, having a basis weight of

7. The filter according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the paper substrate is obtained by a wet-laid or wet-laced process.

8. A filter according to any one of claims 1 to 7 for a smoking or e-cigarette product.

9. A smoking product comprising the filter of claim 8.

10. An electronic cigarette product comprising the filter of claim 8.

11. 9. A method for manufacturing a filter for a smoking or e-cigarette product according to claim 8, comprising: (a) producing a substrate web by a wet-laid or wet-laced process; (b) applying a natural polysaccharide to the substrate web to produce a paper substrate; (c) forming a rod from the paper substrate produced in step (b); (d) wrapping the rod in plug wrap paper; (e) bonding the two ends of the plug wrap paper together to form a filter material rod; (f) cutting the rod of filter material to produce the filter.

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