Banded Wrapper Paper for Cigarette Ignition Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Smoking articles often pose a fire hazard due to high Ignition Propensity (IP) and Self-Extinguishment (SE) values, which can lead to accidental fires, and existing solutions struggle to balance IP and SE performance effectively.
Innovation Solution
The use of a banded wrapper paper with an aqueous starch solution containing an anti-wrinkling agent and chalk, applied in a single step using gravure printing, which reduces wrinkles, enhances stability, and improves the smoking article's IP and SE characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If aqueous starch solution is applied to reduce IP values, then ignition propensity is reduced, but wrinkles and creases form in the paper
Solution Approach 1:
A surfactant is introduced as an intermediary substance in the aqueous starch solution to modify the interaction between the solution and paper. The surfactant reduces surface tension and prevents the starch solution from causing wrinkles and creases while maintaining the IP-reducing effectiveness of the starch coating.
Solution Approach 2:
The chemical composition parameters of the aqueous starch solution are modified by adding a surfactant. This changes the surface properties and wetting characteristics of the solution, allowing it to be applied without deforming the paper structure while still achieving the desired IP reduction through starch deposition.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If aqueous starch solution is used for banded regions, then IP values are reduced, but the solution creates wrinkles and creases
Solution Approach 1:
The surfactant acts as a mediator between the aqueous starch solution and the paper surface in banded region application. It enables the starch to coat the paper effectively for IP reduction while preventing the solution from disrupting the paper's surface smoothness through its surface-active properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The addition of surfactant changes the rheological and surface tension parameters of the aqueous starch solution, making it suitable for selective application in banded regions without causing the surface deformation problems that plague conventional starch solutions.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple printing steps are used to apply add-on material, then pattern precision is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple printing steps are merged into a single printing operation by formulating a multi-component aqueous starch solution containing starch, surfactant, and optional additives. This consolidated approach maintains pattern precision while eliminating the time loss associated with multiple sequential printing passes.
Solution Approach 2:
The aqueous starch solution is designed as a universal coating composition that performs multiple functions simultaneously: it provides the starch for IP reduction, the surfactant for wrinkle prevention, and optional additives for enhanced pattern definition. This multi-functionality allows single-step application to achieve results previously requiring multiple specialized steps.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces IP values to below 25% and SE values to less than 50%, enhancing consumer satisfaction by minimizing the need for relighting and reducing fire hazards while maintaining commercial printing speeds and product quality.
Implementation Method 1
applied in a single step using gravure printing
Implementation Method 2
The wrapper includes a base web which typically is permeable to air... the regions of add-on material reduce permeability of the wrapper
Data Source
AI summary
A cigarette wrapper includes transversely extending banded regions applied by a printing technique, such as gravure printing. The banded regions are applied in a single application of an aqueous starch solution also containing an anti-wrinkling agent such as propylene glycol, and calcium carbonate. The pattern of banded regions may be bands or stripes and the like along and/or around the tobacco rod. The banded regions may be solid or contain any number of cross-web and/or longitudinal discontinuities. The pattern may be configured so that when a smoking article is placed on a substrate, at least two longitudinal locations along the length of the tobacco rod have film-forming compound located only on sides of the smoking article not in contact with the substrate.