Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
  • A24D—CIGARS; CIGARETTES; TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS; MOUTHPIECES FOR CIGARS OR CIGARETTES; MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS OR MOUTHPIECES
  • A24D3/00—Tobacco smoke filters, e.g. filter-tips, filtering inserts; Filters specially adapted for simulated smoking devices; Mouthpieces for cigars or cigarettes
  • A24D3/06—Use of materials for tobacco smoke filters
  • A24D3/16—Use of materials for tobacco smoke filters of inorganic materials
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
  • A24D—CIGARS; CIGARETTES; TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS; MOUTHPIECES FOR CIGARS OR CIGARETTES; MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS OR MOUTHPIECES
  • A24D3/00—Tobacco smoke filters, e.g. filter-tips, filtering inserts; Filters specially adapted for simulated smoking devices; Mouthpieces for cigars or cigarettes
  • A24D3/06—Use of materials for tobacco smoke filters
  • A24D3/16—Use of materials for tobacco smoke filters of inorganic materials
  • A24D3/163—Carbon

Definitions

• the present invention relates to removing, from tobacco smoke, harmful components having toxic and/or carcinogenic behavior, and it particularly relates to the materials of tobacco smoke filters, which can be used in production of cigarettes.
• tobacco smoke contains thousands of various compounds that comprise at least 50 carcinogenic compounds and about 200 compounds reputed to be toxic. Therefore, in view of the steadily growing concern of the smokers about their health, it is important to reduce as much as possible the intake of carcinogenic and toxic substances with the inhaled tobacco smoke.
• the object of the invention is to provide a high-effective tobacco smoke filter having simple design, without an undesirable enlargement of the filter weight/length (and thus the weight/length of the whole cigarette), and without such disadvantages as the difficult draw and the retention of too much nicotine.
• the filtration efficiency of the tobacco smoke filters of the most known types can be improved by including a source of magnetostatic field into the filter material.
• Said source of magnetostatic field is preferably a magnetized particulate material, e.g. in form of powder or granules, particularly in form of elongated, rodlike granules.
• the shape of the particles can be selected so that to provide the maximal strength of magnetostatic field around each particle.
• said particulate material is formed of a hard magnetic material, and the particles can have amorphous and/or crystalline structure.
• the source of magnetostatic field can, be in form of a film comprising any material that can be magnetized.
• Said film can consist of two or more different layers comprising at least a layer of a magnetic (magnetized) material and a layer of a sorbent.
• the filter elements will be manufactured by twisting a continuous strip of said at least two-layer film, and then the resulting filter rods will be wrapped with a filter wrapper.
• activated charcoal is a preferable sorbent
• the use can be also made of conventional fibrous materials or their combinations with activated charcoal or other sorbents.
• the magnetized material in form of particles can be applied directly onto the sorbent, or vice versa, - a thin layer of the sorbent can be applied on the surface of the magnetic particles.
• the magnetic particles are generally not greater than 100 ⁇ m, and preferably less than 5 ⁇ m.
• the authors of the present invention have found that the retention of the major part of harmful components of the tobacco smoke, especially the retention of charged particles and metal components of the smoke is surprisingly more effective in a magnetostatic field.
• the filter material has generally non-uniform structure comprising micro-voids or small spaces, and the gas stream pushes its way through the filter material along tortuous paths connecting said spaces.
• the magnetic particles in the filter material deflect the flight trajectory of the smoke particles only slightly, the probability of their collision with the filter material increases, thus increasing the portion of the adsorbed particles. Owing to the tortuousness of the paths and the unevenness of the trajectory of the flight of the smoke particles through the filter, said slight deflection provides the surprising improvement of the retention of metal ions and charged particles.
• the charged particles of the smoke change their orientation in the magnetostatic field.
• the charged particle should be caught by the end of the sorbent molecule, having opposite charge.
• the magnetic particles included in the sorbent material orient the charged particles so that they are more easily entrapped by the sorbent.
• magnetostatic field has no significant influence on entrapping aromatic compounds and nicotine, therefore the flavor and other feelings obtained by smoking the cigarette having the filter according to the present invention remain the same as those obtained by smoking the conventional cigarette which does not comprise any source of magnetostatic field.
• the strength of magnetostatic field around the whole cigarette and around the pack filled with the cigarettes according to the present invention is insignificantly small when the source of magnetostatic field is in form of the particles randomly distributed in the filter material. This detail is important in view of the fact that magnet fields are harmful for the widely used data carriers, such as diskettes and credit cards.
• the source of the magnetostatic field can also be a compact individual magnet (molded, sintered or composite) instead of the particulate magnetic material in form of powders, granules, films or fibers.
• the authors of the present invention found that the particulate magnetic materials provide higher filtration efficiency, than a single magnetic solid.
• a plurality of the sources of magnetostatic field in the filter material provides varying, gradient field having local peak values near the surfaces of the magnetic particles, and this enhances the influence of magnetostatic field on the charged particles of smoke moving through the filter.
• the magnetic particles can be obtained by various methods well known to a person skilled in the art, to obtain the magnetic particles having crystalline or amorphous structure.
• the magnetic particles having crystalline structure can be employed to create local magnetostatic fields having maximal magnetic energy.
• the use of the particles having amorphous structure provides an advantage connected with the minor chemical activity of such particles and allows longer storage without demagnetizing. Said advantage is most pronounced in case of the particles of Nd-Fe-B alloy, which allows to create magnetostatic field with greatest possible magnetic energy.
• magnets or magnetic particles formed of hard magnetic materials which allow to create higher magnetic density (i.e. to impart higher magnetic energy to the volume of material).
• Such magnets can be molded (e.g. magnets of Fe-Al-Ni-Co alloy) or sintered (e.g., preferably, ferrites of Ba, Sr), or they can be alloys of Sm-Co, Nd-Fe-B.
• the magnetic particles and the individual compact magnets can be also composite, i.e. they can be at least two component mixture of a hard magnetic material and a binding agent which is usually a polymeric binder.
• the known representatives of the group of the composite magnets are various rubber ferrites having the content of hard magnetic material up to 95-97 wt.%.
• the composite magnets are conveniently used in the preparation of compact magnet bodies (e.g. rods) having a complicated design (e.g. hollow rods having ridged surface etc.), which allows to enlarge the surface area of said bodies, and in the preparation of magnetic material in form of particles, especially in form of films and/or fibers.
• the use of a non-magnetic substrate (layer) can facilitate the manufacturing of magnetic films, and in this case the magnetic film will be composed of at least two layers, one of which is magnetic, and another can be, for example, a layer of sorbent.
• the maximal effect can be achieved with a sorbent applied onto the surface of a magnet (magnetic particles), or with the magnetic particles fixed on the surface of the sorbent, i.e. when there is a direct interaction of the sorption components and magnetic components of the filter element.
• at least a part of magnetic particles can carry a layer of a catalyst to burn up harmful substances in the main stream of tobacco smoke.
• Said catalytic layer can be, for example, a platinum or palladium layer being as thin as from 0.01 to 1 ⁇ m to hold the production expenses within reasonable limits.
• activated charcoal is employed as a sorbent, it is convenient to sediment the sorbent on the surface of the magnetic particles from, e.g. a gaseous phase.
• the prior art techniques allows to grow of a thin layer of a sorbent or catalyst on the surface of the magnetic particles.
• the sorbent in form of fibers, ribbons or films is used, the magnetic particles can be applied onto the surface of said sorbing elements.
• the size of the magnetic particles can be up to 100 ⁇ m, and in case of fibers or films it can be up to 300 ⁇ m. However smaller size of the magnetic particles is preferable. It is due to the well-known fact that the total surface area of the particles increases by comminuting. Assuming that the particles have generally spherical shape, their total surface area S can be calculated according to the formula where M - weight of the particles, p - specific weight ("density") of the material of the particles and D - average diameter of the particles. Basic hard magnetic materials have p about 7 g/cm 3 (0.25 lb/in 3 ). If D is about 5 ⁇ m, the 0.05 g of the particulate magnetic material (in total, 1 g pro pack of 20 cigarettes) has the surface area greater than 80 cm 2 , which is quite sufficient to obtain the desired result.
• minor particles can be conveniently employed in manufacturing filters, in particular because they can be easily introduced into the filter tow due to their small size, for example by means of blowing them into the loose cellulose acetate fibers. At the same time it should be taken into account that the size of the particles is selected so that the particles can not be sucked out from the filter material by smoking.
• Hard magnetic materials e.g. Nd-Fe-B alloys
• Nd-Fe-B alloys are quickly oxidized in the air, therefore it is preferable to use composite magnetic materials, multi-layer magnetic films or magnetic particles coated with a layer of non-magnetic material, optionally sorbent.
• the particles having amorphous structure can be also used in the embodiments indicated here.
• the magnetostatic field can be oriented in the filter element radially or axially in relation to the axis of the filter tow, and also it can has a complex or random structure depending on such parameters as a specific geometry of the compact magnet employed, its position in the filter and the method of magnetizing.
• the magnetic material according to the invention can be magnetized before it is introduced in the filter material, although it is more convenient to magnetize already finished filter cigarettes, prior to or even after packing. Thus the magnetic material can be manufactured and stored without the operations of magnetizing or re-magnetizing before the magnetic material will be used in the process of manufacturing filters.
• the radial magnetostatic field is created when the rodlike magnet is axially located within the filter element.
• Said magnet can be hollow inside, and it can have, for example, a form of a cylinder.
• the axial magnetostatic field can be created, for example, by ringlike magnets, which can be embedded in the filter material and/or in the filter wrapper.
• the specific arrangements of the magnetostatic field are not inventive, since they are described in corresponding handbooks about magnetic systems.
• Said compact magnet(s) and the particulate magnetic material can be also used in combination to obtain one major magnetostatic field superimposed with a plurality of local magnetostatic fields.
• the source of the magnetostatic field can be a magnetic film, e.g. a multi-layer film capable to carry a coded information such as the date and place of manufacturing to prevent falsifications or infringements.
• the progressive weakening of the magnetostatic field can be used for the evaluation of the storage period or it can be used to reveal possibly substandard conditions of the storage.
• the retention of harmful substances was tested according to the above procedure, using known filters comprising activated charcoal as the main sorbent and an included magnet of Fe-Al-Ni-Co alloy (UNDK 35T5AA).
• the employed magnet was in form of a rod axially located in the filter and having diameter 1 mm, length 9 mm and weight about 55 mg. Said rod was magnetized prior to the filter assembling and it generated substantially radial-oriented magnetostatic field.
• the metal contents in the mainstream smoke were found to be as follows: Metal Cu Zn Ca Ni Cr Cd Sr Co Pb As Fe Al Mn N 0.9 6.0 24.5 7.2 0.5 1.0 0.3 0.25 0.20 1.6 3.2 5.7 0.18
• the retention of harmful substances was tested according to the above procedure, using known filters comprising activated charcoal as the main sorbent and included a composite magnet on the basis of a powder comprising a Nd-Fe-B alloy and a polypropylene binder.
• the content of the hard magnetic component was 96 wt.%, and the weight of the magnet was about 50 mg.
• the magnet was in form of a cylindrical rod axially located in the filter (filter element) and having diameter 1 mm, length 9 mm, and it was magnetized according to Example 2.
• the metal contents in the mainstream smoke were found to be as follows: Metal Cu Zn Ca Ni Cr Cd Sr Co Pb As Fe Al Mn N 0.75 5.2 21.5 6.1 0.35 0.8 0.25 0.15 0.14 1.2 2.6 4.8 0.15
• Example 3 This example was accomplished according to Example 3, except for the fact that the composite magnet was in form of a ring having the inner diameter of 2 mm, the outer diameter of 2.7 mm and further having six ribs along the outer surface, having width 0.5 mm and height 0.6 mm, respectively.
• the ribs were used to enhance the surface area of the compact magnet for approximately 7 times and to increase the gradient of magnetostatic field near the rib edges.
• the metal contents in the mainstream smoke were found to be as follows: Metal Cu Zn Ca Ni Cr Cd Sr Co Pb As Fe Al Mn N 0.45 4.1 13.5 4.7 0.20 0.50 0.18 0.11 0.10 0.85 1.5 2.9 0.11
• a serious disadvantage of this embodiment is a relatively great weight of the source of magnetostatic field - in this case it is more than 220 mg, which is actually one forth of the total weight of the conventional filter cigarette.
• the retention of harmful substances was tested, using the filters, which comprised the filter element having activated charcoal as the main sorbent and included Ba ferrite powder of 19BA260 alloy.
• the total weight of the magnetic powder was 50 mg, and the average size of the powder crystals was about 10 ⁇ m.
• the magnetic powder and the sorbent powder were thoroughly mixed.
• the assembled filter cigarette was magnetized. The magnetostatic field was substantially axial.
• the metal contents in the mainstream of tobacco smoke were found to be as follows: Metal Cu Zn Ca Ni Cr Cd Sr Co Pb As Fe Al Mn N 0.65 4.8 20.0 5.6 0.30 0.65 0.20 0.15 0.12 1.0 1.9 4.6 0.15
• the filters which comprised the filter element having activated charcoal as the main sorbent and included films of amorphous magnetic alloy Nd-Fe-B.
• the films were obtained by pouring the alloy on a disk rotating with high speed, and then comminuted.
• the thickness of the films were 20 ⁇ m, and their other dimensions were from 50 to 100 ⁇ m.
• the total weight of the films used in one filter was 70 mg.
• the magnetic films and the sorbent powder were mixed.
• the assembled filter cigarette was magnetized. The magnetostatic field was substantially axial.
• the metal contents in the mainstream smoke were found to be as follows: Metal Cu Zn Ca Ni Cr Cd Sr Co Pb As Fe Al Mn N 0.15 1.8 7.0 1.9 0.12 0.14 0.08 0.05 0.05 0.25 0.9 1.5 0.04
• a separately magnetized film of 150 ⁇ m thickness was applied on the surface of the filter element. Said film was obtained by extruding the composition of the composite magnet on the basis of the powder comprising alloy Nd-Fe-B and a polypropylene binder.
• the length of the filter element coated with said film was 10 mm, and its weight was about 200 mg. Further lowering the metal levels in the mainstream smoke was from 15 to 25%.
• the retention of harmful substances was tested, using the filters, which comprised the filter element having cellulose acetate fibers as the main sorbent and included fibers of a composite magnet obtained by extrusion from the powder alloy Nd-Fe-B and a polypropylene binder.
• the average diameter of the fibers was 25 ⁇ m, and their total weight was 75 mg.
• the magnetic fibers were mixed with the sorbent fibers.
• the assembled filter cigarette was magnetized. The average metal content in the mainstream smoke was reduced 2 to 4 times as compared to conventional cigarettes.
• the retention of harmful substances was tested, using the filters, which comprised the filter element having activated charcoal as the main sorbent and included fibers of a composite magnet obtained by extrusion from the powder alloy Nd-Fe-B and a polypropylene binder.
• the average diameter of the fibers was 25 ⁇ m, and their total weight was 70 mg (as in Example 7).
• the assembled filter cigarette was magnetized.
• the magnetostatic field was substantially axial.
• the average metal content in the mainstream smoke was reduced 2,5 to 4 times as compared to conventional cigarettes.
• Example 10 In relation to Examples 2 to 10 it should be noted that besides the reduction of metal levels in the mainstream smoke, the contents of CO, tar and nitroso compounds were also reduced. Especially excellent filtration efficiency was achieved in Example 10. It is probably connected with the fact that the metal components of the smoke (particularly metal ions) are located on the smoke particles and they form complex compounds with organic molecules, thus allowing the magnetostatic field to influence the neutral components of the tobacco smoke.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Cigarettes, Filters, And Manufacturing Of Filters (AREA)
• Solid-Sorbent Or Filter-Aiding Compositions (AREA)
• Soft Magnetic Materials (AREA)

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Cited By (8)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 1999
  • 1999-04-02 RU RU99106163A patent/RU2141782C1/ru active
• 2000
  • 2000-03-30 EP EP00915611A patent/EP1084631A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-03-30 AU AU36843/00A patent/AU3684300A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-03-30 WO PCT/RU2000/000108 patent/WO2000059322A1/ru not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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