EP3700366A1

EP3700366A1 - Biodegradable segment of a smoking product

Info

Publication number: EP3700366A1
Application number: EP19787177.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Dietmar Volgger; Stefan Bachmann
Original assignee: Delfortgroup AG
Current assignee: Delfortgroup AG
Priority date: 2019-01-04
Filing date: 2019-10-08
Publication date: 2020-09-02
Anticipated expiration: 2039-10-08
Also published as: ES2923499T3; JP2021511778A; KR102369738B1; JP7035173B2; EP3970521A2; CN111655052A; CN111655052B; US20210195939A1; DE102019100112B4; WO2020141027A1; KR20200086255A; PH12020500534A1; DE102019100112A1; EP3970521A3; BR112020005387A2; EP3970521B1; EP3700366B1; PL3700366T3

Abstract

The invention discloses a segment of a smoking product, comprising a fibre-based web material and an encasing material, which encases the fibre-based web material, wherein the fibre-based web material comprises at least 40% cellulose fibres and less than 10% non-natural polymers, both values being in relation to the mass of the web material, has a mass per unit area of at least 10 g/m2 and at most 70 g/m2 and a thickness of at least 25 μm and at most 400 μm, said web material having, in the segment, an area of at least 20 cm2 and at most 90 cm2 per cm3 volume of the segment. The segment without the encasing material has a density of at least 50 kg/m3 and at most 300 kg/m3, and a parameter Z, which is defined as Z = ρWeb + 5 · ρSeg + 12 · AWeb, meets the inequality 1300 ≤ Z ≤ 2800, with ρWeb being the density of the web material in kg/ m3, ρSeg being the density of the segment without encasing material in kg/ m3, and AWeb being the area of the web material per volume of the segment in cm2/cm3.

Description

BIODEGRADABLE SEGMENT OF A SMOKING ITEM

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a segment of a smoking article, in particular a segment for cooling or filtering the aerosol flowing in the smoking article, which is better biodegradable than segments known from the prior art and which has a favorable combination of properties with regard to tensile resistance and filtration efficiency.

BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART

Smoking articles are typically rod-shaped articles which consist of at least two rod-shaped segments arranged one after the other. A segment contains a material that is able to form an aerosol when heated, and at least one further segment serves to influence properties of the aerosol.

The smoking article can be a filter cigarette in which a first segment contains the aerosol-forming material, in particular tobacco, and a further segment is designed as a filter and serves to filter the aerosol. The aerosol is generated by burning the aerosol-forming material, and the filter serves primarily to filter the aerosol and to provide the filter cigarette with a defined draw resistance. The smoking article can also be a so-called heated tobacco product, in which the aerosol-forming material is only heated but not burned. This reduces the number and quantity of harmful substances in the aerosol. Such a smoking article also consists of at least two, but more often more, especially four, segments. One segment contains the aerosol-forming material, which typically comprises tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco prepared by other methods. Additional, partially optional segments in the smoking article are used to pass on the aerosol, to cool the aerosol or to filter the aerosol.

The segments are usually encased in a wrapping material. Paper is very often used as wrapping material.

In the following, unless explicitly stated otherwise or directly resulting from the context, the segment of a smoking article is understood under “segment” the one that does not contain the aerosol-forming material, but is used, for example, to pass on, cool or filter the aerosol.

It is known from the prior art to form such segments from non-natural polymers such as cellulose acetate or polylactides. After consuming the smoking article, the smoking article must be disposed of appropriately. In many cases, however, the consumer simply throws away the consumed smoking article in the environment, and attempts to limit this behavior through information or penalties have been unsuccessful.

Since cellulose acetate and polylactide are only very slowly biodegraded in the environment, the industry has an interest in producing the segments of the smoking article from other materials that are more biodegradable. In addition, regulations are planned in the European Union, for example, which significantly reduce or prohibit the use of non-natural polymers in smoking articles, so that there is also an interest in having alternative segments for smoking articles.

Different requirements are placed on the segments in a smoking article. A first requirement is to filter the aerosol. This filtration is often selective, which means that it removes certain substances from the aerosol and thus influences the taste of the aerosol. With regard to filtration, one would like to have both segments that have a particularly high filtration efficiency, for example if they are primarily used for filtration, and segments that have a particularly low filtration efficiency, for example if they are primarily intended to pass on or cool the aerosol .

Another requirement is to generate a certain train resistance. The consumer expects a certain resistance when smoking, that is, a certain pressure difference to suck aerosol out of the smoking article. The segments for smoking articles are therefore often designed so that they have a certain draw resistance.

Another requirement is to cool the aerosol. Immediately after its formation, the aerosol has a temperature of several 100 ° C. and, as it flows through the smoking article, it has to be cooled to a temperature which is compatible with the consumer. In the prior art, this is typically done by removing heat from the aerosol.

Finally, another requirement is to provide the smoking article with sufficient mechanical stability. The consumer should not be able to accidentally squeeze the smoking article during normal consumption of the smoking article. the segments have a certain hardness. This is partly achieved by choosing a suitable wrapping material.

Attempts to combine all of these requirements with good biodegradability have so far not been sufficiently successful.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention has for its object to provide a segment for a smoking article len, which is more biodegradable than conventional segments in smoking articles and which is in any case no worse than conventional segments in terms of filtration properties, cooling effect and tensile resistance.

This object is achieved by a segment according to claim 1 and a smoking article according to claim 21. Advantageous further developments are given in the dependent claims.

The inventors have found that certain fiber-based web materials are suitable for segments in smoking articles to at least meet the biodegradability requirement. All web-shaped materials made of staple fibers that can be formed into segments for smoking articles are referred to here as fiber-based web materials. Suitable fiber-based web materials are in particular paper or nonwovens. In the following, "web material" is understood to mean, without exception, a fiber-based web material for use in smoking articles.

The inventors have further found that a certain combination of properties of the web material and the segment produced therefrom makes it possible to meet the various additional requirements in a particularly favorable manner.

Specifically, the segment according to the invention comprises a wrapping material and a web material that is wrapped by the wrapping material. The web material comprises at least 40% cellulose fibers and less than 10% non-natural polymers, the percentages being based on the mass of the web material. Furthermore, the web material has a basis weight of at least 10 g / m ² and at most 70 g / m ² , a thickness of at least 25 pm and at most 400 pm. In the segment, said web material has an area of at least 20 cm ² and at most 90 cm ² per cm ³ volume of the segment. The segment made from the web material has a density of at least 50 kg / m ³ and at most 300 kg / m ³ without the wrapping material. Finally, for the density of the web material (pw _eb ) in kg / m ³ , the density of the segment without wrapping material (ps _eg ) in kg / m ³ and the area of the web material in the segment per cm ³ volume of the segment ( _{AW eb} ) in cm ² / cm ³ the following inequality is satisfied

1300 <Pw _eb + 5 p _Seg + 12 A _Web <2800.

According to the inventors' knowledge, the draw resistance, the filtration efficiency and the cooling effect of the segment are determined by the structure and amount of the sheet material in the segment. A porous structure of the web material increases the heat transfer and the filtration efficiency. In addition to the structure of the web material, the amount of web material in the segment also plays a role. It is specified on the one hand by the area of the web material in the segment per volume of the segment, whereby a higher area per volume increases tensile resistance, filtration efficiency and heat transfer, and on the other hand by the density of the segment without wrapping material, a higher density primarily increasing the tensile resistance. In particular for the cooling effect of the segment, in addition to the area available for heat transfer, the density of the web material and the segment also play a role, because they influence the heat transfer.

The inventors have now found that within the limits given above for the basis weight of the web material, the thickness of the web material, the density of the web material, the area of the web material per volume in the segment and the density of the segment without wrapping material, a particularly favorable combination then results of properties if the inequality given above is met for the parameter formed from the density of the web material, the density of the segment without wrapping material and the area of the web material per volume of the segment.

The web material in the segment of the smoking article comprises cellulose fibers, with at least 40% of the mass of the web material being formed by cellulose fibers. Cellulose fibers are made of natural polymers and are readily biodegradable, which gives a first advantage of the invention. Another advantage of the invention arises from the fact that cellulose fibers are hygroscopic. The aerosol in the smoking article contains water and the cellulose fibers can partially absorb this water and thus help to cool the aerosol. In contrast to segments made from other materials, heat is no longer dissipated, but part of the water in the aerosol is retained with the thermal energy stored in the water. An aerosol thus reaches the consumer of the smoking article, the temperature of which is not necessarily significant is reduced, but contains significantly less thermal energy and is therefore more tolerable for consumers.

The proportion of cellulose fibers in the web material is therefore preferably higher and is preferably at least 60%, particularly preferably at least 90% and very particularly preferably at least 99%, in each case based on the mass of the web material.

The cellulose fibers can be wood cellulose fibers from hardwoods or softwoods, but also from other plants such as hemp, flax, sisal, jute, abaca or esparto grass and are produced by the processes known from the prior art. Mixtures of cellulose fibers from different origins can be used.

In order to ensure the good biodegradability of the segment, the web material should contain less than 10% of its mass of non-natural polymers. Natural polymers are polymers that were obtained directly from natural raw materials without chemical change or without changing the composition or are chemically identical to those polymers obtained from nature. Specifically, cellulose fibers are made from natural polymers, and fibers from regenerated cellulose are also natural polymers. In contrast, chemical changes have taken place in the case of cellulose acetate or polylactides, so that they belong to the non-natural polymers, and although the raw materials occur naturally, these raw materials have at least been modified in such a way that rapid biodegradability is no longer guaranteed. Likewise, all polymers derived from mineral oils, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester or polystyrene, are not natural polymers.

The web material preferably contains less than 5% of the mass of the web material of non-natural polymers and particularly preferably less than 1% of the mass of the web material. Optimal biodegradability results when the web material does not contain any non-natural polymers, which is why this is a very particularly preferred embodiment.

The web material can contain fibers made from regenerated cellulose, such as viscose fibers, modal fibers, Lyocell® or Tencel®, the proportion of which is preferably less than 60% of the mass of the web material and particularly preferably less than 40% of the mass of the web material. The amount of fibers made from regenerated cellulose can be selected to further optimize the filtration efficiency. The web material can also contain fillers, the fillers preferably being formed by calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, magnesium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, titanium dioxide and silicates or mixtures thereof. A particularly preferred filler is precipitated calcium carbonate. The proportion of fillers based on the mass of the web material is preferably at least 0%, particularly preferably at least 5% and very particularly preferably at least 10% and preferably at most 40%, particularly preferably at most 35% and very particularly preferably at most 30%. Since fillers absorb much less water than pulp fibers, an increase in the proportion of fillers with the same basis weight of the web material can contribute to a reduction in the filtration efficiency for water. This can also influence the cooling effect of the segment.

The web material can also be coated. In a preferred embodiment, the web material is coated with polyvinyl alcohol or a polysaccharide, which reduces the filtration efficiency for water and thus the aerosol is dried less. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the polysaccharide is selected from the group consisting of starch, carboxymethyl cellulose, guar, dextrin, pectin or mixtures thereof. It should be noted that polyvinyl alcohol is not a natural polymer and the amount of non-natural polymers does not exceed 10% of the mass of the web material.

The web material can also be impregnated. In contrast to the coating, the applied composition not only remains on the surface during impregnation but also penetrates significantly into the structure of the web material. In a preferred embodiment, the web material is impregnated with glycerol or propylene glycol. These substances can increase the filtration efficiency for glycerol, which often serves as a humectant in the aerosol-forming material of the smoking article and promotes the formation of the aerosol.

The web material can also contain flavoring agents to influence the taste of the aerosol. The flavoring substances can be contained in the web material in chemically bound form or in physically bound form, for example encapsulated. The flavorings are preferably selected from the group consisting of menthol, ethylvanillin glucoside, vanillin and ethylvanillin.

The person skilled in the art can choose other components of the web material, such as sizing agents, for example AKD, ASA or resins or other additives and process aids, but it should be noted that the amount of non-natural polymers is less than 10% of the mass of the web material got to. The basis weight of the web material is between 10 g / m ² and 70 g / m ² and preferably between 20 g / m ² and 60 g / m ² and particularly preferably between 25 g / m ² and 50 g / m ² . The weight per unit area can be determined in accordance with ISO 536: 2012. The choice of the basis weight influences the processability of the web material, in particular the process of crimping or folding, and the material expenditure for the segment. The preferred intervals particularly well combine the cost of materials with the segment properties achieved.

The thickness of the web material is between 25 pm and 400 pm and preferably between 35 pm and 150 pm and particularly preferably between 40 pm and 100 pm. As with the basis weight, the thickness of the web material is important for the processability, and the preferred intervals result in a thickness which is particularly suitable for crimping or folding if the segment has desired properties. The thickness can be determined according to ISO 534: 2011.

The basis weight and the thickness influence the properties of the segment made from the sheet material together via the density. The density of the web material is preferably between 100 kg / m ³ and 1200 kg / m ³ , particularly preferably between 200 kg / m ³ and 700 kg / m ³ and very particularly preferably between 300 kg / m ³ and 600 kg / m ³ . The density describes the pore structure of the web material and thus an essential parameter for filtration efficiency, heat transfer and tensile resistance. The preferred intervals allow a favorable combination of tensile resistance and filtration efficiency. The density can be determined according to ISO 534: 2011.

The segment contains between 20 cm ² and 90 cm ² web material per cm ³ volume of the segment, preferably between 30 cm ² / cm ³ and 80 cm ² / cm ³ and particularly preferably between 35 cm ² / cm ³ and 70 cm ² / cm ³ , each based on the volume of the segment. The area of the web material per volume of the segment describes how tightly the web material is packed in the segment. It therefore has an impact on tensile resistance, but also on the filtration properties, heat transfer and hardness of the segment. The area of the sheet material can be determined, for example, by weighing the sheet material and calculating from the nominal or measured basis weight of the sheet material.

The density of the segment itself, without the wrapping material, is between 50 kg / m ³ and 300 kg / m ³ , preferably between 60 kg / m ³ and 250 kg / m ³ and particularly preferably between 70 kg / m ³ and 200 kg / m ³ . This parameter also has a significant impact on the tensile resistance, the filtration efficiency and the hardness of the segment. The density of the segment is given without the wrapping material, since the wrapping material has little influence on the tensile resistance, the filtration efficiency or the heat transfer. The density of the segment can be calculated. The volume of the segment is first determined, which can be calculated from the diameter and length of a cylindrical segment, for example. The influence of the wrapping material on the diameter can be neglected. The mass of the segment can be determined by weighing, the segment being covered with the wrapping material. The mass of the wrapping material can be determined from the area of the wrapping material and the nominal or measured weight per unit area of the wrapping material. For example, in a typical cylindrical segment, the area of the wrapping material results from the circumference of the segment and the overlap of the wrapping material as with itself and the length of the segment.

The mass of the wrapping material is subtracted from the mass of the segment with wrapping material and its density is calculated by dividing by the volume of the segment. A numerical example is detailed below.

Since the density of the web material, the density of the segment without cladding material and the area of the web material in the segment per volume of the segment all resisted the train, have filtration efficiency and heat transfer of the segment and are therefore in a complex interrelation, the inventors found that the requirements for the segment can only be met with a certain combination of these properties. It has been shown that a parameter Z calculated from these properties is decisive for this

^ - Pweb 1 Pseg + 12 A _We fi

is calculated, where

pw _eb the density of the web material in kg / m ³ ,

ps _eg the density of the segment without wrapping material in kg / m ³ , and

Aw _{eb are} the area of the web material per volume of the segment in cm ² / cm ³ .

This parameter Z should be at least 1300 and at most 2800, preferably at least 1350 and at most 2600 and particularly preferably at least 1400 and at most 2400. This is the only way to obtain a segment with favorable properties and in the preferred intervals a particularly favorable compromise of tensile resistance and filtration egg properties. The wrapping material of the segment is preferably a paper and particularly preferably a paper with a basis weight of at least 20 g / m ² and at most 150 g / m ² and very particularly preferably a paper with a basis weight of at least 50 g / m ² and at most 120 g / m ² . In order to achieve favorable properties of the segment, the density of the segment and thus the hardness are comparatively low. Therefore, wrapping materials with a basis weight of 50 g / m ² to 150 g / m ² can further improve the hardness of the segment. However, the weight per unit area must not be too high, because otherwise the restoring forces of the wrapping material make the manufacture of a segment, in particular the bonding of the wrapping material to itself, more difficult.

The bending stiffness of the wrapping material can be just as important as the basis weight in order to set a favorable hardness of the segment. The bending stiffness should therefore preferably be at least 0.05 Nmm and at most 0.90 Nmm, particularly preferably at least 0.10 Nmm and at most 0.80 Nmm. The bending stiffness can be measured according to ISO 5628: 2012, especially according to the two-point method described in this standard. The bending stiffness can depend on the direction in which the sample was taken from the web material. The features indicated by the above preferred and particularly preferred interval are met if the bending stiffness in at least one direction lies in the indicated preferred or particularly preferred interval.

The segment according to the invention is preferably cylindrical and preferably has a diameter of at least 5 mm and at most 9 mm, particularly preferably of at least 7 mm and at most 8.5 mm.

The segment according to the invention is preferably at least 4 mm and at most 40 mm long, particularly preferably at least 6 mm and at most 35 mm and very particularly preferably at least 10 mm and at most 28 mm.

The segment according to the invention can be part of a smoking article, so that a smoking article according to the invention comprises an aerosol-forming material and the segment according to the invention.

In a preferred embodiment, the smoking article is a filter cigarette comprising at least one segment according to the invention and a further segment which contains tobacco. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the segment according to the invention is a segment of the filter of a filter cigarette. In another preferred embodiment, the smoking article is a smoking article that contains an aerosol-forming material that is only heated but not burned when the smoking article is used as intended, and that contains at least one segment according to the invention and a filter segment, the at least one segment according to the invention between the aerosol-forming material and the filter segment is arranged. In this arrangement, the at least one segment according to the invention is used primarily for cooling the aerosol.

The segment according to the invention can be produced from web material by methods known from the prior art. Such methods typically include crimping or folding the web material, making an endless strand from the web material, wrapping the endless strand with a wrapping material, and cutting the wrapped strand into segments of the desired size.

Smoking articles using the segment according to the invention can be produced by methods known from the prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Fig. 1 shows a table (Table 1), in which the compositions of 25 web materials are summarized.

Fig. 2 shows a table (Table 2), in the characteristic sizes of the web materials (width, basis weight, thickness, density) of the 25 web materials from Table 1 are summarized.

Fig. 3 shows a table (Table 3), in the characteristic sizes of 25 segments (mass, density, area, parameter Z) are summarized, which are formed from the sheet materials of Tables 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 shows a table (Table 4), in which the functional properties of the segments of Table 3 (tensile resistance, filtration efficiency with regard to nicotine, water and glycerol) are summarized.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention will now be described in more detail in some embodiments according to the invention and compared with examples not according to the invention.

Various fiber-based web materials were produced according to the paper production processes known from the prior art, and rolls with a width of 175 mm to 315 mm were cut therefrom. The rolls of the web materials were crimped and each an endless strand was produced and covered with a wrapping material with a basis weight of 78 g / m ² . The strand with the wrapping material had a diameter of 7.85 mm, the wrapping material having a width of 27 mm and therefore overlapping about 2.3 mm for gluing to itself.

The composition of the sheet materials is given in Table 1. All web materials were made from wood pulp, Lyocell® fibers were also used for the two web materials Nos. 22 and 23, with the stated percentage of 40% relating to the mass of Lyocell® fibers in the total fiber mass in the web material. The railway materials 4-6, 12 and 13 also contained 29.5% of their mass precipitated calcium carbonate (CaC0 ₃ ).

Web materials 16-21, 24 and 25 were coated with an oxidized starch and web materials 14, 15, 18 and 19 were soaked in glycerol. Web materials 20 and 21 were impregnated with propylene glycol.

The basis weight of the web materials was determined according to ISO 536: 2012 and the thickness and density according to ISO 534: 2011. The results are shown in Table 2, the sheet material numbers corresponding to those of Table 1.

The strands made from the sheet materials were cut into rods with a length of 108 mm each and their mass determined by weighing.

The data of the bars made from sheet materials 1-25 are given in Table 3, the sheet material numbers again corresponding to those of Table 1. The mass in Table 3 is the mass of a 108 mm long rod with a coating material with a weight per unit area of 78 g / m ² . The density was calculated as follows from the mass of the rod and the known geometry.

The mass of the wrapping material, which is 27 mm wide and 108 mm long, is

78 g / m ² x 0.027 mx 0.108 m = 0.227 g.

The volume of the bar was calculated from the known geometry of the bar p / 4 x (7.85 mm) ² x 108 mm = 5227 mm ³ .

The thickness of the wrapping material was neglected. The mass of the wrapping material was subtracted from the mass of the rod with wrapping material and the result was divided by the volume. For example, the density of the rod made from Bahnma 1 results

(0.71 g - 0.227 g) / 5227 mm ³ = 92.4 kg / m ³ .

Table 3 also shows the parameter Z, which consists of

^ - Pweb h Pseg + 12 A _We fi

is calculated, where

pw _eb the density of the web material in kg / m ³ ,

ps _eg the density of the segment without wrapping material in kg / m ³ , and

Aw _{eb is} the area of the web material per volume of the segment in cm ² / cm ³ .

The parameter Z is independent of the geometry, in particular the diameter and the length of the rod or segment, and only characterizes the internal structure of the segment.

The tensile resistance of the 108 mm long bars was measured in accordance with ISO 6565. Segments with a length of 18 mm were cut from the rods and smoking articles were produced therefrom.

The smoking article was a so-called heated tobacco product, in which the tobacco contained in the smoking article was only heated. The smoking article consisted of a segment with the tobacco in the flow direction followed by a transfer segment in which the aerosol can condense, and further followed by the segment according to the invention, which primarily serves to cool the aerosol, and finally a filter segment.

The smoking articles were heated in a commercially available heating device and smoked according to the method specified in ISO 3308. The filtration efficiency for nicotine, water and glycerol was measured for the segments made from the web materials 8-25. The filtration efficiency for a substance is the difference between the amount of substance that flows into the segment and the amount of substance that flows out of the segment, based on the amount of substance flowing into the segment. Filtration efficiency is expressed as a percentage and was determined for nicotine, water and glycerol in this way for an 18 mm segment. Table 4 shows the tensile resistance of a 108 mm long rod and the filtration efficiency of an 18 mm long segment for nicotine, water and glycerol. Here, too, the numbers of the web materials correspond to those in Table 1.

The segments made from the web materials 1-25 are segments according to the invention which have a parameter Z of approximately 1300 to approximately 2250. The tensile resistance of the 108 mm long rod is between 17.9 mmWG and 63.9 mmWG and thus allows the design of segments that either pass on the aerosol and only offer a low tensile resistance or that filter the aerosol and additionally allow the tensile resistance to increase the smoking article. In particular, a comparison of the web materials 2 and 11 which are identical in composition shows the influence of the density of the segment on the tensile resistance. A segment made of web material 2 with a density of the segment of 73.3 kg / m ³ gives a tensile resistance (108 mm) of 23.8 mmWG, while a segment made of web material 11 with a density of 170.5 kg / m ³ gives a tensile strength of 54.5 mm shared flat (108 mm). This shows the importance of the density of the segment, which is why it is an essential component of the parameter Z. The tensile resistance is not determined solely by the density of the segment.

The web materials 6 and 7 have a similar basis weight, but the web material 6 contains 29.5% calcium carbonate and therefore has a significantly higher density. The segments made of it have a similar density and the area of the web material per volume of the segment is similar. Nevertheless, they differ significantly in the tensile resistance, which is 63.9 mmWG for the rod (108 mm) made of sheet material 6 and only 30.5 mmWG for the rod (108 mm) made of sheet material 7. This shows that the density of the web material itself has an independent meaning for the properties of the segment made from it and is therefore also an essential property in parameter Z.

The area of the web material per volume of the segment depends on the density of the web material and the density of the segment without the wrapping material and is therefore also an essential property for the tensile resistance and is therefore also included in the parameter Z.

The segments of the starch coated web materials 16-21 all show a lower filtration efficiency for water than the segments from the comparable web materials 8, 9 and 11, whereas they hardly differ in the filtration efficiencies for nicotine and glycerol. divorce. This shows that a coating with oxidized starch can be used to adjust the filtration efficiency for water.

The impregnation with glycerol or propylene glycol of the sheet materials 18-21 in the segments made therefrom results in a significantly higher filtration efficiency for nicotine and glycerol compared to the segments from the sheet materials 16 and 17 which have no such impregnation. The impregnation means that the filtration efficiency for nicotine and glycerol can be adjusted.

In total, all segments made from the web materials 1-25 are useful as a segment in a smoking article and can be used primarily for cooling the aerosol as well as for filtering the aerosol. The biodegradability of all segments made from the sheet materials 1-25 resulted directly from the components used and was not tested further. It was found that the segments according to the invention have favorable properties for use in smoking articles and, in addition, excellent biodegradability is achieved.

The following two examples according to the invention show that the parameter Z is essential for differentiating between segments according to the invention and segments not according to the invention.

A segment with a density without wrapping material of 90.4 kg / m ³ and an area of the web material per volume of the segment of 36.9 cm ² / cm ^{3 was} produced from web material 7. The parameter Z for this segment resulted in

350.0 + 5 x 90.4 + 12 x 36.9 = 1244.8

and is therefore outside the interval according to the invention from 1300 to 2800.

The 108 mm long rod made of this sheet material only has a tensile resistance of 12.3 mmWG, which is too low for use in smoking articles. In addition, the hardness of the segment, despite the coating material at 78 g / m ^{2, is} not sufficient for further processing into a smoking article. It should be noted that this segment fulfills all requirements according to the invention with the exception of those for parameter Z.

A segment with a density without wrapping material of 233.9 kg / m ³ and an area of the web material per volume of the segment of 89.9 cm ² / cm ^{3 was} produced from web material 12. The parameter Z for this segment resulted in

604.7 + 5 * 233.9 + 12 * 89.9 = 2853.6

and is therefore outside the interval according to the invention from 1300 to 2800 The filtration efficiency of this segment for water was more than 65% despite the calcium carbonate content in the web material 12 and thus produces an aerosol that is too dry and therefore leads to an unacceptable taste for the consumer. It should be noted that this segment also fulfills all of the requirements of the invention with the exception of those for parameter Z.

The two comparative examples not according to the invention thus show that the parameter Z is essential in order to obtain a segment with satisfactory properties.

Claims

EXPECTATIONS

1. A segment of a smoking article comprising a fiber-based web material and a wrapping material that wraps the fiber-based web material, the fiber-based web material

- comprises at least 40% cellulose fibers and less than 10% non-natural polymers, each based on the mass of the web material,

- has a basis weight of at least 10 g / m ² and at most 70 g / m ² , and

- has a thickness of at least 25 gm and at most 400 gm,

wherein said web material in the segment has an area of at least 20 cm ² and at most 90 cm ² per cm ³ volume of the segment,

wherein the segment without the wrapping material has a density of at least 50 kg / m ³ and at most 300 kg / m ³ , and

where a parameter Z, which is defined as Z = p _Web + 5 ps _eg + 12 · A _Web , satisfies the inequality 1300 <Z <2800, where

pw _eb the density of the web material in kg / m ³ ,

ps _eg the density of the segment without wrapping material in kg / m ³ , and

2. Segment according to claim 1, in which the proportion of cellulose fibers in the web material is at least 60%, preferably at least 90% and particularly preferably at least 99%, in each case based on the mass of the web material.

3. Segment according to claim 1 or 2, in which the cellulose fibers are formed by wood pulp fibers from hardwoods or softwoods, are obtained from other plants, in particular hemp, flax, sisal, jute, abaca or esparto grass, or are formed from mixtures thereof.

4. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, in which the web material contains less than 5% of its mass of non-natural polymers, preferably less than 1% of its mass of non-natural polymers, and particularly preferably contains no non-natural polymers.

5. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, in which the web material contains fibers made from regenerated cellulose, in particular viscose fibers, modal fibers, Lyocell® or Tencel®, their proportion preferably less than 60% of the mass of the Web material and particularly preferably less than 40% of the mass of the web material.

6. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, in which the web material contains fillers, the fillers preferably being formed by calcium carbonate, in particular calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, magnesium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, titanium dioxide, silicates or mixtures thereof.

7. Segment according to claim 6, in which the proportion of fillers based on the mass of the web material is at least 0%, preferably at least 5% and particularly preferably at least 10%, and at most 40%, preferably at most 35% and particularly preferably at most 30% is.

8. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, in which the web material is coated, in particular coated with polyvinyl alcohol or a polysaccharide, the polysaccharide preferably being selected from the group consisting of starch, carboxymethyl cellulose, guar, dextrin, pectin or mixtures thereof.

9. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, in which the web material is impregnated, in particular impregnated with glycerol or propylene glycol.

10. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, in which the web material contains flavoring substances, the flavoring substances preferably being contained in the web material in a chemically bound form or in a physically bound form, for example encapsulated, the flavoring substances preferably being selected from the group consisting of Menthol, ethyl vanillin glucoside, vanillin and ethyl vanillin.

11. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, in which the basis weight of the web material is between 20 g / m ² and 60 g / m ² , preferably between 25 g / m ² and 50 g / m ² .

12. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness of the Bahnma material between 35 pm and 150 pm, preferably between 40 pm and 100 pm.

13. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, in which the density of the Bahnma material between 100 kg / m ³ and 1200 kg / m ³ , preferably between 200 kg / m ³ and 700 kg / m ³ and particularly preferably between 300 kg / m ³ and 600 kg / m ³ .

14. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, which contains between 30 cm ² / cm ³ and 80 cm ² / cm ³ , preferably between 35 cm ² / cm ³ and 70 cm ² / cm ³ web material per cm ³ volume of the segment.

15. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, the density of which, without the wrapping material, is between 60 kg / m ³ and 250 kg / m ³ , preferably between 70 kg / m ³ and 200 kg / m ³ .

16. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, in which the parameter Z min is at least 1350 and at most 2600, preferably at least 1400 and at most 2400.

17. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, in which the wrapping material is formed by paper, preferably with a basis weight of at least 20 g / m ² and at most 150 g / m ² and particularly preferably with a basis weight of at least 50 g / m ² and at most 120 g / m ² .

18. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the wrapping material has a bending stiffness of at least 0.05 Nmm and at most 0.90 Nmm, preferably as at least 0.10 Nmm and at most 0.80 Nmm.

19. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the segment is cylindrical and preferably has a diameter of at least 5 mm and at most 9 mm, particularly preferably of at least 7 mm and at most 8.5 mm.

20. Segment according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the segment is at least 4 mm and at most 40 mm long, preferably at least 6 mm and at most 35 mm long, and particularly preferably at least 10 mm and at most 28 mm long.

21. A smoking article comprising a segment according to one of the preceding claims and an aerosol-forming material.

22. A smoking article according to claim 21, wherein the aerosol-forming material is tobacco and the smoking article is a filter cigarette, said segment preferably forming the filter or a part thereof.

23. A smoking article according to claim 21, in which the aerosol-forming material is only heated but not burned in the intended use, and the smoking article additionally contains a filter segment, the segment being arranged between the aerosol-forming material and the filter segment.