KR20230068414A - Filters for smoking or vaping articles comprising a non-woven substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a filter comprising a low density, non-woven substrate comprising natural fibers and a binder. The filter may be used as a filter for smoking articles or vaping articles.

Description

Filters for smoking or vaping articles comprising a non-woven substrate

A subject of the present invention is a filter comprising a low density, nonwoven substrate comprising natural fibers and a binder. This nonwoven substrate can be obtained by a drylaid process. This filter can be used as a filter for smoking or vaping articles.

Filters for smoking or vaping articles have a right circular cylindrical shape and generally include an outer envelope of plug wrap paper and a substrate positioned within the outer envelope. Filters for smoking or vaping articles, by means of a substrate, can prevent a user from inhaling tobacco particles and can retain harmful particulate matter, such as tar, contained in smoke or aerosols.

Filters are usually made of cellulose acetate. Such a cellulose acetate filter has a nicotine retention capacity such that the user's perception of the filtered smoke is satisfactory. In addition, these filters produce filtered fumes with good organoleptic properties. However, these cellulose acetate substrates degrade very slowly and are not dispersible in water. This is particularly detrimental because filters are not consumed during smoking/vaping of smoking/vaping articles and are regularly found in the environment. Thus, cellulose acetate substrates have a significant environmental impact.

In order to limit the environmental impact of conventional filters, it has been proposed to replace cellulose acetate with paper. Since the paper substrate is biodegradable, it degrades rapidly. However, the nicotine retention capacity of a filter comprising a paper substrate is such that a user's perception of the filtered smoke may be unsatisfactory. In addition, the smoke filtered by the filter including the paper substrate may have an unsatisfactory drying taste to the user. Therefore, the user experience provided by these paper substrates is unsatisfactory when compared to cellulose acetate.

Accordingly, there is a need for a filter having a nicotine retention capacity on the order of the same size as a filter comprising a cellulose acetate substrate that provides a satisfactory user experience.

It is therefore to the credit of the present inventors to have discovered that it is possible to meet this need with a nonwoven substrate.

A filter is proposed comprising a non-woven substrate comprising natural fibers and a binder, wherein the natural fibers constitute, by weight, 70% to 99%, in particular 80% to 98%, very particularly 85% to 98% of the solids content of the nonwoven substrate. , wherein the binder represents, by weight, between 1% and 30%, particularly between 2% and 20%, and very particularly between 2% and 15% of the solids content of the nonwoven substrate;

The non-woven substrate is characterized by having a density between 7 mg/cm 3 and 60 mg/cm 3 , in particular between 8 mg/cm 3 and 50 mg/cm 3 and very particularly between 10 mg/cm 3 and 40 mg/cm 3 .

Advantageously, the filter of the present invention has a nicotine retention capacity that is on the same order of magnitude as that of a filter comprising a cellulose acetate substrate. As a result, the user's perception of the smoke filtered by the filter of the present invention is satisfactory.

In addition, the smoke filtered by the filter of the present invention has organoleptic properties satisfactory to the user.

Non-woven substrates may also make it possible to manufacture the filters of the present invention without a pre-shaping step, which is not the case with paper substrates. Thus, the method of manufacturing the filter of the present invention is simplified.

According to another aspect, a method of manufacturing a filter of the present invention comprising a non-woven substrate is proposed, the method comprising:

a) forming a rod of nonwoven substrate from the nonwoven substrate;

b) wrapping the rod of nonwoven substrate with a sheet of plug wrap paper;

c) depositing glue lines and joining sheets of plug wrap paper to obtain a rod of filtering material;

d) cutting a rod of filtering material to create a filter.

Including,

wherein the nonwoven substrate is as defined above or obtained by a process comprising the following steps:

i) making a web from natural fibers by a drylaid process;

ii) introducing the binder into the web, and

iii) drying the web resulting from step ii) to obtain the nonwoven substrate.

A filter is proposed comprising a non-woven substrate comprising natural fibers and a binder, wherein the natural fibers constitute, by weight, 70% to 99%, in particular 80% to 98%, very particularly 85% to 98% of the solids content of the nonwoven substrate. , wherein the binder comprises, by weight, between 1% and 30%, particularly between 2% and 20%, and very particularly between 2% and 15% of the solids of the nonwoven substrate;

The non-woven substrate is characterized by having a density between 7 mg/cm 3 and 60 mg/cm 3 , in particular between 8 mg/cm 3 and 50 mg/cm 3 and very particularly between 10 mg/cm 3 and 40 mg/cm 3 .

Compared to the density of conventional paper substrates greater than 300 mg/cm 3 , the density of non-woven substrates is very low.

Without wishing to be bound by any theory, the inventors believe that due to this low density, the non-woven substrate of the filter of the present invention has a higher filter filling power than the paper substrate. This higher filling power makes it possible to reduce the amount of non-woven substrate present in the filter such that the filter of the present invention has a nicotine retention capacity on the order of the same order of magnitude as that of a filter comprising a cellulose acetate substrate.

For the purposes of this application, a "nonwoven substrate" (also referred to as a "non-woven substrate") is bonded together by friction and/or cohesion and/or adhesion. ) refers to a manufactured sheet consisting of a web or ply of directionally oriented or randomly oriented fibers.

Typically, the density of a nonwoven substrate is calculated by dividing its grammage by its thickness.

The standard ISO 536:2012 can be used to determine the basis weight of nonwoven substrates. Substrates are conditioned for a minimum of 16 hours at 23° C. and 50% humidity prior to measurement.

To measure the thickness of a nonwoven substrate, it is possible to use a dead-weight micrometer comprising a 25 cm 2 measuring head with two planar, parallel and circular pressure surfaces. During the measurement, the nonwoven substrate is placed between two pressure surfaces for 10 seconds. During thickness measurement, the pressure applied between the pressure faces is 0.5 kPa. Substrates are conditioned for a minimum of 16 hours at 23° C. and 50% humidity prior to measurement.

The basis weight of the non-woven substrate of the filter of the present invention is, for example, 20 g/m 2 to 60 g/m 2 , particularly 23 g/m 2 to 57 g/m 2 , more particularly 25 g/m 2 pay It may be 55 g/m2.

The thickness of the non-woven substrate of the filter of the present invention may be, for example, 700 μm to 6000 μm, particularly 1000 μm to 4700 μm, more particularly 2000 μm to 4500 μm.

According to one specific implementation, the nonwoven substrate may have a density of 10 mg/cm 3 to 40 mg/cm 3 and a thickness of 2000 μm to 4500 μm.

One skilled in the art will know how to adjust the basis weight and thickness of the nonwoven substrate to achieve the desired density.

For purposes of this application, the term "natural fiber" refers to a fiber of natural origin that has optionally been subjected to chemical treatment, physical treatment, or both to optimize its physical properties.

For example, natural fibers include wood fibers, leaf fibers, fruit fibers, seed fibers, bast fibers, stalk fibers, reed fibers and mixtures thereof, in particular wood fibers, leaf fibers. , seed fibers, bast fibers, and mixtures thereof, more particularly wood fibers, bast fibers, and mixtures thereof.

Examples of wood fibers that may be present in the non-woven substrate of the filter of the present invention are lyocell fibers (variable fibers with calibrated length and mass per unit length, which can be selected as desired by those skilled in the art). For the purpose of obtaining fibers having a shaped cross-section (round, elliptical, cross-shaped, circular, lamellar cross-section), cellulose fibers ground and dissolved in N-methylmorpholine N-oxide monohydrate), viscose fibers (by those skilled in the art) For the purpose of obtaining fibers with cross-sections of variable shape (round, elliptical, cross-shaped, circular, lamellar cross-section) with corrected length and mass per unit length, which can be selected as required, by carbon disulphide (CS ₂ ) fibers obtained by dissolving cellulose by modification of a hydroxyl group and then precipitating it in the presence of sulfuric acid (H ₂ SO ₄ )), and mixtures thereof, particularly lyocell fibers, viscose fibers, and mixtures thereof. there is.

For purposes of this application, “bast fiber” refers to plant fibers contained in the bast of a plant.

Bast fibers include hemp fiber, Indian hemp fiber, jute fiber, kenaf fiber, kudzu fiber, flax fiber, okra fiber, and nettle fiber. , ramie fibers and mixtures thereof, in particular hemp fibers, flax fibers and mixtures thereof, more particularly flax fibers.

Typically, bast fibers may be subjected to a pre-treatment. Accordingly, bast fibers include cottonized bast fibers, individualized bast fibers, retting bast fibers, bleached bast fibers, and mixtures thereof, particularly cottonized bast fibers, individualized bast fibers, and may be a mixture.

For purposes of this application, "seed fiber" refers to fiber obtained from the seed of a plant. Examples of seed fibers may be cotton fibers, kapok fibers, loofah fibers, milkweed fibers and mixtures thereof, particularly kapok fibers.

According to one particular embodiment, the natural fibers are selected from lyocell fibers, flax fibers, cottoned flax fibers, cotton fibers and mixtures thereof, in particular mixtures of cotton flax fibers and lyocell fibers.

According to one particular embodiment, the natural fibers of the nonwoven substrate may be a mixture of natural fibers including cotton flax fibers and lyocell fibers;

said cottonized flax fibers by weight represent more than 50%, in particular between 70% and 98%, more particularly between 85% and 95% of the solids content of said fiber mixture;

The lyocell fibers represent, by weight, less than 50%, particularly between 2% and 30%, more particularly between 5% and 15% of the solids content of the fiber mixture.

According to the present invention, before being used in the non-woven substrate, the natural fibers may have a length of between 10 mm and 150 mm, in particular between 15 mm and 100 mm, and very particularly between 20 mm and 60 mm.

The drylaid process is particularly suitable for natural fibers of this size. Thus, the nonwoven substrate of the inventive filter of this alternative embodiment can be obtained by a drylaid process.

The length of natural fibers can be measured with Keisokki's Classifiber KCF-V/LS instrument. Natural fibers are combed and individualized prior to measurement. The fiber size is measured automatically by an optical method.

Natural fibers may also be cut to have a length within the ranges mentioned above. Conventional cutting techniques that may be used include grinding of natural fibers, guillotine cutting of natural fibers with or without an air cyclone or screen type system for removing excessively short and excessively long fibers. am.

For purposes of this application, "binder" refers to a compound having properties that allow consolidation of a nonwoven substrate.

For example, the binder can be a natural polymer, synthetic polymer or copolymer or a mixture thereof. Natural polymers can be polysaccharides, cellulose derivatives, or mixtures thereof. The synthetic polymer may be latex.

Polysaccharides that may be used as binders may be polysaccharides or polysaccharide derivatives. For example, starch, dextrin, gum Arabic and mixtures thereof, particularly starch, may be used as binders.

For example, the cellulose derivative may be selected from ethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, hydroxymethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, alkali metal salts of carboxymethyl cellulose, and mixtures thereof, particularly carboxymethyl cellulose.

As alkali metals of the carboxymethyl cellulose salt, potassium, sodium, and magnesium may be mentioned.

The synthetic polymer or copolymer can be, for example, polyvinyl alcohol, ethylene-vinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride, styrene-butadiene, polybutadiene, polyacrylic, ethylene-vinyl acetate and mixtures thereof, especially polyvinyl alcohol. there is.

According to another very specific implementation, the nonwoven substrate is:

a fiber mixture comprising from 85% to 95% by weight of the solids of the fiber mixture of cotton flax fibers and from 5% to 15% of the solids of the fiber mixture of lyocell fibers; and

A binder selected from starch, polyvinyl alcohol and ethylene-vinyl acetate, which may correspond to 2% to 15% by weight, particularly 2% to 8% by weight of the solids of the nonwoven substrate

can include,

wherein the fiber mixture may correspond to 85% to 98% by weight, in particular 92% to 98% by weight of the solid content of the nonwoven substrate; and

It may have a density of 10 mg/cm ³ to 40 mg/cm ³ .

Another very specific embodiment of the nonwoven substrate can be obtained by the drylaid process.

Filters of the present invention may be filters for smoking articles or vaping articles.

For purposes of this application, “smoking article” refers to an article comprising tobacco and/or any other plant intended to be smoked. For example, the smoking article may be a machine-made cigarette, a roll-your-own cigarette or a make-your-own cigarette.

Filters for smoking articles typically have the shape of a straight column and comprise an outer envelope of a plug wrap paper for a smoking article, particularly a cigarette, and a nonwoven substrate of the filter of the present invention as defined above positioned within said outer envelope.

For purposes of this application, "vaping article" refers to an article containing tobacco and/or any other plant intended to be vape, which is without burning the tobacco and/or plant. It is intended to be inserted into a device that heats the plant and enables delivery of an aerosol to the user. For example, the vaping article may be a tobacco stick.

Typically, a filter for a vaping article has a columnar shape and comprises an outer envelope of a plug wrap paper for a vaping article, particularly a tobacco stick, and a nonwoven substrate of the filter of the present invention as defined above positioned within the outer envelope. do.

The filter of the present invention may have a density between 100 mg/cm 3 and 200 mg/cm 3 , particularly between 110 mg/cm 3 and 170 mg/cm 3 , more particularly between 115 mg/cm 3 and 160 mg/cm 3 .

Typically, the density of a filter is measured by dividing the filter's mass by its volume after manufacture of the filter. For a filter having the shape of a right column, the volume of the filter (V _filter ) is calculated by the formula: V _filter = π*L*r ² , where r represents the radius of the filter and L represents the length of the filter.

The nonwoven substrate of the filter of the present invention may not be crimped prior to formation of the filter. This is very advantageous as it enables manufacturing of the filter while simplifying manufacturing of the filter.

According to another aspect, the present invention also relates to a smoking article comprising a filter as defined above.

According to another aspect, the present invention also relates to a vaping article comprising a filter as defined above.

The present invention also relates to the use of a nonwoven substrate as defined above in a filter, in particular a filter for smoking articles or a filter for vaping articles.

The invention also relates to a method of making a filter for a smoking or vaping article comprising a nonwoven substrate, the method comprising:

a) forming a rod of nonwoven substrate from the nonwoven substrate;

b) wrapping the rod of non-woven substrate with a sheet of plug wrap paper;

c) depositing glue lines and bonding the sheets of plug wrap paper to obtain a rod of filtering material;

d) cutting a rod of filtering material to create a filter.

Including,

wherein the nonwoven substrate is as defined above or obtained by a process comprising the following steps:

i) making a web from natural fibers by a drylaid process;

ii) introducing the binder into the web, and

iii) drying the web resulting from step ii) to obtain a nonwoven substrate.

The nonwoven substrate, natural fibers and binder are as described above with respect to the nonwoven substrate.

In particular, the filter for smoking or vaping articles produced by the manufacturing method of the present invention has the shape of a straight column and comprises an outer envelope of a plug wrap paper for a filter for smoking or vaping articles and a filter as defined above located within said outer envelope. and the non-woven substrate of the filter of the present invention.

Thus, the non-woven substrate of the filter of the present invention can be obtained by a drylaid process.

The drylaid process and the airlaid process are two different common routes known to those skilled in the art for making webs. One skilled in the art will know how to adjust the parameters of the drylaid process to produce the non-woven substrate of the filter of the present invention.

The method of the present invention, if necessary, may include step i1) of cutting the natural fiber to obtain a natural fiber having a length within the above-mentioned range, before step i) of manufacturing.

Cutting step i1) may be carried out by conventional techniques such as comminution of natural fibers, guillotine cutting, with or without an air cyclone or screen type system for removing excessively short and excessively long fibers.

During the incorporation step ii) the aqueous dispersion of the binder is introduced into the web. Such introduction is carried out, for example, by impregnation, such as impregnation with a size press, by spraying, such as by spraying, by surface application, such as by coating or by printing, in particular by spray spraying. It can be. Advantageously, spraying will be performed on both sides of the web.

Aqueous dispersions of the binder can be obtained by any technique known to those skilled in the art. One skilled in the art will know how to adjust the concentration of the binder in the aqueous dispersion to obtain the desired binder content in the non-woven substrate of the filter of the present invention.

Step iii) of drying may be performed by a drying device, such as a tunnel through which air passes or an infrared lamp.

This drying step iii) may be carried out at a temperature between 75°C and 220°C, particularly between 90°C and 170°C, and more particularly between 100°C and 120°C. A temperature within this range advantageously minimizes the duration of this drying step iii) while minimizing degradation of the natural fibers of the nonwoven substrate, thus making it possible to optimize the process of the present invention.

Advantageously, the combination of introducing step ii) and drying step iii) makes it possible to improve the cohesion of the natural fibers and thus to consolidate the structure of the non-woven substrate of the filter of the present invention. do.

The natural fibers used in manufacturing step i) may be a mixture of natural fibers. This mixture of natural fibers can be obtained prior to the manufacturing step i).

Natural fibers may be pretreated bast fibers, such as cotton bast fibers, individualized bast fibers, retting bast fibers and mixtures thereof, in particular cotton bast fibers, individualized bast fibers and mixtures thereof. .

Thus, the method of the present invention, prior to manufacturing step i), involves retting, bleaching, cottonizing, individualizing, and mixtures thereof, in particular a bast selected from cotton, cotton, or cotton after singulation or singulation. A step i2) of treating the fibers may be included.

Cotton is a treatment that refines the fiber to pass it through a cotton mill. A person skilled in the art knows how to carry out the cotton treatment step i2).

Individualization is a process in which all or some of the fibers of a fiber set are separated from each other. Individualization can be carried out, for example, by combing or chemical treatment.

This processing step i2) may take place before, after or before and after the optional cutting step i1).

For example, bast fibers are optionally subjected to individualization treatment step i2), cutting step i1) to obtain bast fibers having a length within the above-mentioned range, and then optionally cotton processing step i2), in particular cutting step i1) to obtain bast fibers having a length within the above-mentioned range, which can then be subjected to cotton treatment step i2).

The method may also comprise, between producing step i) and introducing step ii), step ii1) of compacting the web to obtain a compacted web, which is then introduced into step ii). ) through

This compressing step ii1) may allow reducing the thickness of the web to control the density of the nonwoven substrate.

According to another very specific implementation, the method may include the following steps:

i) in a drylaid process from a mixture of natural fibers comprising 85% to 95% by weight of cotton flax fibers and 5% to 15% by weight of lyocell fibers by weight of the solids of the mixture of fibers; manufacturing a web by

ii) incorporating a binder selected from starch, polyvinyl alcohol, ethylene-vinyl acetate or mixtures thereof into the web by spraying the aqueous dispersion of the binder;

iii) the density may be from 10 mg/cm ³ to 40 mg/cm ³ , the mixture of fibers may represent 85% to 98% by weight of the solids of the nonwoven substrate, and the binder may be 2% by weight of the solids of the nonwoven substrate; drying the web resulting from step ii) to obtain a nonwoven substrate, which may amount to from 15% to 15% by weight.

Optionally, the nonwoven substrate obtained in step iii) may be calendered.

After step iii) and before step a), the nonwoven substrate may be wrapped into rolls by a spooling process, into bobbins or into paperboard by a festooning process.

Example

Example 1: Preparation of non-woven substrate

In the examples, air permeability is determined using an "FX3300 Lab Air IV" air permeability tester. During the measurement, the tested web was placed under the measuring head and the air flow through the web was measured at a pressure drop of 200 Pa over an area of 20 cm 2 . Permeability is measured in units of [cm ³ /cm ² /sec]. For each sample, three measurements were taken, and the air permeability shown is the average value.

Example 1.1: A mixture of 95% by weight of solids of cotton flax fibers and lyocell fibers of a nonwoven substrate prepared by the drylaid process (90% by weight of solids of the mixture of fibers 90% by weight cotton flax / 10% by weight lyocell ) and a non-woven substrate comprising starch at 5% by weight of the solids of the non-woven substrate

Card before blending, opening and depositing cottonized flax fibers (VERVAEKE FIBER NV, 22 mm long) and lyocell fibers (1.7 dtex/38 mm long from Lenzig) onto forming fabrics. was made parallel to A solution containing starch at 5% solids (Perfectafilm X115 from Avebe) is sprayed on both sides of the web. After that, the sprayed web is dried by a hot air oven at a temperature of 100° C. to 120° C. The binder content in the web is 5%.

The obtained nonwoven substrate has a density of 11 mg/cm ³ , a thickness of 4190 μm, a basis weight of 47 g/m ² , and an air permeability of 650 cm ³ .cm ⁻² .sec ⁻¹ .

All examples have the same fiber size with an average length before manufacture of 22 mm for cotton flax fiber and 38 mm for lyocell fiber.

Example 1.2: A mixture of 95% by weight of solids of cotton flax fibers and lyocell fibers in a nonwoven substrate prepared by the drylaid process (90% by weight of solids of the mixture of fibers 90% by weight cotton flax / 10% by weight lyocell ) and a non-woven substrate comprising starch at 5% by weight of the solids of the non-woven substrate

The nonwoven substrate was obtained by the process described in Example 1.1. After drying, the web was compacted at a pressure of 1 bar. The binder content in the web is 5%.

The obtained nonwoven substrate has a density of 22 mg/cm ³ , a thickness of 1900 μm, a basis weight of 42 g/m ² and an air permeability of 640 cm ³ .cm ⁻² .sec ⁻¹ .

Example 1.3: A mixture of 88% by weight solids of cotton flax fibers and lyocell fibers in a nonwoven substrate prepared by the drylaid process (90% by weight cotton flax / 10% by weight lyocell on the solids of the mixture of fibers ) and a non-woven substrate comprising starch at 12% by weight of the solids of the non-woven substrate

The nonwoven substrate was obtained by the process described in Example 1.1. The binder content in the web is 12%.

The obtained nonwoven substrate has a density of 14 mg/cm ³ , a thickness of 2040 μm, a basis weight of 29 g/m ² and an air permeability of 890 cm ³ .cm ⁻² .sec ⁻¹ .

Example 1.4: A mixture of 95% by weight of solids of cotton flax fibers and lyocell fibers of a nonwoven substrate prepared by the drylaid process (90% by weight of solids of the mixture of fibers cotton flax / 10% by weight lyocell ) and a nonwoven substrate comprising polyvinyl alcohol at 5% by weight of the solids of the nonwoven substrate

The nonwoven substrate was obtained by the process described in Example 1.1. A solution containing 5% solids polyvinyl alcohol (Elvanol 71-30 from Kuraray) is sprayed on both sides of the web. The binder content in the web is 5%.

The obtained nonwoven substrate had a density of 17 mg/cm ³ , a thickness of 2500 μm, a basis weight of 43 g/m ² , and an air permeability of 800 cm ³ .cm ⁻² .sec ⁻¹ .

Example 1.5: Nonwoven Substrate Made by the Drylaid Process and Comprising Lyocell Fiber at 85% by Weight of Solids of the Nonwoven Substrate and Starch at 15% by Solids of the Nonwoven Substrate

The nonwoven substrate was obtained by the process described in Example 1.1. The binder level on the web is 15%.

The non-woven substrate has a density of 13 mg/cm ³ , a thickness of 2690 μm, a basis weight of 36 g/m 2 and an air permeability of 660 cm ³ .cm ⁻² .sec ⁻¹ .

Example 1.6: A mixture of 91% by weight solids of cotton flax fibers and lyocell fibers in a nonwoven substrate prepared by the drylaid process (90% by weight cotton flax / 10% by weight lyocell on solids of the mixture of fibers ) and a nonwoven substrate comprising ethylene-vinyl acetate at 9% by weight of the solids of the nonwoven substrate

The nonwoven substrate was obtained by the process described in Example 1.1. A solution containing 3% ethylene-vinyl acetate solids (®Vinamul Elite 15 from Celanese) was sprayed on both sides of the web. The binder content in the web is 9%.

The non-woven substrate has a density of 22 mg/cm ³ , a thickness of 1600 μm, a basis weight of 38 g/m 2 and an air permeability of 712 cm ³ .cm ⁻² .sec ⁻¹ .

Example 1.7: A mixture of 92% by weight of solids of cotton flax fibers and lyocell fibers of a nonwoven substrate prepared by the drylaid process (90% by weight of solids of the mixture of fibers cotton flax / 10% by weight lyocell ) and a non-woven substrate comprising starch at 8% by weight of the solids of the non-woven substrate

The nonwoven substrate was obtained by the process described in Example 1.1. After drying, the web was calendered at a pressure of 7 bar. The binder level on the web is 8%.

The non-woven web has a density of 44 mg/cm ³ , a thickness of 900 μm, and a basis weight of 40 g/m².

Example 2: Preparation and Characterization of Filters for Smoking Articles

Filters for smoking articles were prepared using the substrates of Examples 1.1-1.7 by standard methods for making filters without passing through a crimping machine. Nonporous plug wrap paper was used to wrap the rod of non-woven filtering material.

The filter of the present invention was compared to a paper filter and a commercial cellulose acetate filter. Paper filters were prepared using standard methods of making filters by crimping a 36 g/m 2 and 100 μm thick substrate CF 36. Filters obtained for each term were cut into 21 mm sticks.

The characteristics of the filter are shown in Table 1 below.

Example 3: Preparation and Characteristics of Cigarettes

Cigarettes were prepared using the filter described in Example 2. To form a cigarette, a rod of tobacco was assembled with a filter using tipping paper. A rod of tobacco was formed using commercial “American blend” cigarettes. Cigarettes were manufactured with pressure differentials similar to commercial cigarettes. Cigarette ventilation was blocked.

The produced cigarettes were smoked in a Borgwaldt RM20 smoking machine according to standard ISO 3308:2000. Pressure drop (PD in Table 2) was measured according to standard ISO 6565:2002. Nicotine content in smoke was measured according to the standard ISO 10315:2000. Smoking results are shown in Table 2 below.

Table 2 shows that at equivalent pressure drops, cigarettes with a filter according to the invention and cigarettes comprising a commercial cellulose acetate filter have nicotine content in the smoke on the same order of magnitude, while filters comprising filters made of crimped paper. Cigarettes demonstrate that they have a much lower nicotine content in smoke.

This Example 3 thus demonstrates that the user experience provided by a cigarette comprising a filter comprising a substrate according to the present invention is as satisfactory as that provided by a cigarette comprising a commercial cellulose acetate filter.

[Table 1]

[Table 2]

Claims (14)

A filter comprising a non-woven substrate comprising natural fibers and a binder,
The natural fiber corresponds to 70% to 99% by weight of the solid content of the nonwoven substrate, and the binder corresponds to 1% to 30% by weight of the solid content of the nonwoven substrate,
Characterized in that the non-woven substrate has a density of 7 mg / cm 3 to 60 mg / cm 3, filter. According to claim 1,
A filter in which the non-woven substrate has a thickness of 700 μm to 6000 μm. According to claim 1 or 2,
A filter in which the length of the natural fibers is greater than 10 mm and less than or equal to 150 mm. According to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the natural fibers are selected from wood fibers, leaf fibers, fruit fibers, seed fibers, bast fibers, stem fibers, reed fibers, and mixtures thereof. 5. The filter according to claim 4, wherein the wood fibers are selected from lyocell fibers, viscose fibers, and mixtures thereof. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the bast fiber is hemp fiber, indian hemp fiber, jute fiber, kenaf fiber, kudzu fiber, flax fiber, okra fiber, nettle fiber, ramie fiber. and mixtures thereof. The filter according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the binder is a synthetic polymer or copolymer. 7. A filter according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the binder is selected from polysaccharides, preferably starch, cellulose derivatives, and mixtures thereof. The filter according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the binder is polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate or ethylene-vinyl acetate. 10. A filter according to any one of claims 1 to 9 for use in smoking or vaping articles. Section 1 A smoking article comprising a filter as defined in claim 1 . Section 1 A vaping article comprising a filter as defined in claim 1 . A method of making a filter for a smoking or vaping article comprising a nonwoven substrate, the method comprising:
a) forming a rod of nonwoven substrate from the nonwoven substrate;
b) wrapping said rod of nonwoven substrate with a sheet of plug wrap paper;
c) depositing glue lines and bonding said sheets of plug wrap paper to obtain a rod of filtering material;
d) cutting the rod of filtering material to create the filter.
Including,
wherein the nonwoven substrate is as defined in any one of claims 1 to 9 or obtained by a process comprising the following steps:
i) making a web from natural fibers by a drylaid process;
ii) introducing a binder into the web, and
iii) drying the web resulting from step ii) to obtain the nonwoven substrate. According to claim 13,
After step iii) and before step a), the nonwoven substrate is wrapped into rolls by a spooling process, into bobbins or into paperboard by a festooning process.