US2944553A - Cigarette wrappers - Google Patents

Description

July 12, 1960 K H. H. s'roRcH CIGARETTE WRAPPERS Filed Sept. 27. 1954 N lawn/WSN VH1 Q3 LL.

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This inventiongzrelatesfto wrappersior cigarettes and, more particularly, to novel wrappersfor cigaggettes comprising a non-cellulosic material.

Cigarettes, as -is'wellknownlfusually are prepared from tabacco-.shreds in rod-like fQrtu-.z Surounddf Q11: @F.lsed rf immettere Durinszthe'fsmgkinasta sigarette; thafbumingtipiobtains; a.temperatureaverasinssIrisa as, and the combustion temperature-Mifflin cigarette.;

combustion zone thereof attains an average as high'as 680 C. In studies involving the charring of materials` such as cellulose which contain acarbonyl group, it has been found that the materials are converted 4to chars closely resembling coal. This is illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2, which show infrared spectra of chars obtained by the pyrolysis of cellulosic material-and of the anthraxylon or the main constituent of coal. The similarity of the spectra of coal and of chars obtained from the pyrolysis of cellulosic material shows that the charring of the cellulose results in polycyclicl structures which yield polygetatureranses and .under p trie-likes Other: non-.cellulosic polymers'capable of being .flmed inl@ films on sheets; and thusk suitable for the. production; Yof, Lthe cigarettev wrappers will v be. apparent. to those-skilled inthe art.A Obviously, toxic groupsor groups capable of forming toxicderivatives. should/.not be employed ,inthe production ofthe wrappers. As previously indicated, carbonyl groups-must' notl be/present inasmuch as six-memberedv carbon-ring-structures will beformed duringfpyrolysisof thematerial..V Other groups that will readily 'be-apparent andfshouldbeomitted are.` such as the halogens and groups that are potentially carbonyl forming-a As Iis wellknowng polyethylene polymers-are..odor1ess,

lta.,s teless..rise-to c andtransparent Thesepglymers may heisrmsd-byu@plurality oftdierent- .methods` 5 Perfexample, the polyethylene'pplymermay be. prepared' by polym,arising ethylene in .the gaseous 4phase .bycontacting same in the presence oflu afcatalystnover very wide=tem perffsqu tlnh. If.;desired,.,the,ethylene maybe con- ;t-.agtedf by@ .moving catalyst, orfpassed through. a-ixedr iluid bed of the catalyst. Other methor'immaysalsobe employed for forming the polyethylene polymer as7 for` example,'by carrying out the polymerization in an nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons upon further pyrolysis.

Inasmuch as cellulose upon charring kresults in vpolynuclear structures which decompose to producecompounds such as phenanthrene, anthracene, and other derivatives, the use of cellulosic materials tomanufacture cigarette paper wrappers introduces a source of carcinogenic compounds into the cigarette smoke.

After the stalks and stems have been removed from the tobacco during the processing of the tobacco for the formation of cigarettes, substantially all of the cellulosic materials have been removed therefrom. Thus, when cigarette paper wrappers consisting of cellulosic materials are employed in the manufacture of the cigarette, the greater percentage of thevcellulosic material present in the total cigarette resides in the wrapper. The wrapper in this instance may constitute as much as 80% of the total cellulosic material present in the cigarette. At the temperatures obtained during the burning of the cigarette, the cellulosic material forms chars which are a source of carcinogenic compounds. While it has been shown that extended periods averaging as long as to 35 years are often required for the production of certain types of carcinoma to be developed as a result of cigarette smoking,

it is nevertheless desirable to remove any known source v of carcinogenic compounds from cigarettes.

It has been determined that carbohydrates containing a carbonyl group such as glucose or cellulose will yield upon pyrolysis six-membered carbon-ring structures in the residue as a result of oxidation. The wrappers to be employed in accordance with the present invention are derived from non-cellulosic materials,V preferably noncellulosic material free of carbonyl groups. It is further desi-red that the wrappers to be employed consist of a polymer of a non-cellulosic material comprising only carbon and hydrogen atoms and free of carbonyl groups. Such materials that may be used are, for example, polyethylene, polystyrene, styrene-butadiene copolymers and aqueous medium in the presence of a peroxide catalyst and at extremely high pressures. Polyethylene polymers ,-thus formed may then be treated by methods well known inthe art for the production of films or sheets suitable for use as wrappers in the production of cigarettes.

Other` polymers of non-cellulosic materials that may also be employed are such as styrene-butadiene copolymers. These polymers are usually prepared by the emulsion polymerization of the monomers in the presence of a catalyst and suitable wetting agents. The copolymers thus Vformed may then be treated or compounded, as is well known, for the production of films or sheets suitable for the preparation of the cigarette Wrappers. f Any other non-cellulosic material and preferably the polymer of any non-cellulosic material containing carbon and hydrogen atoms and free of carbonyl groups that may be apparent, in View ofthe teaching of my invention, may also be employed. Obviously, the material to be employed for the preparation of the cigarette wrappers must becapable of forming films. Since non-cellulosic materials are utilized in the preparation of cigarette wrappers in accordance With the present invention, a known source of carcinogenic compounds is thus removed from the cigarette. VInasmuch as no carbohydrates containing carbonylrgroups are present in the cigarette wrappers of my invention, condensed polycyclic structures will not be formed from the wrapper. The pyrolysis product of the Wrapper will be free from tarry vapors, more nearly odorless and tasteless and will enhance the odor and The nature of the invention will be more fully ap parent by reference to the drawing comparing the ino material is made up of essentially the same type of in-A frared absorbing chemical groups as are in the anthraxylon, which is a main constituent of coal. For example, the band near 3 microns is indicative of compounds containing the OH group and the band near 6.25

microns is indicative of conjugated or aromatic C compounds.

3 As produced, the lms or sheets of the polymers of the non-cellulosic materials containing carbon and hydrogen atoms and free of carbonyl groups are generally transparent. If desired, nontoxic colorants or dyes may be introduced into the Wrappers to produce the conventionally acceptedwlzlite color of Ythe cellulosic cigarette wrappers presently employed in the industry. Other -compounds may also be introduced into the cigarette wrappers of the present invention, if desired, in order to obtain Vthe desired porosity and the like of the Wrappers. In any event, the cellulosic paper Wrappers previously employed -for the production of cigarettes will be replaced by my invention with a non-cellulosic wrapper.

I claim: Y

1. As a wrapper for a cigarette, a non-cellulosic material comprising hydrogen and carbon atoms and free of carbonyl groups.

2. As a Wrapper for a cigarette, a polymer of a noncellulosic material free of carbonyl groups. p

3. As a wrapper for a cigarette, a polymer of a Vnoncellulosic material comprising hydrogenY and carbon atoms andfree of carbonyl groups. p

4. A wrapper for a cigarette comprising polyethylene and being freerof carbonyl groups.

5. A smoking article comprising tobacco and a Wrapper therefor, said wrapper being a non-cellulosicmaterial comprising hydrogen and carbon atoms and free of carbonyl groups.

6. A smoking article comprising tobacco and a wrapper therefor, said wrapper being a polymer of noncellulosic material free of carbonyl groups.

7. A smoking article comprising tobacco and a Wrapper therefor, sai-d Wrapperbeing a polymer of a noncellulosic material comprising hydrogen and carbon atoms and free of carbonyl groups.

8. A smoking article comprising tobacco and a Wrapper therefor, said wrapper comprising polyethylene and being free of carbonyl groups.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Y Frankenburg: Chemical Changes in the Harvested I obacco Leaf, as included in vol 10, page 396 of fAdvances in Enzymology, published 1950, by Iinterscience Publishers Inc., New York, N.Y.

Claims (1)

1. AS A WRAPPER FOR A CIGARETTE, A NON-CELLULOSIC MATERIAL COMPRISING HYDROGEN AND CARBON ATOMS AND FREE OF CARBONYL GROUPS.

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