JPH09103280A - Material for easily degradable filter and cigarette filter using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain the subject filter capable of being easily deformed with water to facilitate the degradability of the product with microorganisms and useful for cigarettes, etc., by binding a water-soluble sheet-like material consisting mainly of wooden pulp fibers to the opened fiber sheet-like material of cellulose ester fiber tows. SOLUTION: (1) A water-dissociable sheet-like material comprising a nonwoven sheet prepared from a material consisting mainly of wooden pulp fibers by a paper-making method, a needle-punching method, a water-jet method, etc., a nonwoven sheet prepared from the wooden pulp fibers with a water-soluble binder, etc., and (2) the opened fiber sheet-like material of cellulose ester fiber tows such as cellulose acetate fiber tows are bound to each other in a (1):(2) weight ratio of 3:7 to 8: 2 with a thermoplastic water-soluble adhesive, etc., and subsequently corrugated to obtain the objective easily degradable filter material comprising a composite sheet-like material having a groove pitch (p) of 0.05-5mm and a groove depth (d) of 0.2-2mm, capable of being easily deformed in the presence of water to accelerate the transfer of the material into a state easily degradable with microorganisms, and useful for cigarette filters, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an easily disintegrating filter material and a tobacco filter using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, most tobacco filters are manufactured from a tow of cellulose ester fibers represented by cellulose acetate fibers. Cellulose acetate fiber tow has an advantage that it can be easily filter-processed by welding it with triacetin, which is a solvent of cellulose acetate fiber, and maintaining the rod shape, and can be applied to a cigarette maker at a high speed.

However, in the cigarette butts after smoking, the filter portion keeps the rod shape without losing its shape, the wrapping paper of the filter portion does not easily come off, and the biodegradability of the cellulose acetate fiber itself used for the filter. Therefore, the shape of the cigarette butts filter in a natural environment does not easily collapse.

Generally, cigarette filters are collected in ashtrays, trash cans, or the like for disposal after smoking, but in some cases, they are left in the natural environment such as the road, mountains, rivers, lakes, and the sea by throwing them away. . The neglect of such cigarette filters causes a problem of environmental pollution and is a social problem.

On the other hand, JP-A-55-141185,
Japanese Patent Publication No. S63-60991 proposes a sheet-like material composed of pulp and acetate fiber tow as a tobacco filter having excellent adsorption performance.
There is no indication of disintegration.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an easily disintegrating filter material which easily disintegrates its shape in the presence of water and promotes transition to a state where microorganisms are easily decomposed, and an easily disintegrating material using the same. The purpose is to provide a cigarette filter.

[0007]

The present invention is a composite sheet material in which a water-decomposable sheet material (1) mainly composed of wood pulp fibers and an opened sheet material (2) of cellulose ester fiber tow are joined. And a cigarette filter in which the easily disintegratable tobacco filter material is wound around a filter plug.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The water-decomposable sheet material (1) in the present invention is mainly composed of wood pulp fibers, and when impregnated with water, the sheet shape is collapsed, preferably. A sheet-like material having a water dispersibility of 15% or more according to a measurement method described later and having a water dispersibility.

For the water-decomposable sheet material (1), for example, wood pulp short fibers are used, and papermaking, needle punching,
A non-woven sheet made of water jet or the like or a non-woven sheet made of a water-soluble binder is used, and as the water-decomposable sheet-like material, specifically, a tissue paper, a dust paper, in a general paper type classification, Examples include household thin paper such as toilet paper.

Further, the water-decomposable sheet material (1) preferably has bulkiness, and when the amount of fibers per unit area, that is, the basis weight is increased, the ventilation resistance is increased and the basis weight is increased. When it becomes smaller, the filtration efficiency becomes lower, the moldability of the filter becomes lower, and fuzzing easily occurs. Therefore, the basis weight is preferably 10 to 50 g / m ² .

The opened sheet material (2) of cellulose ester fiber tow is a sheet-shaped material obtained by opening the tow which is a fiber bundle of cellulose ester fibers.
In order to make it easy to disintegrate, it is preferable that the cellulose ester fiber tow is a sheet-like material which is divided into a plurality of pieces in the width direction and opened.

Examples of the cellulose ester fiber tow include tow such as cellulose diacetate fiber and cellulose triacetate fiber. Cellulose acetate fiber is used in view of stability of production as a filter material and taste of tobacco when used as a tobacco filter. It is preferably tow. The cellulose ester fibers forming the tow may have either a circular cross section or a modified cross section such as a Y-shaped cross section.

The cellulose ester fiber tow is, for example,
The cellulose acetate fiber tow obtained by the dry spinning method is explained. The cellulose acetate having an average acetylation degree of less than 62.5% is dissolved in acetone or a mixed solvent of methylene chloride / methanol to prepare a spinning dope, and the spinning dope is dried. By spinning using a spinning device, hundreds to tens of thousands of arbitrary total denier tows can be obtained.
The cellulose acetate fiber has an average acetylation degree of 48.
Cellulose diacetate fibers of 8-56.2% are preferably used.

In the present invention, the water-decomposable sheet material (1) and the cellulose ester fiber tow opened sheet material (2) are joined to form a composite sheet material.
The composite sheet-like material is formed, for example, by attaching a plasticizer of cellulose ester fiber or a water-soluble adhesive to the surface of the opened sheet-like material (2) by spraying, dripping, transferring, pasting, etc. This is achieved by stacking and joining the article (1).

The water-decomposable sheet-like material (1) and the cellulose ester fiber tow opened sheet-like material (2) may be joined over the entire surface of both sheet-like materials, but in order to enhance the disintegration property. It is preferable that they are partially joined.

The plasticizer for the cellulose ester fiber used for joining is not particularly limited as long as it can plasticize the cellulose ester fiber, and may be a solvent. When the cellulose ester fiber is a cellulose acetate fiber, triacetin is used. It is preferably used and suitable for partial bonding.

Examples of water-soluble adhesives used in the same manner include polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, starch and the like, which are applied in the form of powder or solution, preferably polyvinyl alcohol, saponified ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, etc. It can be applied in the form of the thermoplastic water-soluble adhesive film, and can be interposed between the water-decomposable sheet-like material (1) and the opened sheet-like material (2) and bonded by heating and pressure bonding.

In the present invention, the water-decomposable sheet material (1)
The open sheet material (2) is joined at various ratios, but when used as a material for a cigarette filter, it has a high efficiency of removing harmful components contained in the smoke of cigarettes and a good flavor and taste. It is preferable that the water-decomposable sheet-like material (1) and the opened sheet-like material (2) are joined at a weight ratio of 3: 7 to 8: 2, since it can be used as a cigarette filter.

The easily disintegrating filter material of the present invention comprises a composite sheet material thus formed, and FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an example of the easily disintegrating filter material of the present invention.
In order to improve the disintegration property, it is preferable that the formed composite sheet is a corrugated composite sheet. FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of an example of the easily disintegrating filter material of the present invention that has been corrugated.

The corrugating process is carried out by passing under heat between rolls having a large number of grooves and meshing with each other, the clearance between rolls is 0.5 mm or less, and the pressure between rolls is 0.5 to 6 kg / cm ² G. The temperature is preferably 60 to 180 ° C. Clearance between rolls is 0.5m
If it exceeds m or if the temperature is lower than 60 ° C, the moldability is insufficient, and if the temperature exceeds 180 ° C, the ventilation resistance decreases.

The groove pitch p and the groove depth d in the composite sheet material are adjusted according to the type and thickness of the fiber of each sheet material, the type and amount of the bonding agent, or the characteristics of the cigarette filter to be obtained. Groove pitch p is 0.05 to
It is preferable that the groove depth d is 5 mm and the groove depth d is 0.2 to 2 mm. If the groove pitch p is less than 0.05 mm, the ventilation resistance increases, and if it exceeds 5 mm, the filtration efficiency tends to decrease. Further, if the depth d of the groove is less than 0.2 mm, the moldability is insufficient, and if it exceeds 2 mm, the focusing property when used as a filter tends to be deteriorated.

The filter material of the present invention has an easily disintegrating property and is effective for filtering or removing fine particles contained in a gas or a liquid, and is particularly useful as a tobacco filter. It is also used as a filter for air filtration surgical masks, smog, dust protection masks and the like.

Tobacco filters are produced from filter materials by filtering the filter material into a rod shape by a cigarette filter plug hoisting device to form a rod shape.

When a cigarette filter is formed by using a filter material composed of a corrugated composite sheet, the shape retention as a filter is better than when a non-corrugated one is used.
The filter has uniform thickness and filtration characteristics.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an example of an apparatus for manufacturing a filter material and a tobacco filter. In FIG. 3, the cellulose ester fiber tow 10 is drawn out from the bale, and is sent out by the delivery roll 12 in the state where the cellulose ester fiber tow 10 is opened into a sheet shape by the opening device 11, the plasticizer is dropped, or the thermoplastic water-soluble The adhesive film 13 is inserted and interposed, and is joined to the water-decomposable sheet material 14 of wood pulp fiber that is separately sent. Then, it is sent to the corrugating device 15 to be corrugated, and the filter plug hoisting device 16 produces a cigarette filter.

The tobacco filter of the present invention has an easily disintegrating property based on the easily disintegrating property of the filter material. Preferably there is. The filter water dispersion rate of a general cigarette filter made of cellulose acetate fiber tow is about 3%, and in the tobacco filter of the present invention, the filter water dispersion rate is preferably 20% or more, and more preferably 25% or more.

In the present invention, a tobacco filter using the filter material of the present invention, particularly a tobacco filter material, has a high efficiency of removing harmful components contained in tobacco smoke and a good flavor and taste. .

[0028]

The present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to examples. Each measurement item in the examples was based on the following method.

<Ventilation resistance> A filter plug and a U-tube water column meter are connected in parallel to a vacuum pump for suction, and with the scale of the water column meter when the flow rate of air passing through the filter plug is 17.5 ml / sec. displayed.

<Water Dispersion Ratio of Sheet Material> About 1 g of a certain amount of the sheet material is dried at 100 ° C. for 1 hour and then accurately weighed to obtain an initial weight w ₀ . Next, the dried sheet-like material was put into a beaker containing 200 ml of pure water in a stirring state of 600 rpm with a stirrer, and after 10 minutes, filtered through a sieve (4 mesh) having an opening of 4.75 mm. After drying for 2 hours at 100 ° C. with sieve the sample remaining on the sieve, dried samples were weighed extraction from the sieve, to do this with a test weight after w _1. The water dispersion rate of the sheet-like material was calculated by the following formula. Sheet-like material water dispersion rate (%) = [(w ₀ −w ₁ ) / w ₀ ] ×
100

[0031] <filter water dispersion index> cutting the filter plug to length 25mm chip, after drying for 1 hour at 100 ° C. After stripped the web, and weighed, which the filter initial weight W ₀ To do. Then, the dried filter chip is put into a beaker containing 200 ml of pure water in a stirring state of 600 rpm with a stirrer having a length of 3 cm, and after 10 minutes, a lump of fibers is taken out with tweezers. Separately, a beaker containing pure water is prepared, and the fiber lumps are shaken in the beaker to separate the fiber waste adhering to the fiber lumps. After removing the attached water and drying at 100 ° C. for 2 hours, the weight is measured, and this is taken as the weight W ₁ after the filter test. The water dispersion ratio of the filter was calculated by the following formula. Filter water dispersion rate (%) = [(W ₀ −W ₁ ) / W ₀ ] ×
100

<Water Dispersion State of Filter> In the above-mentioned measurement of the filter water dispersion rate, the state of the filter chip after 10 minutes in water was evaluated and judged by the following four-step method. 1: Rod shape 2: Sheet shape 3: Cotton shape 4: Finer lump or finer dispersion than cotton shape

(Examples 1 to 3) Cellulose acetate fiber tows shown in Table 1 were opened by a usual method, and triacetin was uniformly attached to the entire surface of a sheet-like material formed by opening with a transfer roller. After that, semi-crepe paper made of wood pulp fibers and having a basis weight shown in Table 1 was overlaid and bonded to obtain a composite sheet. Continuously, groove pitch 1mm,
Corrugation with a groove depth of 0.3 mm was performed, and the corrugated composite sheet was wound up on a cigarette filter plug by a usual method. The air resistance of the obtained filter plug and the water dispersibility of the filter are shown in Table 1.

(Comparative Example 1) Table 1 shows the ventilation resistance and water dispersibility of a filter of a tobacco filter plug consisting of a conventional cellulose acetate fiber tow.

(Comparative Example 2) In Example 1, instead of the semi-crepe paper, a water absorbent paper sheet having a water dispersion rate of 10% or less (manufactured by Nichie Co., Ltd., basis weight 20 g / m ² ) was used. A filter plug was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that it was used. The air resistance of the obtained filter plug and the water dispersibility of the filter are shown in Table 1.

[0036]

[Table 1]

(Examples 4 to 7) Cellulose acetate fiber tow was opened by a normal method, and triacetin was attached to the upper surface and the lower surface of a sheet-like material formed by opening with a transfer roller by changing the attachment portions respectively. After that, semi-crepe paper made of wood pulp fiber (basis weight 35 g /
m ² ) were superposed and joined together to form a composite sheet. Subsequently, corrugation was performed in the same manner as in Example 1, and the corrugated composite sheet was wound up on a cigarette filter plug by a usual method. The air resistance of the obtained filter plug and the water dispersibility of the filter are shown in Table 2.

The triacetin was adhered to the entire upper surface and the lower surface in Example 4, streaks at three points on the upper surface and three points on the lower surface in Example 5, and in Example 6. , 3 places on the upper surface and 2 on the lower surface
The strips were attached to the strips, and in Example 7, the strips were attached to the strips at five locations on the upper surface and five locations on the lower surface.

[0039]

[Table 2]

(Example 8) Cellulose acetate fiber tow is opened by a usual method, and a polyvinyl alcohol-based thermoplastic water-soluble adhesive film is sandwiched between the formed sheet-like materials to form a semi-crepe made of wood pulp fibers. Paper (basis weight 35 g / m ² ) was overlaid and heat-bonded to obtain a composite sheet. Subsequently, corrugation was performed in the same manner as in Example 1, and the corrugated composite sheet was wound up on a cigarette filter plug by a usual method. The air resistance of the obtained filter plug and the water dispersibility of the filter are shown in Table 3.

(Example 9) The same as Example 1 except that when the cellulose acetate fiber tow was opened, a sheet-like material formed by opening the tow in four in the width direction was used. And got a filter plug. The air resistance of the obtained filter plug and the water dispersibility of the filter are shown in Table 1.

[0042]

[Table 3]

[0043]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The easily disintegrating filter material of the present invention and the tobacco filter of the present invention using the easily disintegrating filter material easily disintegrate in shape in the presence of water. In the natural environment,
In particular, it has a disintegrating property that disintegrates the rod shape of the cigarette filter in an atmosphere containing a large amount of water, water, etc., and promotes the transition to a state in which it is easily decomposed by microorganisms. Furthermore, the easily disintegrating filter material of the present invention and the tobacco filter using the same are useful as measures against environmental pollution.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an example of an easily disintegrating filter material of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the corrugated and easily disintegrating filter material of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an example of an apparatus for manufacturing the filter material and the tobacco filter of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Water-decomposable sheet material mainly composed of wood pulp fiber 2 Cellulose ester fiber tow opening sheet material p groove pitch d groove depth 10 cellulose ester fiber toe 11 fiber opening device 12 deliberry roll 13 thermoplastic water-soluble Adhesive film 14 Water-decomposable sheet material 15 Corrugated processing device 16 Filter plug winding device

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Reference number in the agency FI Technical display location D04H 13/00 D04H 13/00 (72) Inventor Jun Atsuta 6 2 Umegaoka, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture Nihon Tobacco Inc. Central Tobacco Research Center (72) Inventor Matsue Shinozaki 6 2 Umegaoka, Aoba-ku, Yokohama-shi Kanagawa Nihon Tobacco Central Co., Ltd. Central Tobacco Research Center

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A material for an easily disintegrating filter comprising a composite sheet material in which a water-decomposable sheet material (1) mainly composed of wood pulp fibers and an opening sheet material (2) of cellulose ester fiber tow are joined. . 2. The easily disintegratable filter material according to claim 1, wherein the spread sheet material (2) is a sheet material in which cellulose ester fiber tow is divided into a plurality of pieces in the width direction and opened. 3. A water-decomposable sheet material (1), wherein the cellulose ester fiber tow is a cellulose acetate fiber tow.
The easily disintegrating filter material according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fiber-opening sheet-like material (2) is partially bonded with triacetin. 4. The easily disintegrating filter material according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the water-decomposable sheet material (1) and the opened sheet material (2) are joined by a thermoplastic water-soluble adhesive film. 5. The water-decomposable sheet-like material (1) and the spread sheet-like material (2) are joined at a weight ratio of 3: 7 to 8: 2, claim 1, claim 2, claim 3 or claim. Item 4. The easily disintegrating filter material according to item 4. 6. The composite sheet-shaped product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the composite sheet-shaped product is a corrugated composite sheet-shaped product.
The easily disintegrating filter material according to claim 4 or 5. 7. A cigarette filter comprising the easily disintegrating filter material according to claim 1 wound around a filter plug. 8. The filter water dispersion ratio of the filter is 15
The tobacco filter according to claim 7, which is at least%.