Cellulose acetate tow

A Cigarette filter is part of your cigarette, along with cigarette paper, capsules and adhesives. The filter may be produced from cellulose acetate fibre, paper or activated charcoal (either as being a cavity filter or embedded to the cellulose acetate). Macroporous phenol-formaldehyde resins and asbestos seemed to be employed in cigarette filters The acetate and paper modify the particulate smoke phase by particle retention (filtration), and finely divided carbon modifies the gaseous phase (adsorption). Filters can help to eliminate “tar” and nicotine smoke yields as much as 50%, which has a greater removal rate for other classes of compounds (e.g., phenols), but are ineffective in filtering toxins like co. Most factory-made cigarettes have a filter; people who roll their own can get them from your tobacconist.


Cellulose acetate is done by esterifying bleached cotton or wood pulp with acetic acid. With the three cellulose hydroxy groups available for esterification, between two and three are esterified by controlling the amount of acid (level of substitution (DS) 2.35-2.55). The ester is spun into fibers and formed into bundles called filter tow. Flavors (menthol), sweeteners, softeners (triacetin), flame retardants (sodium tungstate), breakable capsules releasing flavors at the moment, and additives colouring the tobacco smoke could be put into cigarette filters. 5 largest manufactures of filter tow are Hoechst-Celanese and Eastman Chemicals in the us, Rhodia Acetow in Germany, Daicel in Japan, and Courtaulds in the United Kingdom.

Starch glues or emulsion-based adhesives can be used gluing cigarette seams. Hot-melt and emulsion-based adhesives bring filter seams. Emulsion-based adhesives are used for bonding the filters towards the cigarettes.

Cellulose acetate is non-toxic, odorless, tasteless, and weakly flammable. It’s proof against weak acids and is also largely stable to mineral and fatty oils as well as petroleum. It’s biodegradable and the raw materials are a renewable natural polymer expected to find application for other uses later on. Smoked cigarette butts contain 5-7 mg nicotine (about 25% of the total cigarette nicotine content), children ingesting >2 whole cigarettes, 6 cigarette butts or a total of 0.5 mg/kg of nicotine needs to be admitted to a hospital. Cellulose acetate is hydrophilic and retains the water-soluble smoke constituents, that lots of people are irritating (acids, alkali, aldehydes, and phenols), while letting with the lipophilic aromatic compounds.
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