A Cigarette filter is an element of a cigarette, together with cigarette paper, capsules and adhesives. The filter could be made out of cellulose acetate fibre, paper or activated charcoal (either being a cavity filter or embedded into the cellulose acetate). Macroporous phenol-formaldehyde resins and asbestos seemed to be employed in cigarette filters The acetate and paper get a new particulate smoke phase by particle retention (filtration), and finely divided carbon modifies the gaseous phase (adsorption). Filters is able to reduce “tar” and nicotine smoke yields around 50%, which has a greater removal rate for other classes of compounds (e.g., phenols), but they are ineffective in filtering toxins such as dangerous. Most factory-made cigarettes have a filter; people that roll their unique can buy them coming from a tobacconist.
Cellulose acetate is manufactured 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 governing the amount of acid (amount 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 when needed, and additives colouring the cigarettes could be added to cigarette filters. The 5 largest manufactures of filter tow are Hoechst-Celanese and Eastman Chemicals in the usa, Rhodia Acetow in Germany, Daicel in Japan, and Courtaulds in the United Kingdom.
Starch glues or emulsion-based adhesives are used for gluing cigarette seams. Hot-melt and emulsion-based adhesives are used for filter seams. Emulsion-based adhesives can be used bonding filters to the cigarettes.
Cellulose acetate is non-toxic, odorless, tasteless, and weakly flammable. It can be resistant to weak acids and is also largely stable to mineral and fatty oils and also petroleum. It’s biodegradable and the raw materials are a renewable natural polymer anticipated to find application for other uses down the road. Smoked cigarette butts contain 5-7 mg nicotine (about 25% in the total cigarette nicotine content), children ingesting >2 whole cigarettes, 6 cigarette butts or a total of 0.5 mg/kg of nicotine must be admitted with a hospital. Cellulose acetate is hydrophilic and retains the water-soluble smoke constituents, of which most are irritating (acids, alkali, aldehydes, and phenols), while letting from the lipophilic aromatic compounds.
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