Process for producing tobacco smoke filter elements from cellulose ester filaments containing polyethylene glycol

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF TOBACCO SMOKE FILTER ELEMENTS WHICH COPRISES ADDING TO A SPINNING SOLUTION CONSISTING OF ABOUT 20-30% BY WEIGHT OF A CELLULOSE ACETATE CONTAINING AN AVERAGE OF 2-3 ACETYL GROUPS PER GLUCOSE UNIT POLYETHYLENE GLUCOL HAVING A MOLELCULAR WEIGHT OF 200-4000 IN AN AMOUNT OF ABOUT 1-30% BY WEIGHT OF SAID SPINNING SOLUTION, HEATING SAID SOLUTION TO TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 40-60*C. AND MIXING SAME FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES TO AN HOUR, SPINNING SAID SOLUTION THROUGH A PLURALITY OF ORIFICES IN AT LEAST ONE SPINNERET INTO AN EVAPORATIVE ATMOSPHERE IN AT LEAST ONE SPINNING CABINET, FORMING A PLURALITY OF FILAMENTS OF ABOUT 1.6 TO 7 DENIER PER FILAMENT CONTAINING SAID POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL UNIFORMLY DISPERSED THROUGHOUT ALL PARTS OF SAID FILAMENTS, PULLING SAID FILAMENTS TOGETHER TO FORM A TOW, CRIMPING SAID TOW TO ABOUT 7-20 CRIMPS PER INCH, COMPACTING SAID TWO INTO THE FORM OF A CARD, PROCESSING SAME INTO CIGARETTE FILTER RODS OF ABOUT 2.5 MM. IN CIRCUMFERENCE, AND CUTTING SAID RODS INTO CIGARETTE FILTER LENGTHS, THEREBY BUILDING SAID POLYETHYLENEGLYCOLL SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY INTO THE FILAMENTS OF SAID FILTER RODS IN AN AMOUNT OF FROM 5-20% BY WEIGHT OF THE CELLULOSE ACETATE IN SAID FILTER RODS AND INCREASING THE ABILITY OF SAID RODS TO REMOVE PHENOL FROM THE SMOKE OF CIGARETTES TO WHICH ATTACHED WHEN SMOKED TO THE EXTENT THAT SUBSTANTIALLY HALF AS MUCH PHENOL IS LEFT IN THE SMOKE FROM 100 CIGARETTES SMOKED CONTAINING SAME AS FOR THE SAME TYPE CIGARETTE TIPPED WITH FILTERS OF CELLULOSE ACETATE NOT CONTAINING SUCH ADDITIVE.