A method and a device for supplying filter material to a filter rod forming machine, according to which a flat band of filter material, obtained working a single tow, is longitudinally cut in at least two strips, each of which is fed to a respective pneumatic device adapted to transform the respective strip in a respective cord. The cords are then fed to an inlet of the forming machine at positions evenly distributed about a central axial portion for forming a peripheral axial portion.

Apparatuses, systems, and methods employing ultrasonic bonding to form filter elements for smoking articles are provided. Ultrasonic bonding can be employed to bond the fibers of filter material defining bloomed tow. Use of a plasticizer may not be necessary. Further, filter materials such as polylactic acid, which may not be bonded via a plasticizer, may be employed. However, triacetin or other additional components may be employed to provide the filter element with a desirable sensory attribute in some embodiments. Ultrasonic bonding may be conducted by an ultrasonic bonder that includes an anvil defining a pattern thereon that is selected to define a desired degree of bonding, and thereby a resulting desired firmness and/or pressure drop associated with the filter element.

A component for an article for use in or as an aerosol provision system, the component including a body of fibrous material and first and second objects circumferentially surrounded by said fibrous material, said first object being different from said second object. Also described is an article including the component, a method of manufacturing a component, and an apparatus configured for manufacturing a component.

In one embodiment is provided a polymer blend of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), wherein the poly(vinylacetate) is present in an amount ranging between about 20 wt % and about 80 wt %, and poly(acrylic acid) is present in an amount ranging between about 80 wt % and about 20 wt %, based on the total weight of the blend. In another embodiment is provided a fiber produced from this polymer blend, and which has cells therein. In another embodiment is provided a flavorant release material comprising the porous fiber disclosed herein, and one or more flavorants disposed in a longitudinally extending core within the fiber. In another embodiment is provided a polymer fiber membrane containing a hollow, porous fiber formed from the polymer blend disclosed herein. In another embodiment is provided a filter containing the fiber described herein. In another embodiment is provided a process for producing the fibers disclosed herein by addition of the polymers to an extruder or blender, and extruding or melt spinning the mixture into a fiber containing cells therein.

In one embodiment is provided a polymer blend of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), wherein the poly(vinylacetate) is present in an amount ranging between about 20 wt % and about 80 wt %, and poly(acrylic acid) is present in an amount ranging between about 80 wt % and about 20 wt %, based on the total weight of the blend. In another embodiment is provided a fiber produced from this polymer blend, and which has cells therein. In another embodiment is provided a flavorant release material comprising the porous fiber disclosed herein, and one or more flavorants disposed in a longitudinally extending core within the fiber. In another embodiment is provided a polymer fiber membrane containing a hollow, porous fiber formed from the polymer blend disclosed herein. In another embodiment is provided a filter containing the fiber described herein. In another embodiment is provided a process for producing the fibers disclosed herein by addition of the polymers to an extruder or blender, and extruding or melt spinning the mixture into a fiber containing cells therein.

A tow band for heated tobacco product tip is a tow band of cellulose acetate provided by uniting and crimping a plurality of filaments into a bundle, in which a total denier is set to a value in a range of 10000 to 40000 (inclusive) and a filament denier is set to a value in a range of 6.0 to 20.0 (inclusive), and where the total denier is denoted by TD and a breaking strength of the tow band is denoted by F, a ratio F/TD is set to a value of 0.0015N/denier or more.

A component for an article for use in or as an aerosol provision system, the component including a body of fibrous material. First and second tubular elements extend through the body of fibrous material, substantially along a common axis, and each of the first and second tubular elements are circumferentially surrounded by said fibrous material. A component can include a body of fibrous material and a tubular element embedded within the body, such that it is circumferentially and longitudinally surrounded by the fibrous material forming said body. An article can have a downstream end, and include a body of fibrous material and a tubular element circumferentially surrounded by said fibrous material, wherein the tubular element extends to a first longitudinal end of said body and is spaced from a second longitudinal end of said body, and wherein the longitudinal end of said body to which the tubular element extends is spaced from the downstream end of the article.

The present invention provides a package of a filter tow bale made of cellulose acetate packed with a packing material in a non-hermetic state, which can be stacked in multistage and in which tows in the same bale can be uniformly maintained. The package of the filter tow bale made of cellulose acetate is packed with the packing material in the non-hermetic state, in which the filter tow bale is tightened with the packing material in the package, the filter tow bale has a cubic shape or a rectangular parallelepiped shape with 800 to 1,400 mm in length, 800 to 1,150 mm in width, and 800 to 1,100 mm in height, and a packing initial pressure between a top surface of the filter tow bale and the packing material is 6.3 kPa or less.

A cellulose acetate tow band for use in a cigarette filter, in which a filament denier is not less than 5.0 denier, a Feret area of a filament is not less than 0.5, and/or a ratio S/L of a cross-sectional area S of the filament to a cross-sectional peripheral length L of the filament is not less than 5. The filament denier may be not more than 10 denier. The Feret area may be not more than 0.9. The ratio S/L may be not more than 9. In an apparatus for or a method of manufacturing a tow band, round-shaped spinning holes (10) each with a diameter of not less than 50 m are used. The diameter of each round-shaped spinning hole (10) may be not more than 100 m.

An apparatus for manufacturing a crimped web for an aerosol-generating article is provided, the apparatus including: a set of crimping rollers including a first roller and a second roller, each of which is corrugated across at least a portion of a width thereof, the first and the second rollers being arranged such that corrugations of the first roller substantially interleave with corrugations of the second roller, pitch values of the corrugations of one or both of the first and the second rollers varying across the width of the rollers, and the pitch values of substantially all of the corrugations of the first and the second rollers varying from about 0.5 mm to about 1.7 mm. A crimped sheet, and a method of manufacturing an aerosol-generating article component, are also provided.