Method of making a nicotine containing sheet

Abstract

A method of making a nicotine containing sheet is provided, including steps of combining a source of nicotine salt having a cellulose content of less than about 5% by weight on a dry weight basis with a separate source of fibrous material having a nicotine salt content of less than about 5% by weight on a dry weight basis to form a mixture; and drying the mixture to form a sheet.

Claims

1. A method of making a nicotine containing sheet, comprising: combining a source of nicotine salt having a cellulose content of less than about 5% by weight on a dry weight basis with a separate source of fibrous material having a nicotine salt content of less than about 1% by weight on a dry weight basis to form a mixture and an aerosol former, wherein the mixture comprises no tobacco material and has an aerosol former content of at least 15% by weight on a dry weight basis; and drying the mixture to form a sheet.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source of nicotine salt comprises one or more nicotine salts of monoprotic carboxylic acids selected from the group consisting of acetic acid, benzoic acid, gallic acid, lactic acid, lauric acid, levulinic acid, palmitic acid, pyruvic acid, sorbic acid, and stearic acid.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a weight ratio of fibrous material to nicotine salt in the mixture on a dry weight basis is between about 15:1 and about 1:3.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source of nicotine salt comprises one or more monoprotic nicotine salts.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the combining comprises combining cellulose powder with the source of nicotine salt and the separate source of fibrous material to form the mixture.

6. A sheet formed according to claim 5, wherein the cellulose powder has an average particle size of less than about 60 microns.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the combining comprises combining sugar with the source of nicotine salt and the separate source of fibrous material to form the mixture.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the sugar comprises mannitol, sorbitol, or a combination thereof.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the combining comprises combining a binder with the source of nicotine salt and the separate source of fibrous material to form the mixture.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the binder comprises one or more natural gum binders selected from the group consisting of guar gum, xanthan gum, and gum arabic.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the drying comprises drying the mixture at a temperature of between about 100° C. and about 170° C. for at least about 2 minutes.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: casting the mixture onto a support surface prior to the drying.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: gathering the sheet transversely relative to a longitudinal axis thereof; circumscribing the gathered sheet with a wrapper to form a rod; and severing the rod into a plurality of discrete aerosol-generating rods.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: crimping the sheet prior to the gathering.

Description

(1) FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-section of apparatus for forming an aerosol-generating rod from a continuous sheet made by the method of Example 1;

(2) The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 generally comprises: supply means for providing a continuous sheet; crimping means for crimping the continuous sheet; rod forming means for gathering the continuous crimped sheet and circumscribing the gathered material with a wrapper to form a continuous rod; and cutting means for severing the continuous rod into a plurality of discrete aerosol-generating rods. The apparatus also comprises transport means for transporting the continuous sheet downstream through the apparatus from the supply means to the rod forming means via the crimping means.

(3) As shown in FIG. 1, the supply means for providing a continuous sheet comprises a continuous sheet 2 made by the method of Example 1 mounted on a bobbin 4.

(4) The crimping means comprises a pair of rotatable crimping rollers 6. In use, the continuous sheet 2 is drawn from the first bobbin 4 and transported downstream to the pair of crimping rollers 6 by the transport mechanism via a series of guide and tensioning rollers. As the continuous sheet 2 is fed between the pair of crimping rollers 6, the crimping rollers engage and crimp the sheet 2 to form a continuous crimped sheet 8 having a plurality of spaced-apart ridges or corrugations substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the sheet through the apparatus.

(5) The continuous crimped sheet 8 is transported downstream from the pair of crimping rollers 6 towards the rod forming means and fed through a converging funnel or horn 10. The converging funnel 10 gathers the continuous sheet 8 transversely relative to its longitudinal axes. The sheet of material 8 assumes a substantially cylindrical configuration as it passes through the converging funnel 10.

(6) Upon exiting the converging funnel 10, the gathered sheet is wrapped in a continuous sheet of wrapper material 12. The wrapper is a paper wrapper and is fed from a bobbin 14 and enveloped around the gathered continuous crimped sheet by an endless belt conveyor or garniture. As shown in FIG. 1, the rod forming means comprises an adhesive application means 16 that applies adhesive to one of the longitudinal edges of the wrapper, so that when the opposed longitudinal edges of the wrapper are brought into contact they adhere to one other to form a continuous rod.

(7) The rod forming means further comprises a drying means 18 downstream of the adhesive application means 16, which in use dries the adhesive applied to the seam of the continuous rod as the continuous rod is transported downstream from the rod forming means to the cutting means.

(8) The cutting means comprises a rotary cutter 20 that severs the continuous rod into a plurality of discrete aerosol-generating rods 22 of unit rod length or multiple unit rod length.