Filter for Cigarettes Made with Biological Material

Abstract

Filter for cigarettes made with biological material including a through separation structure (2) suitable for being coupled with a common paper for the production of cigarettes, the separation structure (2) forms compartments (3) suitable for the passage and filtration of the smoke, where this separation structure (2) is made of vegetable flour paste.

Description

This invention relates to a cigarette filter made with biological material.

The filters known on the market are highly polluting both in the production phase and after use, especially when they are thrown on the ground. In fact, they contain a very polluting substance, cellulose acetate, a synthetic chemical material that requires 5 to 12 years for decomposition. It is therefore easy to understand how harmful cigarettes are not only for health, but also for the environment.

Only recently world organizations have been concerned about the consequences, even serious ones, that cigarette butts can have for the environment, the sea in particular. According to US studies, the most numerous waste products collected on the coasts of the world are precisely cigarette butts, about one third of all waste collected.

Every year around 6 trillion cigarettes are consumed in the world and throwing the butts on the ground, according to the World Health Organization, is an action considered normal by most smokers. A cigarette butt consists mainly of the filter.

The filter, if abandoned in the sea, breaks up into microplastics that become part of the marine food chains. A study by the Federico II University of Naples is examining the degradation time of butts and the results of the first two years of research are not at all comforting: the degradation of cigarette butts is, in fact, rapid in the first months, when they degrade the external component, paper. Later, however, it almost stops completely, because the microorganisms responsible for the decomposition are unable to attack the substances that make up the butt. Therefore, it remains in the environment, giving rise to plastic fragments and toxic substances.

A study by San Diego State University has shown, through laboratory experiments, that a single cigarette butt in a liter of water is enough to kill much of the marine and freshwater fauna.

And the smaller filters used to roll do-it-yourself cigarettes also have a great impact. Because of their small size, they are more easily ingested by fish, birds and small animals and can cause death by suffocation.

Europe, in terms of plastics, has established new rules that provide for a reduction of cigarette butt waste by 50% by 2025 and by 80% by 2030, thus forcing the tobacco industry to pay for the disposal of cigarette butts.

The industry has already tried to solve the problem by creating biodegradable filters made, for example, of natural materials such as cotton, hemp and linen. For rolled cigarettes there are biodegradable filters made of cellulose on the market but this entails, however, damage to the environment as the filters thus made determine the felling of trees in addition to the damage that occurs in their production.

The purpose of this invention is to create a filter for cigarettes made of biological material.

The present invention relates to a filter for cigarettes having the characteristics of the attached claim 1.

The characteristics and advantages of this invention will be clearer and more evident from the following, exemplary and non-limiting description of some embodiments with reference to the attached figures in which:

FIGS. 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d illustrate the preparation steps of a first embodiment of the filter according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an axonometric view of the closed filter made according to the steps shown in FIGS. 1a-1d;

FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of the filter according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a longitudinal section of the filter according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a longitudinal section of the filter according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

With reference to the aforementioned figures, the filter, according to the present invention, comprises a through separation structure 2 which determines the formation of compartments 3 suitable for the passage and filtration of smoke.

Around this structure 2 there may also be a tubular element 4 that surrounds it.

The structure 2 and the tubular element 4 are of adequate dimensions to be coupled with a common paper for making cigarettes.

When the tubular element 4 is not present, the separation structure 2 is wrapped directly by the paper that is rolled up on it.

Both the tubular element 4 and the separation structure 2 are made by means of vegetable flour paste (for example, wheat flour, hemp flour, rice flour, Khorasan wheat flour or other suitable flour) which are able to retain harmful substances.

Advantageously, cotton, hemp or linen can be inserted in the compartments 3 to retain more harmful substances.

In the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the filter is made starting from a single sheet of paste 1 by rolling it on itself, as illustrated in FIGS. 1a-1d. In particular, it is sufficient to make a three-quarter fold of the sheet 1 and then roll the strip to form a tubular element. Thus, seen in cross section, a separation structure 2 is formed, substantially S-shaped and arranged in a central position with respect to the circumference of said sheet 1. This S shape preferably extends along the entire length of the filter.

The same shape can, however, be made by means of a mold.

In the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the separation structure 2, seen in cross section, is substantially M-shaped and is inserted inside the tubular element 4. This M shape extends preferably along the entire length of the filter.

In the third embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the separation structure 2, seen in longitudinal section, has a wavy conformation preferably for the entire length of the filter and is suitably provided with holes capable of allowing the passage of smoke. Said structure 2 with corrugated conformation is inserted inside the tubular element 4.

In a fourth preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the separation structure 2 is spiral-shaped without an external tubular element whereby the smoke passes through said spiral.

The embodiments indicated above constitute the preferred embodiments, but it must be expressly understood that further modifications and variations may be made by those skilled in the art, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. Filter for cigarettes made with biological material comprising a through separation structure coupled with a common paper for making cigarettes, said separation structure forming compartments adapted for the passage and filtration of smoke, wherein said separation structure is made with vegetable flour paste.

2. Filter according to claim 1, further comprising cotton, hemp or linen inserted in the compartments to retain more harmful substances.

3. Filter according to claim 1, wherein the separation structure, in cross section, is substantially S-shaped surrounded by a tubular element and formed by a single sheet of paste by folding and rolling said sheet.

4. Filter according to claim 3, wherein said S-shaped configuration of the separation structure extends in the center of the separation structure along the entire length of the filter.

5. Filter according to claim 1, further comprising a tubular element, and wherein said separation element, in cross section, is substantially M-shaped and is inserted inside the tubular element.

6. Filter according to claim 5, wherein the M-shaped configuration of the separation structure extends along the entire length of the filter.

7. Filter according to claim 1, wherein the separation element, in longitudinal section, has a wavy shape and holes that allow the passage of smoke.

8. Filter according to claim 7, further comprising a tubular element, and wherein the wavy shape of the separation structure is surrounded by the tubular element and extends along the entire length of the filter.

9. Filter according to claim 1, wherein the separation element is spiral-shaped and extends along the entire length of the filter.

10. Filter according to claim 1, wherein the filter is made from a single sheet of paste.

11. Filter according to claim 1, further comprising a tubular element surrounding said separation structure, and wherein the separation structure and the tubular element are made with vegetable flour paste.

12. Filter according to claim 11, wherein said vegetable flour paste include at least one of wheat flour, hemp flour, rice flour or Khorasan wheat flour.