New plugwrap disperses fast in water
Essentra Filter Products has launched a plugwrap material that disperses in water at least three times faster than standard materials.
The new plugwrap, which enables the manufacture of more environmentally friendly filters, can be used with a number of Essentra’s existing filter products.
“With the launch of our new water dispersible plugwrap, we are taking another major step towards a more degradable future where environmentally friendly cigarette products are the norm,” said Patrick Meredith, innovations director.
In a press note, Essentra said that in recent years the widespread adoption of public smoking bans had led to a significant increase in the number of cigarette butts discarded “in the environment.”
“As public concerns over the degradability of cigarette butts have increased, developing more environmentally friendly filters has become a key focus for the tobacco industry,” the note said. “With this in mind, Essentra has launched a new dispersible plugwrap material that can increase the degradability of any standard single segment filter or segment to be used as part of a combined filter.
“Under scientific testing within a certified laboratory environment, Essentra’s new plugwrap material was seen to disperse in water within 30 minutes, at least three times faster than the standard alternative, which showed no signs of dispersion after 90 minutes.”
The new dispersible plugwrap can be used to support the increased degradability of a number of Essentra filters that offer an alternative to the use of standard cellulose acetate tow. One is the Infused (Advantage Range) filter, which consists of mono paper that is treated with liquid additive(s) and degrades and biodegrades more rapidly than filters constructed with cellulose acetate.
Another is the BiTech™ (Advantage Range) single-segment filter, which, by replacing half the cellulose acetate with a more degradable paper alternative, offers a potentially more environmentally friendly filter.
A third is the Ochre (Earth Tones Range) Ochre filter, which consists of high-quality unbleached paper compressed to the desired parameters. The Ochre filter degrades three times faster than industry-standard cellulose acetate filters degrade. It uses no chemical adhesives to bond the fibers.
And a fourth one is the Randomly Orientated Acetate™ (ROA) (Advantage Range) filter, which uses a reduced amount of tow. The ROA filter is manufactured by an innovative, patent-pending process using high-quality crimped cellulose acetate fibers that are bonded in a non-uniform, random construction. The use of ROA reduces both cellulose acetate use and weight without affecting the smoking experience or filtration.
Essentra said it was currently working on further developments in order to provide for an even wider range of environmentally friendly offerings.
Further information about Essentra’s dispersible plugwrap is at www.essentrafilters.com/degradability.
