The influence of forming factors on physical characteristics of hollow filter rod using water vapor forming method

Abstract

This paper designed a hollow filter rod using cellulose diacetate as the raw material. A combination method involving single factor test and orthogonal test was used to analyze the impact of forming factors on physical characteristics. The results showed that the circumference of filter rods was negatively related to vapor pressure. The hardness was both positively connected with vapor pressure and tow-filling amount, while it increased initially and then reduced with the increase of plasticizer content. The roundness and weight varied little with vapor pressure. However, roundness was associated with plasticizer content and negatively associated with tow-filling amount. Besides, weight was positively associated with both plasticizer content and tow-filling amount. The orthogonal test results revealed that the tow-filling amount was the most important factor influencing the performance of filter rods, with vapor pressure and plasticizer content being secondary considerations. The best parameter combination was vapor pressure of 0.18 MPa, plasticizer content of 20%, and tow-filling amount of 1.19 g. The improved cigarette filter rod had a hardness of 92.07%, which was 5.61% greater than the previous value and only 0.08% higher than the optimal value. The enhanced performance of filter rods was attributable to three-dimensional entangled structures formed by cellulose diacetates and rational arrangement of tows and voids.