WO2024208478A1

WO2024208478A1 - Method for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article

Info

Publication number: WO2024208478A1
Application number: PCT/EP2024/054150
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anu Ajithkumar; Lucien SUAREZ; Francesco FEDERZONI; Marion Sylvie Suzanne MERCIER; Alessandra CAMPANA
Original assignee: Philip Morris Products SA
Current assignee: Philip Morris Products SA
Priority date: 2023-04-07
Filing date: 2024-02-19
Publication date: 2024-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 2025-10-07
Also published as: CN121001585A; KR20250165658A

Abstract

A method for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article. The method comprises: mixing a recipe with water to form a mixture, kneading the mixture in a dough mixer to form a dough, flattening the dough to form a sheet, drying the flattened sheet to obtain a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article. The recipe comprises as ingredients: vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a binder and an aerosol forming agent. An amount of the binder in the recipe is 1.0 percent to 7.0 percent on dry weight basis and a liquid content of the dough is 25 percent to 35 percent on wet weight basis.

Description

METHOD FOR PRODUCING A SHEET OF AEROSOL-GENERATING SUBSTRATE FOR AN AEROSOL-GENERATING ARTICLE

The present disclosure relates to a method for producing a sheet of aerosolgenerating substrate for an aerosol-generating article. The present disclosure also relates to an apparatus for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosolgenerating article, to a dough for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article, to a process for manufacturing an aerosol-generating article component and to an aerosol-generating article.

Aerosol-generating articles or heat-not-burn cigarettes, in which an aerosolgenerating substrate is heated rather than combusted, are known in the art. The aerosolgenerating substrate is, for instance, a tobacco-free herbaceous or plant-based cast sheet or a plastic fiber-based material or a biodegradable fiber-based material. Typically, in such heated aerosol-generating articles, an aerosol is generated by the transfer of heat from a heat source to a physically separate aerosol-generating substrate or material, which may be located in contact with, within, around, or downstream of the heat source. During use of the aerosol-generating article, volatile compounds are released from the aerosol-generating substrate by heat transfer from the heat source and are entrained in air drawn through the aerosol-generating article. As the released compounds cool, they condense to form an aerosol.

In a typical manufacturing process, aerosol generating articles are made from a cast leaf which is obtained through a casting process from ingredients such as tobacco powder or other nicotine containing materials, water, fibers, for instance cellulose, glycerin, guar. A first step is the manufacturing of a tobacco slurry by mixing the above ingredients. The slurry is a watery mixture of insoluble matter with a water content of 70 percent - 80 percent. In a second step, the tobacco slurry is put inside a casting box to be casted by a casting knife on a moving conveyor steel belt to create a continuous sheet of tobacco cast leaf. In a third step, once the tobacco is casted on the belt, the belt moves into hundred meters long heaters/dryers units where temperature is controlled to progressively heat and dry the tobacco cast leaf so that at the end the water level in the tobacco cast leaf goes below 20%. At the exit of the dryer there is a cooler where the temperature of the cast web is reduced before winding the cast web into bobbins, as a fourth step. At a fifth step, the cast sheet is unwound and slit to form smaller bobbins, crimped in between crimping rollers and wrapped into a final consumable.

Document W02020058814A1 discloses a method for producing reconstituted tobacco wherein solid components of tobacco are comminuted to bring them to a particle size, the comminuted product thus obtained is mixed with water, at least one binding agent and at least one material to form an aerosol until a mixture with a liquid content of about 35- 40 percent, is obtained. The mixture is subjected to a first lamination and to a series of further rolling passages to obtain a strip having a substantially constant thickness and then the strip is dried to bring its liquid content to about 8-15 percent.

US2022/369690A1 discloses a method for making an aerosol generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article. This method comprises: forming a mixture comprising ginger particles, water, aerosol former, binder and tobacco particles, casting or extruding the slurry in the form of a sheet, drying the sheet. The mixture may be a dough having a dry weight of at least 60 percent.

US2022/0346433A1 discloses a method for producing a tobacco paste and tobaccocontaining film for making aerosol-forming substrate for heat-not-burn products. This method comprises: making a tobacco powdered material, making a binder gel, mixing the tobacco powdered material and the binder to obtain a tobacco paste, smoothing the tobacco paste to obtain a flat web material and drying the flat web material.

W02022096860A1 discloses a method for manufacturing an aerosol-generating material and articles comprising aerosol - generating material. This method comprises: forming a first composition comprising a binder and an aerosol former and forming a second composition comprising tobacco material, filler and a second binder; mixing and extruding the compositions. The mixture of the first composition and the second composition may be in the form of a "dough" that is extruded via a die.

It would be desirable to have a method for manufacturing a sheet of aerosolgenerating substrate, wherein the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate obtained has good mechanical properties and wherein the method allows to reduce water and energy consumption with respect to the traditional methods employing the slurry.

The present disclosure relates to a method for producing a sheet of aerosolgenerating substrate for an aerosol-generating article. The method comprises: mixing a recipe with water to form a mixture. The recipe may comprise as ingredients: vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a binder and an aerosol forming agent. The mixture may be kneaded to form a dough. The mixture may be kneaded in a dough mixer to form the dough. The dough may be flattened to form a sheet. The flattened sheet may be dried. An amount of the binder in the recipe may be 1.0 percent to 7.0 percent on dry weight basis. A liquid content of the dough may be 25 percent to 35 percent on wet weight basis.

The inventor found that the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosolgenerating article produced through this method has good mechanical properties, including tensile strength and stretching to break. The inventor found that the method allows to achieve desired good ranges of tensile strength and stretching to break of the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate obtained from the dough, both in longitudinal direction and transverse direction.

The inventor found that the claimed range of the binder leads to high mechanical properties including tensile strength in machine and cross-direction, as well as higher elongation at break. The more binder in the recipe, the longest the stretching to break.

The inventor found that the method allows to reduce energy and water consumption with respect to the sheet manufactured from cast slurry. Indeed, the water content, which determines almost exclusively the liquid content of the mixture of the dough, is much lower than the water content of the slurry of the typical manufacturing processes.

One or more of the following disclosed optional features and embodiments may be combined with the above method, also for the filing of divisional or continuation applications.

The amount of the binder in the recipe may be 1.5 percent to 6.5 percent on dry weight basis. An amount of the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles in the recipe may be 50 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis, optionally 70 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis. An amount of the aerosol forming agent in the recipe may be 16 percent to 20 percent on dry weight basis. The amount of the aerosol forming agent in the recipe may be 17.5 percent to 20 percent on dry weight basis.

In some embodiments, the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles comprise tobacco particles. In some embodiments, the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate is a reconstituted tobacco sheet.

In some embodiments, the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles comprise tobacco and/or nicotine and/or botanicals and/or cellulose powder. The botanicals may comprise cellulose fibers, like sheet fibers or powder fibers. The botanicals may comprise one or more of: clove, star anise, lavender, rosemary, peppermint, sage, camomille. The tobacco may comprise tobacco blends.

In some embodiments, the tobacco is 0 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis, optionally 50 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis, and the botanicals are 1 percent to 20 percent on dry weight basis. In some other embodiments, the botanicals and/or cellulose powder are 50 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis.

In some embodiments, the binder is a derivative of cellulose. The binder may be methylcellulose, ethylcellulose, ethylhydroxymethyl or carboxymethylcellulose. In some embodiments, the binder may comprise natural pectins, optionally fruit, citrus or tobacco pectins; or guar gums, optionally hydroxyethyl guar or hydroxypropyl guar; or locust bean gums, optionally hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl locust bean gum; or alginate; or starches, optionally modified or derivitized starches; or tamarind gum; or dextran; or pullalon; or konjac flour; or xanthan gum; or a mixture of the above.

In some embodiments, the aerosol forming agent is a polyhydric alcohol. The polyhydric alcohol may be triethylene glycol, 1 ,3-butanediol or glycerine or propylene glycol. In some embodiments, the aerosol forming agent may comprise monohydric alcohols, optionally menthol; or esters of polyhydric alcohols, optionally glycerol mono-, di- or triacetate; or aliphatic esters of mono- , di- or polycarboxylic acids, optionally dimethyl dodecanedioate, dimethyl tetradecanedioate or triethyl citrate.

In some embodiments, the recipe further comprises fibers. An amount of the fibers in the recipe may be 0.1 percent to 2.5 percent on dry weight basis, optionally to 5.0 percent on dry weight basis. The fibers may be cellulose fibers. The fibers may be soft-wood fibers, hard wood fibers, jute fibers, flax fibers or tobacco fibers. A length of the fibers may be between 5 pm and 2500 pm, optionally between 155 pm and 1500 pm, optionally between 750 pm and 2500 pm, optionally between 710 pm and 1600 pm. A ratio of the binder to the fibers may be between 0.48 and 1.82. The inventor found that the ratio of the binder to the fibers is a good parameter to maximize stretching to break and tensile strength of the sheet in machine (longitudinal) direction and in transverse direction. The disclosed ratios of the binder to the fibers optimizes the stretching to break and the tensile strength while maintaining good processability of the dough.

In some embodiments, the recipe comprises further botanicals. An amount of the botanicals in the recipe may be 1.0 percent to 20.0 percent on dry weight basis.

A viscosity of the binder may be between 800 cp and 10000 cp (0.8 - 10 Pa s). The viscosity of the binder may be greater than 3900 cp (3.9 Pa s). The viscosity of the binder may be between 1950 cp and 6000 cp (1.95 - 6 Pa s), optionally between 4000 cp and 5000 cp (4 - 5 Pa s). The viscosity of the binder may be between 7200 cp and 7600 cp (7.2 - 7.6 Pa s). The inventor found that the viscosity of the binder has an influence on the stretching to break and tensile strength: highest is the viscosity, longest is the stretching to break; lowest is the viscosity, highest is the tensile strength. The disclosed range of the viscosity provides a good balance between stretching to break and tensile strength.

In some embodiments, 90 percent of the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles has a size smaller than 600 pm, optionally smaller than 450 pm, optionally smaller than 300 pm, optionally smaller than 200 pm, optionally smaller than 150 pm.

In some embodiments, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: premixing at least one ingredient of the recipe before kneading the mixture in a dough mixer. The water may be premixed with the at least one ingredient, for instance fibers (i.e. the fibers are hydrated), and/or added in the dough mixer. In other embodiments, there is no premixing and all the ingredients are mixed together, preferably in the dough mixer.

In some embodiments, the fibers are hydrated, i.e. premixed with water, or the fibers and the aerosol forming agent are hydrated, i.e. premixed with water, and then other ingredients are added.

In some embodiments, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: premixing at least one ingredient or only a part of said at least one ingredient of the recipe to form a first premix; premixing the remaining ingredient or ingredients or the remaining part or parts of the ingredient or ingredients of the recipe to form a second premix; combining the first premix and the second premix in the dough mixer. The water may be premixed in the first premix and/or in the second premix and/or added in the dough mixer.

In some embodiments, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: first mixing the binder with the water and then contacting the binder with the aerosol forming agent. The inventor found that this sequence provides a proper hydration of the binder by water.

In other embodiments, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: first mixing the binder with the aerosol forming agent and then contacting the binder with the water. The inventor found that this sequence allows preventing lumps formation.

In one embodiment, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the aerosol forming agent to make a first premix; mixing the water and the binder to make a second premix; combining the first premix and the second premix in the dough mixer. In this embodiment, mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the aerosol forming agent may comprise: first mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the fibers and then adding the aerosol forming agent to make the first premix.

In one embodiment, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make a first premix; combining the first premix, the aerosol forming agent and the water in the dough mixer by adding first the water, then the first premix and then the aerosol forming agent. In this embodiment, also the fibers may be mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make the first premix.

In one embodiment, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the binder to make a first premix; mixing the water, the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the first premix to make a second premix; combining the second premix and the aerosol forming agent in the dough mixer. In this embodiment, also the fibers may be mixed with the binder to make the first premix.

In one embodiment, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the binder to make a first premix; combining the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, the first premix, the water and the aerosol forming agent in the dough mixer. In this embodiment, also the fibers may be mixed with the binder to make the first premix.

In one embodiment, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles to make a first premix; mixing the aerosol forming agent and the binder and then adding water to make a second premix; combining the first premix and the second premix in the dough mixer. In this embodiment, the fibers may be mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles to make the first premix.

In one embodiment, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make a first premix; mixing the aerosol forming agent and the water to make a second premix; combining the first premix and the second premix in the dough mixer. In this embodiment, the fibers may be mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make the first premix.

In one embodiment, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make a first premix; combining the first premix, the aerosol forming agent and the water in the dough mixer by adding first the aerosol forming agent and the first premix and then the water. In this embodiment, the fibers may be mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make the first premix.

In one embodiment, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a part of the aerosol forming agent and a part of the water to make a first premix; mixing a remaining part of the aerosol forming agent, a remaining part of the water and then the binder to make a second premix; combining the first premix and the second premix in the dough mixer. In this embodiment, the fibers may be mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, the part of the aerosol forming agent and the part of the water to make the first premix. In this embodiment, the part of the aerosol forming agent may be one half of a total amount of the aerosol forming agent. In this embodiment, the part of the water may be one fourth a total amount of the water.

In one embodiment, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, the aerosol forming agent and the water to make a first premix; mixing the first premix in the dough mixer and then adding the binder. In this embodiment, the fibers may be mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, the aerosol forming agent and the water to make the first premix.

In one embodiment, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, the aerosol forming agent, the binder and the water all together in the dough mixer. In this embodiment, the fibers may be also mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, the aerosol forming agent, the binder and the water in the dough mixer. In one embodiment, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make a first premix; mixing the fibers with water to make a second premix; combining the first premix with the second premix in the dough mixer.

In one embodiment, mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make a first premix; mixing the fibers with a portion of water and then with the aerosol forming agent to make a second premix; combining the first premix with the second premix in the dough mixer and adding a remaining portion of water.

In some embodiments, a temperature of the water is between 5°C and 120°C. For instance, the temperature of the water is between 20°C and 80°C, preferably between 20°C and 50°C, optionally between 50°C and 80°C. For instance, the temperature of the water is between 15°C and 25°C. The inventor found that these temperatures prevent a degradation of the dough during processing that would impact on the mechanical properties of the sheet.

In some embodiments, a temperature of the dough at the end of the preparation, before the flattening, is between 20°C and 50°C, preferably between 20°C and 35°C. For instance, the temperature of the dough before the flattening is between 35°C and 45°C. The inventor found that higher temperatures of dough provide weaker mechanical properties, yet an easy processable sheet.

In some embodiments, flattening is performed through rollers. A temperature of the rollers may be between 5°C and 50°C. For instance, the temperature of the rollers is between 8°C and 40°C. For instance, the temperature of the rollers is between 10°C and 30°C. The inventor found that these temperatures of the rollers prevent a degradation of the dough, which would reduce the mechanical properties of the sheet.

The flattening step may comprise: calendering the dough to pre-form a thick sheet. The thick sheet may have a thickness between 2 mm and 20 mm. The flattening step may also further comprise: flattening the thick sheet to form a thin sheet. A thickness of the thin sheet may be between 0.15 mm and 0.35 mm. For instance, the thickness of the thin sheet may be between 0.15 mm and 0.30 mm. Preferably, the thickness of the thin sheet may be between 0.172 mm and 0.285 mm. The thick sheet may be transformed into the thin, calibrated-thickness, sheet with several rolling steps. The thin sheet may have a moisture comprised between 25 - 35 percent.

In some embodiments, in the drying step, the flattened sheet is dried down to a liquid content of 5.8 - 11.2 percent on wet weight basis. In the drying step, the flattened sheet may be dried down to a liquid content of 8.5 percent on wet weight basis. Drying may be performed by conveying the flattened sheet through a dryer on a belt conveyor, optionally the conveyor belt being a mesh belt. The drying technology may be a combination of infrared and hot air, microwave and hot air, or via conduction through a steam-heated belt and convection with hot air.

In some embodiments, the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles are made through grinding vegetable and/or alkaloid shreds in a grinder.

The present disclosure also relates to a dough for producing a sheet of aerosolgenerating substrate for an aerosol-generating article. The dough may comprise: water and a recipe. The recipe may comprise as ingredients: vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a binder and an aerosol forming agent. An amount of the binder in the recipe may be 1.0 percent to 7.0 percent on dry weight basis. A liquid content of the dough may be 25 percent to 35 percent on wet weight basis.

The inventor found that the dough above disclosed allows to produce a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article having good mechanical properties, including tensile strength and stretching to break.

The inventor found that the dough above disclosed allows to achieve desired good ranges of tensile strength and stretching to break of the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate, both in longitudinal direction and transverse direction.

Indeed, the inventor found that the claimed range of the binder leads to high mechanical properties including tensile strength in machine and cross-direction, as well as higher elongation at break. The more binder in the recipe, the longest the stretching to break.

One or more of the following disclosed optional features and embodiments may be combined with the above dough, also for the filing of divisional or continuation applications.

In some embodiments, the binder is a derivative of cellulose. The binder may be methylcellulose, ethylcellulose, ethylhydroxymethyl or carboxymethylcellulose. In some embodiments, the binder the binder may comprise natural pectins, optionally fruit, citrus or tobacco pectins; or guar gums, optionally hydroxyethyl guar or hydroxypropyl guar; or locust bean gums, optionally hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl locust bean gum; or alginate; or starches, optionally modified or derivitized starches; or tamarind gum; or dextran; or pullalon; or konjac flour; or xanthan gum; or a mixture of the above.

In some embodiments, the aerosol forming agent is a polyhydric alcohol. The polyhydric alcohol may be triethylene glycol, 1 ,3-butanediol or glycerine or propylene glycol. In some embodiments, the aerosol forming agent may comprise monohydric alcohols, optionally menthol; or esters of polyhydric alcohols, optionally glycerol mono-, di- or triacetate; or aliphatic esters of mono-, di- or polycarboxylic acids, optionally dimethyl dodecanedioate, dimethyl tetradecanedioate or triethyl citrate.

The present disclosure also relates to a process for manufacturing an aerosolgenerating article component.

The process may comprise manufacturing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article through a method for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article. The method may be the one disclosed in the previous pages. The method may comprise: mixing a recipe with water to form a mixture. The recipe may comprise as ingredients: vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a binder and an aerosol forming agent. The mixture may be kneaded to form a dough. The mixture may be kneaded in a dough mixer to form the dough. The dough may be flattened to form a sheet. The flattened sheet may be dried. An amount of the binder in the recipe may be 1.0 percent to 7.0 percent on dry weight basis. A liquid content of the dough may be 25 percent to 35 percent on wet weight basis.

One or more of the following disclosed optional features and embodiments may be combined with the above process, also for the filing of divisional or continuation applications.

The process may comprise using a dough for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article. The dough may be the one disclosed in the previous pages. The dough may comprise: water and a recipe. The recipe may comprise as ingredients: vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a binder and an aerosol forming agent. An amount of the binder in the recipe may be 1 .0 percent to 7.0 percent on dry weight basis. A liquid content of the dough may be 25 percent to 35 percent on wet weight basis.

According to some embodiments, the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate is longitudinally divided in a plurality of tapes of aerosol-generating substrate and each tape of aerosol-generating substrate is then gathered and wrapped to form a respective continuous rod.

Longitudinally dividing the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate in a plurality of tapes of aerosol-generating substrate may comprise: winding the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate on a core to form a master bobbin. Longitudinally dividing the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate in a plurality of tapes of aerosol-generating substrate may comprise: slitting the master bobbin into smaller bobbins, each smaller bobbin carrying one of the tapes of aerosol-generating substrate winded on a respective portion of the core.

Alternatively, longitudinally dividing the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate in a plurality of tapes of aerosol-generating substrate may comprise: slitting the sheet of aerosolgenerating substrate in a plurality of tapes and then winding each tape on a respective small bobbin.

The process may comprise: gathering the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate. The process may comprise: wrapping the gathered sheet of aerosol-generating substrate in a wrapper to form a continuous rod.

The process may comprise: cutting the continuous rod into a plurality of aerosolgenerating article components each having a rod shape. Each aerosol-generating article component may comprise a gathered sheet formed from a cut portion of the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate.

The inventor found that the disclosed process allows to obtain aerosol-generating article components of high quality with reduced production costs and reduced energy consumption.

The present disclosure also relates to an apparatus for producing a sheet of aerosolgenerating substrate for an aerosol-generating article. The apparatus may be configured to carry out the method disclosed in the previous pages. The method may comprise: mixing a recipe with water to form a mixture. The recipe may comprise as ingredients: vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a binder and an aerosol forming agent. The mixture may be kneaded to form a dough. The mixture may be kneaded in a dough mixer to form the dough. The dough may be flattened to form a sheet. The flattened sheet may be dried. An amount of the binder in the recipe may be 1.0 percent to 7.0 percent on dry weight basis. A liquid content of the dough may be 25 percent to 35 percent on wet weight basis.

The apparatus may comprise a dough mixer configured for kneading the mixture with the recipe and the water to form the dough. The dough mixer may be a batch mixer or a continuous mixer. The apparatus may comprise flattening rollers operatively placed downstream of the dough mixer and configured to flattening the dough to form the sheet. The apparatus may comprise a dryer operatively placed downstream of the flattening rollers and configured to dry the flattened sheet and thus obtaining a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article. The apparatus may comprise a winder operatively placed downstream of the dryer and configured to wind the sheet in a bobbin. Alternatively, the apparatus may comprise an inline slitter operatively placed downstream of the dryer and configured to divide the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate in a plurality of tapes. The apparatus may also comprise a plurality of small winders for winding each tape on a respective small bobbin.

The inventor found that the disclosed apparatus has a reduced footprint since, for instance, the dryer of this apparatus is shorter than the hundred meters long heaters/dryers employed to dry the slurry of the prior art. This contributes to reduce the Capital expenditure, i.e. the money an organization or corporate entity spends to buy, maintain, or improve its fixed assets, such as buildings, vehicles, equipment, or land.

One or more of the following disclosed optional features and embodiments may be combined with the above apparatus, also for the filing of divisional or continuation applications.

According to some embodiments, a grinder is operatively placed upstream of the dough mixer and is configured to grind the vegetable and/or alkaloid into particles.

According to some embodiments, one or more pre-mixer/s is/are operatively placed upstream of the dough mixer and is/are configured to premix at least one ingredient or some ingredients or all the ingredients of the recipe.

According to some embodiments, a dough-sheeter is configured to calender the dough to pre-form a thick sheet. The dough-sheeter may be part of the dough mixer or may be operatively placed just downstream of the dough mixer.

The present disclosure also relates to an aerosol-generating article comprising at least one aerosol-generating article component. The aerosol-generating article component may be made according to the process for manufacturing an aerosol-generating article component disclosed in the previous pages.

The process may comprise manufacturing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article through a method for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article. The method may be the one disclosed in the previous pages. The method may comprise: mixing a recipe with water to form a mixture. The recipe may comprise as ingredients: vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a binder and an aerosol forming agent. The mixture may be kneaded to form a dough. The mixture may be kneaded in a dough mixer to form the dough. The dough mixer may work in batches or in a continuous process. The dough may be flattened to form a sheet. The flattened sheet may be dried. An amount of the binder in the recipe may be 1.0 percent to 7.0 percent on dry weight basis. A liquid content of the dough may be 25 percent to 35 percent on wet weight basis. As used in the present description, the term “recipe” means a group of ingredients without any limitation concerning the order and the timing in which they are combined with each other and/or with water.

As used in the present description, the term “dough” means a mixture that is stiff enough to be kneaded or rolled out, as opposed to a “slurry” which is a watery mixture of insoluble matter with a water content so high (e.g. 70 percent - 80 percent) that cannot be kneaded or rolled out.

As used in the present description, the terms “upstream” and “downstream” are used to describe the relative positions of components, or portions of components, of the apparatus in relation to the direction in which a material or materials passes through the apparatus along a given path.

The invention is defined in the claims. However, below there is provided a non- exhaustive list of non-limiting examples. Any one or more of the features of these examples may be combined with any one or more features of another example, embodiment, or aspect described herein.

EX1. A method for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article, the method comprising: mixing a recipe with water to form a mixture, the recipe comprising as ingredients: vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a binder and an aerosol forming agent; kneading the mixture in a dough mixer to form a dough; flattening the dough to form a sheet; drying the flattened sheet to obtain a sheet of aerosolgenerating substrate for an aerosol-generating article; wherein an amount of the binder in the recipe is 1.0 percent to 7.0 percent on dry weight basis; wherein a liquid content of the dough is 25 percent to 35 percent on wet weight basis; optionally, the dough mixer works in batches or with a continuous process.

EX2. A dough for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article, the dough comprising: water and a recipe, the recipe comprising as ingredients: vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a binder and an aerosol forming agent; wherein an amount of the binder in the recipe is 1.0 percent to 7.0 percent on dry weight basis; wherein a liquid content of the dough is 25 percent to 35 percent on wet weight basis.

EX3. A process for manufacturing an aerosol-generating article component, comprising: manufacturing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article through the method of EX1 or using the dough of EX2; gathering the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate and wrapping the gathered sheet of aerosol-generating substrate in a wrapper to form a continuous rod; cutting the continuous rod into a plurality of aerosol-generating article components each having a rod shape, each aerosol-generating article component comprising a gathered sheet formed from a cut portion of the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate.

EX4. An apparatus for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article, the apparatus being configured to carry out the method according to EX1 , the apparatus comprising: a dough mixer configured for kneading the mixture with the recipe and the water to form the dough; flattening rollers operatively placed downstream of the dough mixer and configured to flattening the dough to form the sheet; a dryer operatively placed downstream of the flattening rollers and configured to dry the flattened sheet and obtaining a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosolgenerating article; a winder operatively placed downstream of the dryer and configured to wind the sheet in a bobbin; alternatively, the apparatus comprises an inline slitter operatively placed downstream of the dryer and configured to divide the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate in a plurality of tapes, and a plurality of small winders for winding each tape on a respective small bobbin.

EX5. An aerosol-generating article comprising at least one aerosol-generating article component made according to the process of EX3 or using the dough of EX2.

EX6. The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2, wherein the amount of the binder in the recipe is 1.5 percent to 6.5 percent on dry weight basis.

EX7. The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2 or the method or dough according to EX6, wherein an amount of the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles in the recipe is 50 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis, optionally 70 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis.

EX8. The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2 or the method or dough according to EX6 or EX7, wherein an amount of the aerosol forming agent in the recipe is 16 percent to 20 percent on dry weight basis.

EX9. The method or the dough according to EX8, wherein the amount of the aerosol forming agent in the recipe is 17.5 percent to 20 percent on dry weight basis.

EX10. The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2 or the method or dough according to any of EX6 to EX9, wherein the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles comprise tobacco particles and the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate is a reconstituted tobacco sheet; or the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles comprise tobacco and/or nicotine and/or botanicals and/or cellulose powder; optionally the botanicals comprise cellulose fibers, like sheet fibers or powder fibers; optionally the botanicals comprise one or more of: clove, star anise, lavender, rosemary, peppermint, sage, camomille; optionally the tobacco comprises tobacco blends; optionally the tobacco is 0 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis, optionally 50 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis, and the botanicals are 1 percent to 20 percent on dry weight basis; optionally the botanicals and/or cellulose powder are 50 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis.

EX11 . The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2 or the method or dough according to any of EX6 to EX10, wherein the recipe further comprises fibers.

EX12. The method or the dough according to EX11 , wherein an amount of the fibers in the recipe is 0.1 percent to 2.5 percent on dry weight basis, optionally to 5.0 percent on dry weight basis.

EX13. The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2 or the method or dough according to any of EX6 to EX12, wherein the recipe comprises further botanicals.

EX14. The method or the dough according to EX13, wherein an amount of the further botanicals in the recipe is 1.0 percent to 20.0 percent on dry weight basis.

EX15. The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2 or the method or dough according to any of EX6 to EX14, wherein the binder is a derivative of cellulose.

EX16. The method or the dough according to EX15, wherein the derivative of cellulose is methylcellulose, ethylcellulose, ethyl hydroxymethyl or carboxymethylcellulose.

EX17. The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2 or the method or dough according to any of EX6 to EX14, wherein the binder comprises natural pectins, optionally fruit, citrus or tobacco pectins; or guar gums, optionally hydroxyethyl guar or hydroxypropyl guar; or locust bean gums, optionally hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl locust bean gum; or alginate; or starches, optionally modified or derivitized starches; or tamarind gum; or dextran; or pullalon; or konjac flour; or xanthan gum; or a mixture of the above.

EX18. The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2 or the method or dough according to any of EX6 to EX17, wherein the aerosol forming agent is a polyhydric alcohol.

EX19. The method or the dough according to EX18, wherein the polyhydric alcohol is triethylene glycol, 1 ,3-butanediol or glycerine or propylene glycol.

EX20. The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2 or the method or dough according to any of EX6 to EX17, wherein the aerosol forming agent comprises monohydric alcohols, optionally menthol; or esters of polyhydric alcohols, optionally glycerol mono-, di- or triacetate; or aliphatic esters of mono- , di- or polycarboxylic acids, optionally dimethyl dodecanedioate, dimethyl tetradecanedioate or triethyl citrate.

EX21 . The method or the dough according to EX11 or EX12, wherein the fibers are cellulose fibers. EX22. The method or the dough according to EX21 , wherein the cellulose fibers are: soft-wood fibers, hard wood fibers, jute fibers, flax fibers or tobacco fibers.

EX23. The method or the dough according to EX11 or EX12 or EX21 or EX22, wherein a length of the fibers is between 5 pm and 2500 pm, optionally between 155 pm and 1500 pm, optionally between 710 pm and 1600 pm, optionally between 750 pm and 2500 pm (long fibers).

EX24. The method or the dough according to any of EX11 , EX12, EX21 , EX22, EX23, wherein a ratio of the binder to the fibers is between 0.48 and 1.82.

EX25. The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2 or the method or dough according to any of EX6 to EX24, wherein a viscosity of the binder is between 800 cp and 10000 cp (0.8 - 10 Pa s).

EX26. The method or the dough according to EX25, wherein the viscosity of the binder is greater than 3900 cp (3.9 Pa s); optionally the viscosity of the binder is between 1950 cp and 6000 cp (1.95 - 6 Pa s); optionally between 4000 cp and 5000 cp (4 - 5 Pa s); optionally the viscosity of the binder is between 7200 cp and 7600 cp (7.2 - 7.6 Pa s).

EX27. The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2 or the method or dough according to any of EX6 to EX26, wherein 90 percent of the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles has a size smaller than 600 pm, optionally smaller than 450 pm, optionally smaller than 300 pm.

EX28. The method or the dough according to EX27, wherein the 90 percent of the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles has a size smaller than 200 pm, optionally smaller than 150 pm.

EX29. The method according to EX1 or the dough according to EX2 or the method or dough according to any of EX6 to EX28, wherein the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles has a size less than 325 pm.

EX30. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX29, wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: premixing at least one ingredient of the recipe before kneading the mixture in a dough mixer, wherein the water is premixed with the at least one ingredient, for instance fibers, and/or added in the dough mixer; otherwise there is no premixing and all the ingredients are mixed together, preferably in the dough mixer; optionally, the fibers are hydrated, i.e. premixed with water, or the fibers and the aerosol forming agent are hydrated, i.e. premixed with water, and then other ingredients are added.

EX31 . The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX30, wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: premixing at least one ingredient or only a part of said at least one ingredient of the recipe to form a first premix; premixing the remaining ingredient or ingredients or the remaining part or parts of the ingredient or ingredients of the recipe to form a second premix; combining the first premix and the second premix in the dough mixer; wherein the water is premixed in the first premix and/or in the second premix and/or added in the dough mixer.

EX32. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX31 , wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: first mixing the binder with the water and then contacting the binder with the aerosol forming agent.

EX33. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX31 , wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: first mixing the binder with the aerosol forming agent and then contacting the binder with the water.

EX34. The method according to EX32, wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the aerosol forming agent to make a first premix; mixing the water and the binder to make a second premix; combining the first premix and the second premix in the dough mixer.

EX35. The method according to EX34 when EX32 is according to any of EX11 , EX12 or EX21 to EX24, wherein mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the aerosol forming agent comprises: first mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the fibers and then adding the aerosol forming agent to make the first premix.

EX36. The method according to EX32, wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make a first premix; combining the first premix, the aerosol forming agent and the water in the dough mixer by adding first the water, then the first premix and then the aerosol forming agent.

EX37. The method according to EX36 when EX32 is according to any of EX11 , EX12 or EX21 to EX24, wherein also the fibers are mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make the first premix.

EX38. The method according to EX32, wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the binder to make a first premix; mixing the water, the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the first premix to make a second premix; combining the second premix and the aerosol forming agent in the dough mixer.

EX39. The method according to EX32, wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the binder to make a first premix; combining the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, the first premix, the water and the aerosol forming agent in the dough mixer.

EX40. The method according to EX38 or EX39, wherein also the fibers are mixed with the binder to make the first premix.

EX41. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX31 , wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles to make a first premix; mixing the aerosol forming agent and the binder and then adding water to make a second premix; combining the first premix and the second premix in the dough mixer.

EX42. The method according to EX41 when according to any of EX11 , EX12 or EX21 to EX24, wherein the fibers are mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles to make the first premix.

EX43. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX31 , wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make a first premix; mixing the aerosol forming agent and the water to make a second premix; combining the first premix and the second premix in the dough mixer.

EX44. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX31 , wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make a first premix; combining the first premix, the aerosol forming agent and the water in the dough mixer by adding first the aerosol forming agent and the first premix and then the water.

EX45. The method according to EX43 or EX44 when according to any of EX11 , EX12 or EX21 to EX24, wherein the fibers are mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make the first premix.

EX46. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX31 , wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a part of the aerosol forming agent and a part of the water to make a first premix; mixing a remaining part of the aerosol forming agent, a remaining part of the water and then the binder to make a second premix; combining the first premix and the second premix in the dough mixer.

EX47. The method according to EX46 when according to any of EX11 , EX12 or EX21 to EX24, wherein the fibers are mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, the part of the aerosol forming agent and the part of the water to make the first premix.

EX48. The method according to EX46 or EX47, wherein the part of the aerosol forming agent is one half of a total amount of the aerosol forming agent; wherein the part of the water is one fourth a total amount of the water.

EX49. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX31 , wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, the aerosol forming agent and the water to make a first premix; mixing the first premix in the dough mixer and then adding the binder.

EX50. The method according to EX49 when according to any of EX11 , EX12 or EX21 to EX24, wherein the fibers are mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, the aerosol forming agent and the water to make the first premix. EX51 . The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX31 , wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, the aerosol forming agent, the binder and the water all together in the dough mixer.

EX52. The method according to EX51 when according to any of EX11 , EX12 or EX21 to EX24, wherein the fibers are also mixed with the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, the aerosol forming agent, the binder and the water in the dough mixer.

EX53. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX52, wherein a temperature of the water is between 5°C and 120°C.

EX54. The method according to EX53, wherein the temperature of the water is between 20°C and 80°C.

EX55. The method according to EX54, wherein the temperature of the water is between 20°C and 50°C.

EX56. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX55, wherein a temperature of the dough before the flattening is between 20°C and 50°C, preferably between 20°C and 35°C.

EX57. The method according to EX56, wherein the temperature of the dough before the flattening is between 35°C and 45°C.

EX58. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX57, wherein flattening is performed through flattening rollers and a temperature of the flattening rollers is between 5°C and 50°C.

EX59. The method according to EX58, wherein the temperature of the flattening rollers is between 8°C and 40°C.

EX60. The method according to EX59, wherein the temperature of the rollers is between 10°C and 30°C.

EX61. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX60, wherein the flattening step comprises: calendering the dough to pre-form a thick sheet with a thickness between 2 mm and 20 mm.

EX62. The method according to EX61 , wherein the flattening step further comprises: flattening the thick sheet to form a thin sheet with a thickness between 0.15 mm and 0.35 mm.

EX63. The method according to EX62, wherein the thin sheet has a thickness between 0.15 mm and 0.30 mm.

EX64. The method according to EX63, wherein the thin sheet has a thickness between 0.172 mm and 0.285 mm. EX65. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX64, wherein, in the drying step, the flattened sheet is dried down to a liquid content of 5.8 - 11.2 percent on wet weight basis.

EX66. The method according to EX65, wherein, in the drying step, the flattened sheet is dried down to a liquid content of 8.5 percent on wet weight basis.

EX67. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX66, wherein the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles are made through grinding vegetable and/or alkaloid shreds in a grinder.

EX68. The method according to EX1 or to any of EX6 to EX67, wherein drying is performed by conveying the flattened sheet through a dryer on a belt conveyor, optionally the conveyor belt being a mesh belt.

EX69. The process according to EX3, wherein the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate is longitudinally divided in a plurality of tapes of aerosol-generating substrate and each tape of aerosol-generating substrate is then gathered and wrapped to form a respective continuous rod.

EX70. The process according to EX69, wherein longitudinally dividing the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate in a plurality of tapes of aerosol-generating substrate comprises: winding the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate on a core to form a master bobbin and slitting the master bobbin into smaller bobbins, each smaller bobbin carrying one of the tapes of aerosol-generating substrate winded on a respective portion of the core; or wherein longitudinally dividing the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate in a plurality of tapes of aerosol-generating substrate comprises: slitting the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate in a plurality of tapes and then winding each tape on a respective small bobbin.

EX71. The apparatus according to EX4, further comprising a grinder operatively placed upstream of the dough mixer and configured to grind the vegetable and/or alkaloid into particles; optionally wherein the dough mixer is a batch mixer or a continuous mixer.

EX72. The apparatus according to EX4 or EX71 , further comprising at least one pre-mixer operatively placed upstream of the dough mixer and configured to premix at least one ingredient or some ingredients or all the ingredients of the recipe.

EX73. The apparatus according to EX4 or EX71 or EX72, further comprising a dough-sheeter, the dough-sheeter being part of the dough mixer or being operatively placed just downstream of the dough mixer, to calender the dough to pre-form a thick sheet.

EX74. A recipe for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article, comprising as ingredients: vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a binder and an aerosol forming agent; wherein an amount of the binder in the recipe is 1.0 percent to 7.0 percent on dry weight basis. EX75. The recipe according to EX74, wherein the amount of the binder in the recipe is 1.5 percent to 6.5 percent on dry weight basis.

EX76. The recipe according to EX74 or EX75, wherein an amount of the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles in the recipe is 50 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis, optionally 70 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis.

EX77. The recipe according to any of EX74 to EX76, wherein an amount of the aerosol forming agent in the recipe is 16 percent to 20 percent on dry weight basis.

EX78. The recipe according to EX77, wherein the amount of the aerosol forming agent in the recipe is 17.5 percent to 20 percent on dry weight basis.

EX79. The recipe according to any of EX73 to EX78, wherein the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles comprise tobacco particles and the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate is a reconstituted tobacco sheet; or the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles comprise tobacco and/or nicotine and/or botanicals and/or cellulose powder; optionally the botanicals comprise cellulose fibers, like sheet fibers or powder fibers; optionally the botanicals comprise one or more of: clove, star anise, lavender, rosemary, peppermint, sage, camomille; optionally the tobacco comprises tobacco blends; optionally the tobacco is between 0 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis, optionally 50 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis, and the botanicals are 1 percent to 20 percent on dry weight basis; optionally the botanicals and/or cellulose powder are 50 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis.

EX80. The recipe according to any of EX73 to EX78, wherein the recipe further comprises fibers.

EX81 . The recipe according to EX80, wherein an amount of the fibers in the recipe is 0.1 percent to 2.5 percent on dry weight basis, optionally to 5.0 percent on dry weight basis.

EX82. The recipe according to any of EX73 to EX81 , further comprising botanicals.

EX83. The recipe according to EX82, wherein an amount of the further botanicals in the recipe is 1.0 percent to 20.0 percent on dry weight basis.

EX84. The recipe according to any of EX73 to EX83, wherein the binder is a derivative of cellulose.

EX85. The recipe according to EX84, wherein the derivative of cellulose is methylcellulose, ethylcellulose, ethyl hydroxymethyl or carboxymethylcellulose.

EX86. The recipe according to any of EX73 to EX85, wherein the binder comprises natural pectins, optionally fruit, citrus or tobacco pectins; or guar gums, optionally hydroxyethyl guar or hydroxypropyl guar; or locust bean gums, optionally hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl locust bean gum; or alginate; or starches, optionally modified or derivitized starches; or tamarind gum; or dextran; or pullalon; or konjac flour; or xanthan gum; or a mixture of the above.

EX87. The recipe according to any of EX73 to EX86, wherein the aerosol forming agent is a polyhydric alcohol.

EX88. The recipe according to EX87, wherein the polyhydric alcohol is triethylene glycol, 1 ,3-butanediol or glycerine or propylene glycol.

EX89. The recipe according to any of EX73 to EX88, wherein the aerosol forming agent comprises monohydric alcohols, optionally menthol; or esters of polyhydric alcohols, optionally glycerol mono-, di- or triacetate; or aliphatic esters of mono- , di- or polycarboxylic acids, optionally dimethyl dodecanedioate, dimethyl tetradecanedioate or triethyl citrate.

EX90. The recipe according to EX80 or EX81 , wherein the fibers are cellulose fibers.

EX91. The recipe according to EX90, wherein the cellulose fibers are: soft-wood fibers, hard wood fibers, jute fibers, flax fibers or tobacco fibers.

EX92. The recipe according to EX80 or EX81 or EX90 or EX91 , wherein a length of the fibers is between 5 pm and 2500 pm, optionally between 155 pm and 1500 pm, optionally between 710 pm and 1600 pm, optionally between 750 pm and 2500 pm (long fibers).

EX93. The recipe according to any of EX80, EX89, EX90, EX91 , EX92 wherein a ratio of the binder to the fibers is between 0.48 and 1 .82.

EX94. The recipe according to any of EX73 to EX93, wherein a viscosity of the binder is between 800 cp and 10000 cp (0.8 - 10 Pa s).

EX95. The recipe according to EX94, wherein the viscosity of the binder is greater than 3900 cp (3.9 Pa s); optionally the viscosity of the binder may be between 1950 cp and 6000 cp (1.95 - 6 Pa s); optionally between 4000 cp and 5000 cp (4 - 5 Pa s); optionally the viscosity of the binder may be between 7200 cp and 7600 cp (7.2 - 7.6 Pa s).

EX96. The recipe according to any of EX73 to EX95, wherein 90 percent of the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles has a size smaller than 600 pm, optionally smaller than 450 pm, optionally smaller than 300 pm.

EX97. The recipe according to EX96, wherein the 90 percent of the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles has a size smaller than 200 pm, optionally smaller than 150 pm.

EX98. The recipe according to any of EX73 to EX97, wherein the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles has a size less than 325 pm.

EX99. A sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article comprising the recipe of any of EX73 to EX98 or through the dough of EX2 or of any of EX7 to EX29. EX100. An aerosol-generating article comprising a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate according to EX99 and, optionally, a filter.

EX101. The method according to EX51 when according to any of EX11 , EX12 or EX21 to EX24, wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make a first premix; mixing the fibers with water to make a second premix; combining the first premix with the second premix in the dough mixer.

EX102. The method according to EX51 when according to any of EX11 , EX12 or EX21 to EX24, wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: mixing the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles and the binder to make a first premix; mixing the fibers with a portion of water and then with the aerosol forming agent to make a second premix; combining the first premix with the second premix in the dough mixer and adding a remaining portion of water.

Examples will now be further described with reference to the figures in which:

Figure 1 shows schematically an apparatus for producing a sheet of aerosolgenerating substrate for an aerosol-generating article according to the invention;

Figures 2 to 11 show flowcharts of part of a method for producing a sheet of aerosolgenerating substrate for an aerosol-generating article according to embodiments of the invention;

Figures 12A and 12B show a step of a process for manufacturing of aerosolgenerating article component;

Figures 13 is an apparatus for producing an aerosol-generating article component;

Figure 14 and 15 show a longitudinal section and a cross section of an aerosolgenerating article component.

The apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1 is a schematic example of an apparatus configured for carrying out a method for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article according to the invention.

The apparatus 1 comprises a grinder 2 configured to grind vegetable and/or alkaloid into particles “T”. For instance, the vegetable and/or alkaloid are tobacco strips and the grinder 2 is a tobacco mill adapted to coarse grind the tobacco strips to tobacco particles, 90% of the particles having a size less than 275 pm. A buffer silo, not shown in the appended figures, for uniform mass flow control may be located after the grinder 2.

From the grinder 2, the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles “T” are transported, for example by means of a pneumatic transport, to a powder mixing silo 3 schematically shown in Figure 1. In the powder mixing silo 3, other powders, such as cellulose fibers “F”, can be introduced and mixed to form a first premix “PM1”. The apparatus 1 further comprises a container 4, in which a wet mixture is formed by loading an aerosol forming agent “A”, like glycerine, a binder “B”, such as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), and then water “W”, to mix them and forming a second premix “PM2”.

The first premix “PM1” and the second premix “PM2” are fed to a dough mixer 5 operatively located downstream of the powder mixing silo 3 and of the container 4. The powder mixing silo 3 and the container 4 define respective pre-mixers operatively placed upstream of the dough mixer 5 and configured to premix one or more ingredients of a recipe. The dough mixer 5 may work in batches or with a continuous process.

In the dough mixer 5, the first premix “PM1” and the second premix “PM2” form a mixture which is kneaded to form a dough “D” through kneading elements 6.

The dough “D” is therefore made by mixing the recipe and water in the dough mixer 5, wherein the recipe comprises the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles “T”, the aerosol forming agent “A”, the fibers “F” and the binder “B”.

The dough “D” is then calendered through a dough-sheeter or calendaring rollers 7, which may be part of the dough mixer 5, to shape the dough “D” like a thick sheet 8. For instance, a thickness of the thick sheet is between 2 mm and 20 mm.

Downstream of the dough mixer 5, the apparatus 1 comprises flattening rollers 9 which are configured to flatten the thick sheet 8 to form a flattened thin sheet 10. The non- limitative embodiment of Figure 3 shows two pairs of flattening rollers 9 arranged one after the other. The flattening rollers 9 are provided with heating devices or cooling devices, not shown, configured to heat or cool a peripheral surface of the flattening rollers 9 and to heat or cool the thick sheet 8 passing therebetween, in order to keep a dough-temperature around 20-24°C. A thickness of the thin sheet 10 may be between 0.15 mm and 0.35 mm, optionally between 0.15 mm and 0.30 mm, for instance between 0.172 mm and 0.285 mm.

A dryer 11 is operatively placed downstream of the flattening rollers 9 and is configured to dry the flattened thin sheet 10 and obtaining the sheet 12 of aerosolgenerating substrate for an aerosol-generating article. The dryer 11 may comprise a casing delimiting a chamber 13 and a belt conveyor 14, for instance a mesh belt, moving through the chamber 13 while supporting the thin sheet 10. Heating devices, not shown, are configured to heat and dry the thin sheet 10 moving through the chamber 13. The heating/drying technology may be a combination of infrared and hot air, microwave and hot air or via conduction through a steam-heated belt and convection with hot air.

The flattened sheet 10 is dried down to a liquid content of 5.8 - 11.2 percent on wet weight basis, for instance to 8.5 percent on wet weight basis. Downstream of the dryer 11 , longitudinal edges of the sheet 12 are trimmed though a trimming device 15. A winder operatively placed downstream of the dryer 11 and of the trimming device 15 is configured to wind the sheet 12 of aerosol-generating substrate on a core 16 to form a master bobbin 17.

A cooling station, not shown, may be placed between the dryer 11 and the winder so that the sheet 12 of aerosol-generating substrate is cooled prior to be winded.

In a different embodiment, not shown in the drawings, the apparatus 1 comprise an inline slitter operatively placed downstream of the dryer 11 and configured to divide the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate 12 in a plurality of tapes. A plurality of small winders are employed for winding each tape on a respective small bobbin.

The apparatus 1 above described allows to carry out the method of the present invention. The percentage of the ingredients of the recipe and of water “W’ and the feeding order may change with respect to what disclosed above.

The following Tables 1A and 1 B contains examples 1 to 10 of recipes.

Table 1A

Table 1 B

The following Table 1C contains further examples of recipes with graphite.

Table 1C

The following Tables 1 D, 1 E, 1 F contain further examples of recipes with botanicals.

Table 1 D

Table 1 E

Table 1 F

The following Table 2 contains features of some of the ingredients.

Table 2

In the above examples, the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles “T” are tobacco particles and therefore the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate is a reconstituted tobacco sheet. In other embodiments, the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles “T” may be botanicals.

In the above examples, an amount of the tobacco particles “T” in the recipe is 76.1 percent on dry weight basis. Anyway, the amount of the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, such as tobacco particles, may be between 70 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis, optionally 70 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis.

In the above examples, 90 percent of the tobacco particles has a size smaller than 175 pm or smaller than 275 pm with no particles greater than 450 pm. When also particles greater than 500 pm are present, the visual quality of the product may be impacted but not its functionality.

In the above examples, an amount of the cellulose fibers in the recipe “F” is between 0.0 percent (no fibers) and 4.2 percent. Anyway, the amount of the fibers, such as cellulose fibers, in the recipe may be 0.0 (no fibers) percent to 5.0 percent on dry weight basis.

In the above examples, the binder “B” is carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). In other embodiments, the binder “B” may be methylcellulose, ethylcellulose, ethylhydroxymethyl or carboxymethylcellulose; or may comprise natural pectins, optionally fruit, citrus or tobacco pectins; or guar gums, optionally hydroxyethyl guar or hydroxypropyl guar; or locust bean gums, optionally hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl locust bean gum; or alginate; or starches, optionally modified or derivitized starches; or tamarind gum; or dextran; or pullalon; or konjac flour; or xanthan gum; or a mixture of the above.

In the above examples, a viscosity of the CMC is between 1950 cp and 6000 cp (1.95 - 6 Pa s), for instance 3900 cp (3.9 Pa s). A viscosity of guar is 7200 cp (7.2 Pa s). Anyway, the viscosity of the binder may be between 800 cp and 10000 cp (0.8 - 10 Pa s).

In the above examples, a ratio of the binder to the fibers is greater than 0.28. In some embodiments, the ratio of the binder to the fibers is between 0.48 and 1.82.

In the above examples, an amount of the carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) in the recipe is between 1 .2 percent and 6.2 percent on dry weight basis. Anyway, the amount of the binder, such as CMC, in the recipe may be 1 .0 percent to 7.0 percent on dry weight basis.

In the above examples, the aerosol forming agent “A” is glycerine. In other embodiments, the polyhydric alcohol may be triethylene glycol, 1 ,3-butanediol. In some other embodiments, the aerosol forming agent “A” may comprise monohydric alcohols, optionally menthol; or esters of polyhydric alcohols, optionally glycerol mono-, di- or triacetate; or aliphatic esters of mono- , di- or polycarboxylic acids, optionally dimethyl dodecanedioate, dimethyl tetradecanedioate or triethyl citrate. In the above examples, an amount of the glycerine in the recipe is between 17.7 percent to 19.7 percent on dry weight basis. Anyway, the amount of the aerosol forming agent “A”, for instance glycerine, in the recipe may be 16 percent to 20 percent on dry weight basis.

In other embodiments, the recipe may also comprise further botanicals, such as clove, star anise, rosemary, sage, peppermint, chamomile, lavender, eucalyptus, lemon peel FD, passion berry, geranium. An amount of the further botanicals may be 1.0 percent to 20.0 percent on dry weight basis.

The following tables 3A, 3B, 3C and the attached Figures 2 to 11 provide examples of feeding orders F1 to F14 of the ingredients and of the water “W’ (F11 and F12 are not depicted in the drawings). As disclosed in Tables 3A and 3B, some ingredients may be premixed with or without water “W’ in the powder mixing silo 3 and/or in the container 4 before mixing and kneading in the dough mixer 5. Some other embodiments may comprise the same feeding orders as F1 to F14 wherein the fibers “F” are not employed. F8 shows that premixing may be optional.

Table 3A

Table 3B

Table 3C

The following Table 4 provides example parameters of the apparatus 1 and/or the method of the present invention.

Table 4

In the above examples, the temperature of the water “W’ mixed with the recipe is between 20°C - 50°C. Anyway, the tested temperature of the water “W’ may be up to 80°C.

In the above examples, the temperature of the dough before the flattening is between 35°C and 45°C. Anyway, the temperature of the dough before the flattening may be between 20°C and 50°C.

In the above examples, the temperature of the flattening rollers 9 is between 10°C - 30°C. Anyway, the temperature of the flattening rollers 9 may be between 5°C and 50°C, optionally between 8°C and 40°C.

The sheet 12 of aerosol-generating substrate of the master bobbin 17 is employed in the manufacturing of aerosol-generating article components 18 and of an aerosolgenerating article. The master bobbin 17 is slit in a plurality of smaller bobbins 19 so that each smaller bobbin 19 comprises a tape 20 of aerosol-generating substrate winded on a respective portion of the core 16 (Figures 12A and 12B). Alternatively, the master bobbin is not formed and the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate is longitudinally inline divided in a plurality of tapes by an inline slitter and then each tape is wound on a respective small bobbin.

Each tape 20 of aerosol-generating substrate may be, for instance, gathered and wrapped to form a respective continuous rod 21 through an apparatus 22 for manufacturing aerosol-generating article components, as shown in Figures 13, 14 and 15.

The apparatus 22 for manufacturing aerosol-generating article components comprises a reel holder 23 carrying the smaller bobbin 19 formed by the tape 20 of aerosolgenerating substrate for an aerosol-generating article component. The tape 20 of aerosolgenerating substrate, previously manufactured, is unwound from the bobbin 19 and fed along a feeding path in a feeding direction “F”.

Downstream of the reel holder 23, the apparatus 1 comprises two rotating cylindrical rollers 24 between which the tape 20 is pressed. These rollers 24 have matching textured ridge-and-trough patterns on their outside surfaces that crimp the tape 20 through transversal stretching of substrate’s fibers. This crimping process is helpful for folding and gathering the tape 20 of aerosol-generating substrate into rod pieces that will fit into the aerosol generating articles. Indeed, the term “crimped tape” denotes a tape 20 having a plurality of substantially parallel ridges or corrugations which are substantially parallel to the cylindrical axis of the rod piece. This facilitates folding and gathering of the crimped tape 20 of aerosol-generating substrate to form the aerosol-generating article component.

Figure 13 shows schematically a folding device 25 placed downstream of the two rotating cylindrical rollers 24 and configured to move the tape 20 from a flat configuration (upstream of the folding device 24) to a gathered rod-shaped configuration (downstream of the folding device 25) and to wrap the wrapper 26 around the gathered tape 20 to obtain the continuous rod 21. The folding device 24 may be shaped like a tapered funnel. The continuous rod 21 is then cut in a plurality of aerosol-generating article components 27. Each aerosol-generating article component 27 has a rod shape and comprises a gathered tape formed from a cut portion of the tape 20 of aerosol-generating substrate (Figures 14 and 15).

The following Table 5 compares the mechanical properties of the sheet of aerosolgenerating substrate obtained with some of the recipes of Tables 1 and 2 and through a same feeding order (F3) with mechanical properties of a tobacco cast leaf manufactured from a slurry, wherein:

TS - LD tensile strength in longitudinal direction;

SB - LD stretching to break in longitudinal direction;

TS - CD tensile strength in cross direction;

SB - CD stretching to break cross direction. Table 5

The following Table 6 compares the mechanical properties of the sheet of aerosol- generating substrate obtained with some of the feeding orders and parameters of Tables 3 and 4 and through a same recipe (Recipe 1 in Table 1A) with mechanical properties of a tobacco cast leaf manufactured from a slurry

Table 6

The tensile strength in longitudinal direction (TS - LD) and the stretching to break in the longitudinal direction (SB - LD) of the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate according to the invention may be better than the values of the tobacco cast leaf obtained from a slurry. The tensile strength in cross direction (TS - CD) of the sheet of aerosol-generating substrate according to the invention is close to the values of the tobacco cast leaf obtained from a slurry. The stretching to break in cross direction (SB - CD) of the sheet of aerosolgenerating substrate according to the invention is much better than the values of the tobacco cast leaf obtained from a slurry. In addition, the water content, which determines almost exclusively the liquid content of the mixture of the dough, is much lower than the water content of the slurry of the typical manufacturing processes.

The following Table 7 shows the mechanical properties of the sheet of aerosolgenerating substrate obtained with feeding order n.11 and longer fibers.

Table 7

For the purpose of the present description and of the appended claims, except where otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing amounts, quantities, percentages, and so forth, are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term "about". Also, all ranges include the maximum and minimum points disclosed and include any intermediate ranges therein, which may or may not be specifically enumerated herein. In this context, therefore, a number A is understood as A ± 5 percent of A. Within this context, a number A may be considered to include numerical values that are within general standard error for the measurement of the property that the number A modifies. The number A, in some instances as used in the appended claims, may deviate by the percentages enumerated above provided that the amount by which A deviates does not materially affect the basic and novel characteristic(s) of the claimed invention. Also, all ranges include the maximum and minimum points disclosed and include any intermediate ranges therein, which may or may not be specifically enumerated herein.

Claims

1. Method for producing a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosolgenerating article, the method comprising: mixing a recipe with water to form a mixture, the recipe comprising as ingredients vegetable and/or alkaloid particles, a binder and an aerosol forming agent; kneading the mixture in a dough mixer to form a dough; flattening the dough to form a sheet; drying the flattened sheet to obtain a sheet of aerosol-generating substrate for an aerosol-generating article; wherein an amount of the binder in the recipe is 1.0 percent to 7.0 percent on dry weight basis; wherein a liquid content of the dough is 25 percent to 35 percent on wet weight basis; wherein flattening is performed through rollers and a temperature of the rollers is between 5°C and 50°C.

2. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the amount of the binder in the recipe is 1.5 percent to 6.5 percent on dry weight basis; wherein an amount of the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles in the recipe is 50 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis, optionally 70 percent to 80 percent on dry weight basis; wherein an amount of the aerosol forming agent in the recipe is 16 percent to 20 percent on dry weight basis.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: premixing at least one ingredient of the recipe before kneading the mixture in a dough mixer; wherein the water is premixed with the at least one ingredient and/or added in the dough mixer.

4. Method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: premixing at least one ingredient or only a part of said at least one ingredient of the recipe to form a first premix; premixing the remaining ingredient or ingredients or the remaining part or parts of the ingredient or ingredients of the recipe to form a second premix; combining the first premix and the second premix in the dough mixer; wherein the water is premixed in the first premix and/or in the second premix and/or added in the dough mixer.

5. Method according to any of the claims 1 to 4, wherein mixing the recipe with the water comprises: first mixing the binder with the water and then contacting the binder with the aerosol forming agent.

6. Method according to any of the claims 1 to 5, wherein a temperature of the water is between 20°C and 80°C.

7. Method according to any of the claims 1 to 6, wherein a temperature of the dough before flattening is between 20°C and 50°C.

8. Method according to any of the claims 1 to 7, wherein the temperature of the rollers is between 8°C and 40°C.

9. Method according to any of the claims 1 to 8, wherein a viscosity of the binder is between 0.8 Pa s and 10 Pa s.

10. Method according to any of the claims 1 to 9, wherein 90 percent of the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles has a size smaller than 600 pm.

11. Method according to any of the claims 1 to 10, wherein the vegetable and/or alkaloid particles comprise tobacco and/or nicotine and/or botanicals and/or cellulose powder .

12. Method according to any of the claims 1 to 11 , wherein the binder is a derivative of cellulose, the derivative of cellulose being methylcellulose, ethylcellulose, ethylhydroxymethyl or carboxymethylcellulose.

13. Method according to any of the claims 1 to 12, wherein the aerosol forming agent is a polyhydric alcohol, the polyhydric alcohol being triethylene glycol, 1,3-butanediol or glycerine or propylene glycol.

14. Method according to any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the recipe further comprises fibers, an amount of the fibers in the recipe being 0.1 percent to 2.5 percent on dry weight basis.

15. Method according to claim 14, wherein a length of the fibers is between 5 pm and 2500 pm.