Philip Morris USA Inc.

Philip Morris Inc.

Philip Morris Products S.a.

Charles E Thomas, Jr

Shuzhong Zhuang

Jay A Fournier

Timothy Scott Sherwood

John Bryant Paine, Iii

Kent Brian Koller

Zhaohua Luan

Georgios D Karles

Diane L Gee

Zuyin Yang

Jose Nepomuceno

Jose M G Nepomuceno

John B Iii Paine

A smoking article such as a cigarette comprises a tobacco rod and a filter component having a cavity filled with spherical beaded carbon. As mainstream tobacco smoke is drawn through the filter component, targeted gas phase smoke constituents are removed as the smoke passes through the carbon. During the filter manufacturing process the spherical beaded carbon flows like a liquid and substantially completely fills the cavity. Point-to-point contact between the spherical beads together with substantially complete filling of the cavity produces minimal channeling of ambulatory gas phase as well as maximum contact between the gas phase and the carbon surface of the spherical beads during smoking.

Cigarette filter with beaded carbon

A zone or plug of porous adsorbent material, primarily activated carbon, is placed in the tobacco rod of a cigarette a short distance from the lighting end thereof. The amount of activated carbon is sufficient for effective removal of volatile smoke constituents while allowing the cigarette to burn continuously. The activated carbon traps volatile smoke constituents in close proximity to the burning coal in the first puffs of the cigarette. As the cigarette continues to burn, the burning coal consumes the activated carbon. The adsorbed smoke constituents are effectively removed without releasing them back into the mainstream smoke. Following the consumption of the activated carbon in the tobacco rod, the cigarette is unchanged from a cigarette of conventional design.

Cigarette with adsorbent at tip end thereof

A filter includes at least two monolithic sorbent segments and a mixing segment between the two monolithic sorbent segments. The monolithic sorbent segments comprise porous sorbent materials that are capable of selectively removing one or more selected gaseous constituents from a gas flow. The filter can be incorporated in a smoking article, such as a cigarette, to remove one or more selected constituents from mainstream smoke. Methods for making the filter and smoking articles including the filter, as well as methods for smoking a cigarette comprising the filter, are also provided.

Filters including segmented monolithic sorbent for gas-phase filtration

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Richmond, VA, United States of America

Charles E Thomas, Jr