Process for making cellulose acetate tow

1. A process for making a cigarette tow comprising the steps of:

spinning a dope comprising a solution of cellulose acetate and solvent;

taking-up the as-pun cellulose acetate filaments;

lubricating the cellulose acetate filaments;

forming a tow from the cellulose acetate filaments;

crimping the tow, the means for crimping comprising a stuffer box crimper comprising a pair of nip rollers adapted to engage the tow, a pair of cheek plates juxtaposed to the pair of nip rollers adapted to keep the tow between the pair of nip rollers, a pair of doctor blades adjacent to an exit end of said pair of nip rollers, and a stuffer box having a stuffer channel adjacent the pair of doctor blades adapted to receive the tow into the channel from the pair of nip rollers, a flapper located at a distal end of the channel adapted to bearingly engage the tow;

drying the crimped tow; and

baling the dried crimped tow;

the process further comprising at least two of the following steps:

A. wherein crimping further comprising one roller of the pair of nip rollers being adapted to induce crimp into the tow and comprising an axially grooved surface and said grooves extend across a face of said roller;

B. wherein crimping further comprising one roller of the pair of nip rollers being made of a solid ceramic material;

C. wherein crimping further comp rising a pair of tow edge lubricators adapted to lubricate lateral edges of the tow immediately prior to contact with the pair of nip rollers and being ahead of and in contact with the pair of cheek plates;

D. wherein crimping further comprising a steam injector being in communication with the channel;

E. further comprising plasticizing the tow with a plasticizer consisting of water after forming the tow and before crimping the tow;

F. wherein lubricating the filaments further comprises a finish consisting of a water emulsion containing 3-15 weigh percent of a lubricant consisting of: 62.0 to 65.0 weight percent of mineral oil; 27.0 to 28.0 weight percent of emulsifiers, the emulsifiers being a mixture of 50.0 to 52.0 weight percent sorbitan monolaurate, and 48.0 to 50.0 weight percent POE (20) sorbitan monolaurate; and 8.0-10.0 weight percent water.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein said roller adapted to induce crimp influences a crimp location on the tow by preferentially weakening a portion of the tow.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the axially grooved surface further comprises grooves formed by rectangular, triangular, or semi-circular notches, grooves, or ridges with or without flat surfaces therebetween.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein the axially grooved surface further comprises grooves ranging from 10 to 100 grooves per inch.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the axially grooved surface further having a depth from 0.5 to 5.0 mils.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the solid ceramic material further comprises a material selected from the group consisting of unhipped MgO stabilized zirconia, hipped MgO stabilized zirconia, unhipped yttria stabilized zirconia, or hipped yttria stabilized zirconia.

7. The process of claim 6 wherein the solid ceramic material being hipped yttria stabilized zirconia.

8. The process of claim 1 wherein each tow edge lubricator further comprising a face having a longitudinal groove, said groove being adapted to engage a lateral edge of the tow.

9. The process of claim 8 wherein the face having a hole therein, the hole being located in the groove.

10. The process of claim 9 wherein the hole being a plurality of holes.

11. The process of claim 1 wherein each said lubricator being adapted to dispense a lubricant at a rate less than 100 cc per minute.

12. The process of claim 1 wherein the steam injector further comprising a single pair of injectors being vertically aligned with one another above and below the channel.

13. The process of claim 12 wherein each said injector spanning the width of the channel.

14. The process of claim 1 wherein the steam injector being adapted to inject low pressure steam at 100° C.

15. The process of claim 1 wherein the steam injector being adapted to inject steam having a pressure in the range of 0.01 to 5 psig.

16. The process of claim 1 wherein the steam injector being adapted to inject steam at a rate of 0.002 to 0.08 pounds of steam per pound of tow.

17. The process of claim 1 wherein plasticizing the tow being performed at least one half meter before crimping.

18. The process of claim 1 wherein plasticizing the tow further comprises an application rate of less than 300 cc per minute at line speeds of 200-1,000 meters per minute for a tow of 10,000 to 100,000 total denier.

19. The process of claim 1 wherein plasticizing the tow further comprises a spool-type guide.

20. The process of claim 1 wherein the finish being 0.7 to 1.8% FOY.