Process of making tri-arc filaments
View Patent ↗A spinneret having tri-arc holes may be used to produce tri-arc filaments. In some instances, tri-arc holes have a Y-shape with three prongs and each prong having an arc at the end of the prong that tapers from the end of the arc to a connection point of an adjacent arc, and tri-arc filaments have a generally-Y shape cross-section with bulbous or arcing tips. Further, tri-arc filaments may be useful in a plurality of applications including, but not limited to, filters, filters comprising particulate additives, and smoking device filters.
1. A method comprising:
providing a dope comprising a polymer and a solvent;
passing the dope through a spinneret having a plurality of tri-arc holes that are a Y-shape with three prongs and each prong having an arc at an end of the prong that tapers from the end of the arc to a connection point of an adjacent arc; and
spinning a plurality of tri-arc filaments having a generally Y-shape cross-section having bulbous or arcing tips.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of cellulose acetate, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, cellulose propionate, cellulose butyrate, cellulose acetate-propionate, cellulose acetate-butyrate, cellulose propionate-butyrate, starch acetate, acrylonitrile, vinyl chloride, vinyl ester, vinyl ether, any derivative thereof, any copolymer thereof, and any combination thereof.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tri-arc filaments have a denier per filament of about 1 dpf to about 30 dpf.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
producing a tow band comprising at least some of the tri-arc filaments.
5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:
crimping the tow band to yield a crimped tow band.
6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:
conditioning the crimped tow band.
7. The method of claim 5 further comprising:
baling the crimped tow band.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tri-arc filaments have a denier per filament of about 10 dpf to about 30 dpf.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tri-arc filaments have a diameter of about 10 microns to about 500 microns.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tri-arc filaments have a ratio of arc distance to inter-arc distance of about 0.2 to about 3.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is present in the dope at about 20% to about 40% by weight of the dope.
12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
heating the dope to about 40° C. to about 100° C.
13. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
applying a finish to the tri-arc filaments.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the finish is a neat-finish.
15. The method of claim 4 , wherein the tow band has about 1,000 to about 200,000 total denier.
16. The method of claim 4 , wherein the tri-arc filaments have a denier per filament of about 10 dpf to about 30 dpf, and wherein the tow band has about 1,000 to about 20,000 total denier.
17. A method comprising:
heating a dope comprising a polymer and a solvent to about 40° C. to about 100° C.;
passing the dope through a spinneret having a plurality of tri-arc holes that are a Y-shape with three prongs and each prong having an arc at an end of the prong that tapers from the end of the arc to a connection point of an adjacent arc;
spinning a plurality of tri-arc filaments having a generally Y-shape cross-section having bulbous or arcing tips, wherein the tri-arc filaments have a denier per filament of about 1 dpf to about 30 dpf; and
producing a tow band comprising at least some of the tri-arc filaments.
18. A method comprising:
providing a dope comprising a cellulose acetate and a solvent, wherein the cellulose acetate is present in the dope at about 20% to about 40% by weight of the dope;
passing the dope through a spinneret having a plurality of tri-arc holes that are a Y-shape with three prongs and each prong having an arc at an end of the prong that tapers from the end of the arc to a connection point of an adjacent arc; and
spinning a plurality of tri-arc filaments having a generally Y-shape cross-section having bulbous or arcing tips, wherein the tri-arc filaments have a denier per filament of about 10 dpf to about 30 dpf.
19. The method of claim 18 further comprising:
producing a tow band comprising at least some of the tri-arc filaments, wherein the tow band has about 1,000 to about 20,000 total denier.