An aerosol-generating material in the form of one or more non-linear strands

Abstract

The invention provides an aerosol-generating material in the form of one or more non-linear strands, wherein each non-linear strand has a number of contact points with other non-linear strands, the average number of contact points per non-linear strand being less than about 5. The invention also provides aerosol-generating compositions comprising the aerosol-generating material, consumables for use within a non-combustible aerosol provision system, and non-combustible aerosol provision systems. The invention also provides methods for producing the aerosol-generating material.

1 . An aerosol-generating material in the form of one or more non-linear strands, wherein each non-linear strand has a number of contact points with other non-linear strands, the average number of contact points per non-linear strand being less than about 5. 
     
     
         2 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein the average number of contact points per non-linear strand is less than about 4. 
     
     
         3 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein the aerosol-generating material comprises an aerosol generating agent and a crosslinked binder. 
     
     
         4 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein each of the non-linear strands has a diameter of from about 0.05 mm to about 3 mm. 
     
     
         5 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein each of the non-linear strands has a thickness of from about 0.05 mm to about 3 mm. 
     
     
         6 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the diameter to the thickness of each of the non-linear strands is from about 1:2 to about 2:1. 
     
     
         7 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein each of the non-linear strands has an uncoiled length of from about 20 mm to about 100 mm; and/or wherein each of the non-linear strands has a coiled length of from about 3 mm to about 25 mm, provided that the uncoiled length is greater than the coiled length. 
     
     
         8 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein the ratio between the uncoiled length and the coiled length of each non-linear strand is at least about 1.2. 
     
     
         9 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein the ratio between the uncoiled length and the diameter of each of the non-linear strands is from about 5 to about 200. 
     
     
         10 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein the tensile strength of each strand ranges from about 0.1 N to about 3.0 N. 
     
     
         11 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein the aerosol-generating material has a fill value of from about 3 cm 3 /g to about 10 cm 3 /g. 
     
     
         12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein the binder comprises crosslinked alginate and/or pectin. 
     
     
         15 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein the aerosol-generating material is substantially free of cellulosic binder; and/or wherein the aerosol-generating material is substantially free of carboxymethylcellulose. 
     
     
         16 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein a filler is present, wherein the filler comprises wood pulp, MCC and/or ground cellulose. 
     
     
         17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein the aerosol-generating material further comprises a crosslinking agent. 
     
     
         19 . The aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , wherein the aerosol-generating material is substantially free from tobacco. 
     
     
         20 . An aerosol-generating composition comprising the aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         21 . The aerosol-generating composition of  claim 20 , wherein the composition comprises shredded or cut strands of the aerosol-generating material. 
     
     
         22 . The aerosol-generating composition of  claim 20 , wherein the composition further comprises tobacco. 
     
     
         23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . A consumable for use with a non-combustible aerosol provision device, the consumable comprising the aerosol-generating composition according to  claim 20 . 
     
     
         26 . A non-combustible aerosol provision system comprising the consumable according to  claim 25  and a non-combustible aerosol provision device, wherein the non-combustible aerosol provision device is configured to generate aerosol from the consumable when the consumable is used with the non-combustible aerosol provision device. 
     
     
         27 . The system according to  claim 26  wherein the non-combustible aerosol provision device comprises a heater configured to heat but not burn the consumable. 
     
     
         28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . A method of making the aerosol-generating material of  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 (a) forming a mixture comprising
 an aerosol-generating agent; 
 a crosslinkable binder; and 
 a solvent; 
   (b) ejecting the mixture through a nozzle such that the mixture moves with a velocity;   (c) contacting the ejected mixture with a solution comprising a cross-linking agent, where the velocity of the mixture is reduced on contact with the solution, thereby forming aerosol-generating material in the form of non-linear strands;   (d) separating the non-linear strands from the solution comprising the cross-linking agent;   (e) cutting the strands;   (f) drying the strands; and   (g) untangling the strands.   
     
     
         30 . (canceled) 
     
     
         31 . An aerosol-generating material obtainable by the method of  claim 29 .