The Sustainability Trend in Disposable Vapes: Dual Evolution in Materials and Structural Design

Environmental protection is a one-timee-cigarettesThis consumer demand is mainly reflected in the European market, and may have the opportunity to iterate to the global market in the future.

As a disposable fast-moving consumer product, the outbreak of disposable e-cigarettes has really brought some environmental pollution, such as the generation of a large amount of plastic waste, waste lithium batteries and circuit boards, and even the residue contained thereinsmoke oilIt will be considered hazardous chemical waste.

Against this background,e-cigarette industryMany actions have been launched, such as many in the UKe-cigarette brands, stores launch waste e-cigarette recycling services, ande-cigarette companiesAdopt new technologies to give products environmental attributes.

Among them, in Technology In terms of material and structural design, there are mainly two routes.

New Material, mainly to change the material of e-cigarette casings, such as degradable plastics (PLA, PBAT, etc.), recycled plastics, and paper tubes;

Structural design, mainly a modular design, which is not only to facilitate disassembly and recycling, but also to improve production efficiency, because the modular design allows the automation line to be fast.

1. Key points of e-cigarette environmentally friendly material shell: either degradable or recyclable

Environmentally friendly material e-cigarette casings, there have been some product cases, mainly Degradable materials, such as PLA, paper tube.

Meanwhile, Recycling materials, such as TPU, PCR, etc., have also begun to be gradually applied.

For example,Zhuo LinengThe body casings of some products are made of biodegradable PLA. In addition, Riot Labs, a manufacturer of electronic liquid, has also launched a related product.  

PLA is the English abbreviation of polylactic acid, and its full English name is Polylactic Acid or Polylactide. It is a condensation product of α-hydroxypropionic acid and belongs to a type of thermoplastic aliphatic polyester.

The raw materials for PLA polymerization monomers come from shell crops such as corn, and then PLA can be biodegradable under composting conditions. Therefore, it is a material with environmentally friendly sources and environmentally friendly after disposal.

Friends who are interested in PLA can come and listen to Guanghua Weiye's keynote speech" Application of PLA Materials in Electronic Cigarettes for Recycling "on August 31, or consult at Guanghua Weiye booth 8D95.# p#pagination title #e#

As for paper tubes, we currently see that Simmore has related product applications. There are currently some disputes over the application of paper tubes. Some people think that its mechanical strength and waterproofness cannot meet the daily use requirements, but others believe that problems can be avoided through structural combination applications. In short, the application prospects of paper tubes remain to be observed.

Degradable materials are part of it, but it is currently impossible to use degradable materials on a large scale. First, the material cost is relatively high, and second, the processing technology is not mature enough.

At this time, the opportunity to recycle materials comes. Like the TPU shown above, it is a recyclable material.

TPU, also known as thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, is a type of elastomer that can be melted when heated and dissolved in solvent. It has excellent comprehensive properties such as high strength, high toughness, wear resistance, and oil resistance. It has good processing properties and can be recycled.

In addition, PC, also known as polycarbonate, also has the opportunity to shine in the environmentally friendly trend of e-cigarettes.

portant;"> For example, Covestro and Nongfu Spring collaborated to turn recycled plastic buckets into recyclable luggage boxes. In addition, there are many application cases of PCR.

Interested friends can come to Covestro's keynote speech on the morning of August 30," Application of Polycarbonate and Its Alloys in E-Cigarettes and Prospects for Circular Economy Solutions ", or they can go to Covestro's booth 8F70 for communication.

2. Modular design: It is conducive to recycling and improving production efficiency

Modular design of disposable e-cigarettes, a recent case isLove miraclesA new product. Modular design, equivalent to summarizing。

For example, the traditional disposable e-cigarette consists of a nozzle + atomizing core + oil storage wool +microphonePlan board + battery + shell. After module design, the disposable e-cigarette consists of electronic drive (miter plan board + battery)+ oil bin (atomization core + oil storage cotton)+ shell.

Of course, modular design is not easy, and behind this is the cooperation of a series of suppliers.

What is certain is that through the modular design, recycling can be completed through rapid disassembly, and efficiency can be improved through automation at the production end.

All in all, the environmentally friendly trend of disposable e-cigarettes is developing rapidly. Disposable e-cigarettes still have a huge market volume, and related materials and technologies are expected to benefit from it.