FIBROUS NONWOVEN MATERIAL

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an oral pouched product comprising a filling material contained in a liquid permeable pouch of fibrous nonwoven material, wherein the fibrous nonwoven material comprises regenerated cellulose fibers and polyhydroxyalcanoate, PHA, fibers.

BACKGROUND

Smokeless products for oral use are well known in the art and include tobacco products as well as non-tobacco products.

Tobacco products for oral use may be offered in loose form or as portion-packed in a saliva-permeable, porous wrapper material forming a pouch enclosing a tobacco-based filling material. Non-tobacco products are commonly provided in the form of a filling material comprising a particulate material and/or fibers which may be plant fibers of other origin than tobacco or man-made fibers. Pouched products for oral use are typically used by a consumer by placing the pouch between the upper or lower gum and the lip and retaining it there for a limited period of time. The pouch material holds the tobacco or non- tobacco filling material in place while allowing saliva to pass into the filling material and allowing flavours and active agents, e.g., nicotine to diffuse from the tobacco material into the consumer’s mouth.

The material used to form the pouch containing the filling material is commonly a saliva permeable nonwoven material. Nonwoven materials are fibrous web materials made by methods other than conventional textile forming methods such as weaving or knitting. The nonwoven materials may be formed by dry or wet web-forming methods and may comprise fibers or filaments of any length. The fibers used in nonwoven materials may be natural or man-made fibers or blends of different kinds of fibers. The fibers are formed into a consolidated fibrous web by methods such as needle punching, hydroentanglement, chemical bonding, heat induced bonding, etc. A commonly used type of nonwoven material for oral pouched products is a bonded carded nonwoven web comprising staple fibers of regenerated cellulose, such as viscose fibers and a chemical binder, such as an acrylate binder.

In order to be able to efficiently produce oral pouched products at high production speeds, it is desirable that the nonwoven pouch material is thermo-sealable, allowing the pouches to be sealed using methods such as thermo-welding or ultrasonic welding and avoiding the use of adhesives or mechanical sealing methods such as needling.

To achieve thermo-sealability, the nonwoven materials commonly comprise a thermoplastic component, such as a thermoplastic binder and/or thermoplastic fibers which may be softened or melted to create a weld seal.

However, the requirement for thermo-sealability has been found to be conflicting with environmental concerns as thermoplastic materials generally have poor degradability and will remain virtually intact under normal composting conditions.

Polymers such as polyolefins, which are used in conventional chemical binders and binder fibers, are not biodegradable. Even if present in small amounts in a nonwoven material used in a pouched product, such polymers may delay product breakdown and may negatively affect the compostability of the products. Also, even if a substantially biodegradable nonwoven material is broken down, microscopic residues of non- biodegradable material may remain intact.

In view of the above, there is a need of an improved environmentally friendly pouched oral product which can be efficiently and economically produced.

An object of the present invention is to overcome or at least mitigate some of the problems associated with the prior art weldable nonwoven materials.

SUMMARY

The above object may be achieved with an oral pouched product according to claim 1. Variations of the disclosure are set out in the dependent claims and in the following description.

The oral pouched product as disclosed herein comprises a filling material contained in a liquid permeable pouch of fibrous nonwoven material, wherein the nonwoven material comprises a mixture of regenerated cellulose fibers and polyhydroxyalcanoate ,PHA, fibers with a weight ratio of regenerated cellulose fibers to PHA fibers being in the range of from 20:80 to 50:50, such as from 30:70 or from 40:60, the regenerated cellulose fibers and the PHA fibers being the only fibers in the nonwoven material.

The regenerated cellulose fibers in the nonwoven material may be lyocell fibers or viscose fibers.

Regenerated cellulose fibres have good absorption and liquid distribution capacity. This may be an advantage for transferring components such as a flavour and/or an active agent or active agents from the filling material in the pouch to the oral cavity of a user.

The PHA (polyhydroxyalcanoate) in the PHA fibers may be selected from PHBV (Poly(3- hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate), PHBH (Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3- hydroxyhexanoate), PHBO (poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyoctanoate), PHBD (poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxydecanoate), P3HB (poly-3-hydroxybutyrate), P4HB (poly-4-hydroxybutyrate) and polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) or any copolymer or combination thereof.

In the nonwoven fibrous pouch material, the PHA fibers contribute to compostability and weldability of the pouch material and the regenerated cellulose fibers contribute to compostability, improved fluid distribution, softness and textile feel of the pouch material.

All fibers of the nonwoven pouch material as disclosed herein are biodegradable fibers. Preferably, the nonwoven pouch material does not comprise any non-biodegradable polymer such as non-biodegradeable binders. Thereby, the nonwoven pouch material as disclosed herein may disintegrate completely under composting conditions. Further, the filling material in the pouched product as described herein, such as tobacco-based as well as microcrystalline-based filling materials are preferably biodegradable. It has been reported that upon digesting tobacco waste for biogas production and using the digested tobacco in biofertilizers, tobacco is considered to have a positive impact on the fertilizer quality. Further, nicotine content has been observed to drop markedly in the presence of microorganisms and during composting.

When the fibers in the nonwoven material are biodegradable, such that the nonwoven material is biodegradable, several advantages may be obtained. For example, the pouch material and preferably the whole product may be made sufficiently biodegradable to meet home composting standards. Such standards may differ between countries and generally require the product to be broken down in a compost during a specified test time. A further advantage may be that products which are unintentionally thrown on the ground, may disintegrate over time and eventually be integrated with the soil.

The oral pouched product as disclosed herein may be a tobacco product. Alternatively, the oral pouched product may be a tobacco-free product, or a substantially tobacco-free product also referred to herein as a non-tobacco product. The non-tobacco product may be a nicotine containing smokeless non-tobacco product. A tobacco free smokeless non- tobacco product as disclosed herein may contain trace amounts of tobacco, below 0.05 wt%.

While nicotine is a well-known stimulant, the use of a cannabinoid such as cannabidiol as an active agent in oral smokeless products is more recent. The cannabinoids are chemical compounds found in the cannabis plant. The most well-known cannabinoid is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which has a psychotropic effect capable of affecting the mind, behaviour and/or emotions of an individual taking it. However, not all cannabinoids exert a psychotropic effect. For instance, the cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) is not associated with a psychotropic effect. Cannabidiol constitutes up to 40% of the cannabis plant. Cannabidiol, C21H30O2, may be extracted from the Cannabis plant or may be prepared synthetically. Cannabidiol has shown to have e.g., anti-depressive effect, calming effect, anti-anxiety effect, sleep promoting effect, anti-inflammatory effect and antipsycotic effect. Further, cannabidiol has been shown to be effective in reduction of tobacco and/or nicotine addiction. Cannabidiol has been used in pharmaceutical compositions for antiepileptic effect and is also believed to be useful for treating diseases such as Parkinson disease and Crohn disease.

The cannabinoids which are contemplated for the oral smokeless products as disclosed herein may be one of more of the following: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), cannabinol (CBN), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabichromene (CBC), cannabicyclol (CBL), cannabivarin (CBV), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabidivarin (CBDV), cannabichromevarin (CBCV), cannabigerovarin (CBGV), cannabigerol monomethyl ether (CBGM), cannabielsoin (CBE) and cannabicitran (CBT).

Caffeine is also a well-known stimulant which may be used as an active agent in the oral smokeless products as disclosed herein.

Further active agents which may be used in an oral smokeless product as disclosed herein are ginseng, taurine and branched-chain amino acids (BCAA). The oral smokeless product may comprise a combination of any of the active agents as disclosed. Some of the active agents may be useful together.

The oral smokeless product may comprise nicotine in amount of 1 mg to 25 mg, preferably 1 mg to 10 mg or more preferably 2 mg to 8 mg.

The nicotine in a nicotine containing tobacco free or low tobacco product is an additive which may be synthesized nicotine and/or nicotine derived from tobacco plants The nicotine may be added in the filling material in the form of nicotine base or a nicotine salt such as nicotine hydrochloride, nicotine dihydrochloride, nicotine monotartrate, nicotine bitartrate, nicotine bitartrate dihydrate, nicotine sulphate, nicotine zinc chloride monohydrate, nicotine salicylate, nicotine benzoate or nicotine polacrilex.

The liquid permeable pouch of the oral pouched product as disclosed herein comprises regenerated cellulose fibers, wherein the cellulose fibers may comprise or consist of staple fibers having a fiber length in the range of from 20 mm to 60 mm, preferably in the range of from 30 mm to 50 mm, more preferably in the range of from 35 mm to 45 mm.

The liquid permeable pouch of the oral pouched product as disclosed herein comprises polyhydroxyalcanoate fibers, wherein the polyhydroxyalcanoate fibers may comprise or consist of staple fibers having a fiber length in the range of from 20 mm to 60 mm, preferably in the range of from 30 mm to 50 mm, more preferably in the range of from 35 mm to 45 mm.

Furthermore, in the oral pouched product as disclosed herein, the regenerated cellulose fibers and the (PHA) fibers may be staple fibers having the same average length, the average length of the regenerated cellulose fibers and the (PHA) fibers being in the range of from 20 mm to 60 mm preferably from 30 mm to 50 mm, more preferably from 35 mm to 45 mm.

The fibrous nonwoven material used in the liquid permeable pouch of the oral pouched product as disclosed herein may be formed by dry or wet web-forming methods and may comprise fibers or filaments of any length. Dry-formed webs may be made by air laying fibres or by carding staple fibres, followed by heat induced bonding such as thermobonding or ultrasonic bonding. Dry-formed webs may also be bonded by applying a chemical binder to the fibres. Wet-formed webs may be subjected to bonding by hydroentangling. Combinations of different forming methods and bonding techniques may also be used. By way of example, a layer of PHA filaments may be bonded together with a carded web of regenerated cellulose staple fibres or an air-laid web of regenerated cellulose fibres by means of hydroentanglement, needle punching or other generally mechanical bonding method. The PHA web may be a non-consolidated web or may be a heat-bonded web and the regenerated cellulose staple fibres may be a web of nonbonded loose fibres or may be a web which has been consolidated by means of a chemical binder.

The fibrous nonwoven material used in the liquid permeable pouch of the oral pouched product as disclosed herein may comprise or consist of staple fibers. The staple fibers may have a linear density in the range of from 0.9 decitex to 4.4 decitex, such as in the range of from 1.1 decitex to 3.5 decitex, such as in the range of from 1.3 decitex to 2.2 decitex. Further, the nonwoven material of the oral pouched product as disclosed herein may be a dry-formed nonwoven material.

The polyhydroxyalcanoate fibers may have a linear density of from 0.9 dtex to 4.4 dtex, preferably from 1.5 dtex to 3.5 dtex and the regenerated cellulose fibers may have a linear density of from 0.9 dtex to 2.2 dtex, preferably from 1.3 dtex to 2.0 dtex. For reasons of processability when forming the nonwoven material, it may be preferred that the linear density of the polyhydroxyalcanoate fibers is as close as possible to the linear density of the regenerated cellulose fibers. However, fiber blends comprising coarser fibers and finer fibers in combination and/or comprising mixtures of longer fibers and shorter fibers are also contemplated for the nonwoven materials for the oral pouched products as disclosed herein. A combination of fibers having different linear density may be used to build a bulky material with high loft, permeability and fluid holding capacity which may improve softness and mouthfeel of the oral pouched product by providing a soft, moist pouch material in contact with a user’s gums. In a mix between PHA fibers and regenerated cellulose fibers as disclosed herein, the somewhat stiffer and less absorbent thermoplastic PHA fibers may have a slightly higher average linear density than the regenerated cellulose fibers, such as a linear density being from 0.1 to 2.5 dtex higher than the linear density of the regenerated cellulose fibers. The PHA-fibers create a stable and porous fibrous framework for the absorbent regenerated cellulose fibers which become limp and lose shape stability upon wetting.

In an oral pouched product as disclosed herein, the fibrous nonwoven web may have, in combination, a basis weight in the range of from 20 to 40 g/m ² , a linear density of the regenerated cellulose fibers in the range of from 0.9 to 1.7 dtex, a linear density of the PHA fibers in the range of from 2.0 to 3.5 dtex and an average fibre length in the range of from 30 to 50 mm. The PHA fibers may be Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3- hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBH) fibers.

The oral pouched product as described herein may comprise a dry-formed nonwoven material, such as carded nonwoven material in which the fibers comprise or consist of staple fibers having a fiber length in the range of from 20 mm to 60 mm, preferably in the range of from 30 mm to 50 mm, more preferred in the range of from 35 mm to 45 mm, and having a linear density in the range of from 0.9 decitex to 4.4 decitex, preferably in the range of from 1.1 decitex to 3.5 decitex, more preferred in the range of from 1.3 decitex to 2.2 decitex.

The fiber length referred to herein is the average fiber length of the staple fibers. For the mixture of regenerated cellulose fibers and PHA fibers, the fiber length is determined for each type of fibers as the average fiber length for the particular type of fibers.

In the same way, the linear density is the average linear density for each type of fibers in the fiber mixture.

The fibrous nonwoven material in the oral pouched products as disclosed herein may have a basis weight of from 15 g/m ² to 45 g/m ² , preferably from 20 g/m ² to 40 g/m ² .

The pouch material is preferably a fibrous nonwoven web which is free from chemical binder.

The thermoplastic PHA fibers may constitute a binding agent in the fibrous nonwoven material, allowing the fibrous nonwoven material to be consolidated by means of heat induced bonding such as thermobonding and ultrasonic bonding. It may thereby be preferred that the PHA fibers constitute the only binding agent present in the fibrous nonwoven material. The use of PHA fibers in the nonwoven materials as disclosed herein makes it possible to consolidate the nonwoven webs without using a chemical binder. The presence of thermoplastic fibers in the nonwoven webs, further allows strong and durable seals to be formed in the nonwoven pouch material without the use of adhesives or chemical binders being added to the pouch material.

The nonwoven material is preferably a bonded, carded web. The bonded carded web may be bonded by thermobonding, ultrasonic bonding, hydroentangling, needlepunching or combinations thereof.

The presence of the PHA fibers in the pouch material allows the filling material to be sealed inside the pouch by means of heat seals or ultrasonic seals. An amount of at least 50 % by weight of PHA fibers in the mixture of regenerated cellulose fibers and PHA fibers provides a sufficient amount of thermoplastic material for the formation of strong and durable seals in the pouch material.

For ease of manufacturing, the oral pouched product may have a generally rectangular pillow-shape with two opposing end seals, the end seals being arranged in a transverse direction of the oral pouched product. A generally rectangular pillow-shaped oral pouched product is formed by placing a portion-sized amount of filling material in a rectangular pouch, i.e., a pouch which has a rectangular outline in a non-filled, flat-out state.

The pouch of the oral pouched product may further have a body seal, the body seal being arranged in a longitudinal direction of the oral pouched product and extending between the end seals.

As set out herein, the filling material is preferably a biodegradeable filling material. The filling material may comprise biodegradable material such as tobacco or other plant material. Other biodegradable materials such as microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), starch, alginate and sugar alcohols may also be used in the filling material. The filling material may contain any combination of biodegradable materials as disclosed herein.

As disclosed herein, the pouched non-tobacco products for oral use may contain an active agent such as nicotine, i.e., they may be pouched nicotine-containing products for oral use. Alternatively, the pouched non-tobacco products for oral use may be free from nicotine, i.e., they may be pouched nicotine-free smokeless products for oral use.

A pouched smokeless low tobacco product as disclosed herein may comprise a small amount of added tobacco, in the range of from 0.05 wt% to 10 wt%, preferably from 0.05 wt% to 5 wt% based on the total dry weight of the filling material in the oral pouched product.

Furthermore, an oral pouched product as disclosed herein may comprise non-tobacco plant material and/or a bulk material, such as particles of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), starch, alginate, or similar.

As disclosed herein, the oral pouched product may be a smokeless tobacco product.

Typically, the amount of tobacco in the filling material of a smokeless tobacco product is within the range of from about 50 to about 80% w/w based on dry weight of the smokeless tobacco filling material.

The filling material of the oral pouched product as disclosed herein may have a moisture content of from 3 to 60 % by weight depending on if the pouched product is a dry, moist, or semi-dry pouched product. Generally, dry pouched products are products with a filling material having a moisture content of 25 % by weight or less. The filling material of a moist oral pouched product has a moisture content of 35 % by weight or more. The filling material of semi-dry pouched products as disclosed herein have a moisture content between 25 % by weight and 35 % by weight.

The pouched product as disclosed herein may be a moist or semi-dry pouched product comprising a filling material having a moisture content of from 35% by weight to 55% by weight, such as a moisture content of from 40% by weight to 55% by weight, or a moisture content of from 40% by weight to 50% by weight.

The filling material in a pouched product as described herein may be a dry pouched product and may have a moisture content of from 2 % by weight to 25 % by weight, such as a moisture content of from 4 % by weight to 15 % by weight.

Furthermore, the pouched product as disclosed herein is preferably compostable. The product is preferably sufficiently biodegradeable to meet home composting standards which may be different in different countries, e.g., NF T51-800 Plastics - Specifications for plastics suitable for home composting (2015), OK compost HOME certification scheme of TUV AUSTRIA Belgium, and AS 5810 Biodegradable plastics - Biodegradable plastics suitable for home composting.

The oral pouched product as disclosed herein is a saliva-permeable pouch which may have two opposing end seals, where the seal strength of the end seals preferably is equal to or above 0.1 N/mm, such as in the range of from 0.1 N/mm to 0.6 N/mm, such as in the range of from 0.12 N/mm to 0.6 N/mm, such as in the range of from 0.15 N/mm to 0.4 N/mm, such as in the range of from 0.2 N/mm to 0.6 N/mm as measured according to the seal strength method as disclosed herein. The seal strength should be sufficient to preserve the integrity of the pouched product and prevent the filling material from leaking out of the pouch throughout use of the oral pouched product. A stronger seal may be accomplished by increasing the sealing area and/or by increasing the amount of thermoplastic material in the pouch material. However, wide seals as well as a high content of thermoplastic material may produce stiff and hard seals which may cause user discomfort.

Seals in a pouch product for oral use as disclosed herein may be performed by any suitable method such as heat welding or ultrasonic welding. With the nonwoven materials comprising PHA fibers as disclosed herein, it is possible to obtain biodegradable oral pouched products without the use of mechanical sealing methods or adhesives. This is a considerable production advantage as both mechanical and adhesive sealing methods are comparatively slow as compared to welding methods. Furthermore, handling of adhesives in a production process comprising filling of a loose material in a small nonwoven pouch may be a technically complicated task.

The pouch material and the filling material of an oral pouched product as disclosed herein are preferably biodegradable and more preferably also biobased materials. As set out herein, it may be preferred that the product is degradable under home composting conditions. However, it may be sufficient that the product meets industry compost standards, allowing a used discarded product to be recycled together with other industry compostable materials.

DEFINITIONS

The terms "oral" and "oral use" are used in connection to a product which is placed in contact with mucous membranes in the oral cavity of a human being, such as buccal placement of the product in the oral cavity. The products for oral use as disclosed herein are intended to be placed in their entirety in the oral cavity and are not intended to be swallowed.

The terms “pouched product for oral use" or “oral pouched product" are used interchangeably and refer to a portion of a smokeless composition containing saliva extractables and being packed in a saliva-permeable pouch material.

Pouched products for oral use may be produced by measuring portions of a filling material, e.g., a smokeless non-tobacco composition or a tobacco composition, and inserting the portions into a tube formed from the nonwoven pouch material.

US 4,703,765 discloses a device for packaging measured amounts of finely divided tobacco material, such as snuff tobacco or the like, in a tubular packaging material into which snuff portions are injected via a fill tube, the tubular packing material being arranged in the vertical direction. Downstream from the tube, welding means are positioned for transverse sealing of the packaging material, as well as cutting means for severing the packaging material in the area of the transverse seal to form discrete or individual oral pouched products.

EP 2 428450 B1 relates to a snus dosing method, wherein a portion of tobacco is filled into a dosing chamber of a dosing device and then blown out of the dosing chamber by means of pressurized air to which water vapor has been added. Pouched products for oral use may alternatively be produced by placing portions of a filling material, on a nonwoven web using a pouch packer machine as disclosed in US 6,135,120. The device in US 6,135,120 comprises feeding means for feeding the filling material into pockets formed in a rotary portioning wheel, each pocket receiving a portion of the filling material. The portions of filling material in the pockets are thereafter compressed by at least one compression means and the compressed portions are placed on a horizontally arranged packaging material, such as a nonwoven web, which is moved in a machine direction. The filling material is wrapped in the packaging material and the packaging material is sealed both in the machine direction to form a body seal on the produced oral pouched products and in the cross-machine direction to form end seals on the oral pouched product. Finally, the sealed packaging material with the portions of filling material is cut into individual oral pouched products. This technique is commonly referred to as the “NYPS” technique.

Pouched products for oral use are normally sized and configured to fit comfortably and discreetly in a user’s mouth between the upper or lower gum and the lip. In general, pouched products for oral use have a generally rectangular pillow-shape. Some typical formats (length x width) of commercially available pouched products for oral use are: 35 mm x 20 mm, 34/35 mm x 14 mm, 33/34 mm x 18 mm, 27/28 mm x 14 mm, 34 mm x 10 mm and 38 x 14 mm. A pouched product for oral use as disclosed herein may have a maximum length within the range of from 25 mm to 40 mm in a longitudinal direction of the product and a maximum width within the range of from 5 mm to 20 mm in a transverse direction of the product. The pre-use thickness of the pouched product is normally within the range of from 2 mm to 8 mm as measured under an applied load of 0.5N. The total weight of commercially available pouched products for oral use is typically within the range of from about 0.3 g to about 3.5 g, such as from about 0.5 g to 1.7 g, per pouched product. The volume of a portion of filling material in a pouch may be in the range of from 0.5 cm ³ to 1.5 cm ³ , depending on the size of the pouch.

The term “moisture content’’ refers to the percent by weight (wt%) of oven volatile substances, such as water and other oven volatiles (e.g., propylene glycol and ethanol) in a component material, a composition, or a product. The moisture content is determined according to the Loss on Drying (LOD) method disclosed herein.

The term “filling material’’ as used herein refers to the material inside the pouch material of an oral pouched product as disclosed herein. As set out herein, the filling material may be predominantly constituted by tobacco material or may be based on non-tobacco material such as particles of cellulose, starch, silica, botanical fibers other than tobacco fibers, synthetic fibers, etc. The filling material may comprise components such as salts (e.g., sodium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride and any combinations thereof), pH adjusters (e.g., sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate), flavouring agents, sweeteners, colorants, humectants (e.g., propylene glycol or glycerol), antioxidants, preservatives (e.g., potassium sorbate), binders, tobacco and non-tobacco plant material.

The terms “flavour” or “flavouring agent” are used herein for substances used to influence the aroma and/or taste of the oral pouched product, including, but not limited to, essential oils, single flavour compounds, compounded flavourings, and extracts.

By "tobacco" or “tobacco material” is meant any part, e.g., leaves, stems, stalks, and flowers, of any member of the genus Nicotiana.

A “particle” as referred to herein may have any useful size including particles having a particle size in the order of 100pm or less, up to particle sizes in the order of 4 mm. The particles may be irregularly shaped, such as particles produced by grinding or crushing or may have a regular shape, such as a rod-shape, a rounded shape including a spherical shape, an egg-shape, etc., as well as a polygonal shape such as a pyramidal shape, a rectangular/cubic shape, etc.

A ’’particulate material” as used herein is a material which is composed of particles. The particulate material may have a narrow particle size distribution or may contain particles of different sizes.

“Nonwoven materials” or “nonwovens” are fibrous fabrics which are formed by methods other than traditional textile-forming methods such as weaving and knitting. A number of methods for the manufacturing of nonwoven materials are known in the art. Further information on nonwovens may be found in “Handbook of Nonwovens” by S. Russel, published by Woodhead Publ. Ltd., 2007.

Nonwoven materials may be produced by forming methods such as dry-laid, wet-laid, spunlaid, meltblown, spunlaced, foam formed, etc. Combinations of different forming methods are also known in the art.

The fibres which are used in a nonwoven material may be of any length, including staple length fibres and endless filaments. Spunbond and meltblown materials are commonly made from endless extruded polymer filaments. Staple fibres may be used in dry-laying and wet-laying processes.

Dry-laid webs may be carded or airlaid. A carding process typically produces a nonwoven material in which the fibres are oriented substantially in the carding direction. Air-laying and wet-laying processes produce webs with more randomly oriented fibres.

Several methods are known for bonding together the fibres in the web, also called web consolidation. The different types of bonding methods may be classified as mechanical bonding, chemical bonding, or thermally induced bonding. Mechanical bonding methods include needle punching, stitch bonding and hydroentanglement, Chemical bonding methods include saturation bonding, spray bonding, foam bonding, powder bonding, and print bonding. Thermally induced bonding includes hot calendering, through-air thermal bonding, ultrasonic bonding and radiant-heat bonding. More than one bonding method may be used to consolidate a nonwoven material.

By a “pouch material” or “cover material” is implied any suitable saliva permeable material as known in the art. The pouch materials used for the oral pouched products as disclosed herein are nonwoven cover materials comprising fibers and optionally a chemical binder. The nonwoven materials may be produced by carding staple fibers to form a fibrous fleece, followed by consolidating the carded fibrous fleece by means of any suitable bonding technique or combination of bonding techniques such as heat bonding, ultrasonic bonding, needle punching and by using a binder. However, it is generally preferred that the pouch material of the oral pouched products as disclosed herein are free of chemical binder and are consolidated by means of heat bonding or ultrasonic bonding using the thermoplastic PHA-fibers as a sole bonding agent. The pouch materials as disclosed herein may optionally comprise additives such as flavouring agents and/or colorants.

A “user container” is a consumer package having a shape and a size adapted for conveniently carrying the consumer package in a pocket or in a handbag. A user container typically contains in the range of 10 to 30 oral pouched products, such as in the range of 20 to 25 oral pouched products. The pouched products may be placed randomly in the user container or may be placed in an ordered pattern, for instance as described in WO 2012/069505 A1. A user container may further include a disposal compartment for temporary storage of used oral pouched products. The disposal compartment is separated from the compartment in the container where the fresh oral pouched products are stored up until use.

By “regenerated fibers”, is implied regenerated cellulose fibers, also called reconstituted cellulosic fibers. The regenerated cellulose used in the manufacturing of regenerated fibers is normally derived from wood pulp, but regenerated cellulose from other origins, such as bamboo or cotton, may also be used.

“Viscose rayon staple fibers” may be formed by extruding a viscose solution, i.e., a solution of cellulose xanthate, through a spinneret and as the viscose exits the spinneret, it lands in a bath of mineral acid, such as sulfuric acid, resulting in the formation of filaments. These filaments are then cut to a desired length, thereby forming staple fibers.

“Lyocell” is a form of regenerated cellulose made from dissolving pulp, i.e., bleached wood pulp. METHOD FOR DETERMINING MOISTURE CONTENT, LOSS ON DRYING (LOD) The moisture content as referred to herein may be determined by using a method based on literature references Federal Register/ vol.74, no. 4/712-719/Wednesday, January 7, 2009/Notices ’’Total moisture determination” and AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chernies), Official Methods of Analysis 966.02: “Moisture in Tobacco” (1990), Fifth Edition, K. Helrich (ed). In this method, the moisture content is determined gravimetrically by taking 2.5±0.25 g sample and weighing the sample at ambient conditions, herein defined as being at a temperature of 22°C and a relative humidity of 60%, before evaporation of moisture and after completion of dehydration. Mettler Toledo's Moisture Analyzer HB43, a balance with halogen heating technology, is used (instead of an oven and a balance as in the mentioned literature references) in the experiments described herein. The sample is heated to 105°C (instead of 99.5±0.5°C as in the mentioned literature references). The measurement is stopped when the weight change is less than 1 mg during a 90 second time frame. The moisture content as weight percent of the sample is then calculated automatically by the Moisture Analyzer HB43.

METHOD FOR DETERMINING SEAL STRENGTH

The ability of a nonwoven material to form sufficiently strong heat seals may be determined using a method as disclosed in the following.

The heat sealing strength is determined on a dry nonwoven material.

Samples are prepared from a cut out strip of the tested nonwoven material, the strip having a length of about 1 m in the machine direction (MD) of the nonwoven material and a width of 40 mm in the cross-machine direction (CD) of the nonwoven material. The strip is double folded to obtain a two-ply material having a length of about 0.5 m. The two plies are welded to each other e.g., using a HS-2 laboratory heat sealer from RDM Equipment to create heat seals across the double-folded nonwoven strip using upper and lower rectangular seal bars with an extension in the cross-machine direction of the nonwoven strip of 50 mm and an extension in the machine direction of the nonwoven strip of 5 mm. The upper seal bar is heated to 300°C. The lower seal bar is not heated. The seal bars are pressed together with a force of 0.24 kN during a contact time of 0.06 s. A plurality of spaced-apart seals are formed in the double-folded strip and samples are cut out from the strip at each seal by cutting at about 5 mm from the seal at one side and at about 50 mm from the seal on the other side of the seal. Thereby, each sample will have the form of two flaps having a first end along which the seal is arranged and an opposing non-sealed end, the non-sealed length of the flaps as measured perpendicular to the seal being about 50 mm.

The heat seal strength of the nonwoven material may be measured on the samples using a tensile tester such as an Instron 5943 instrument as follows. One flap of the sample is attached to the upper gauge of the instrument and the other flap is attached to the lower gauge of the instrument. The force used to peel apart the seal is determined and expressed as load per width at maximum load (Newton per millimeter, i.e., N/mm). As used herein, N stands for Newton, mm stands for millimeter(s) and min stands for minute(s). The following parameters were used: load range: 50N extension: 10 mm gauge length: 13 mm speed: 30 mm/min preload: 0.1 N sample width: 33-43 mm

The ability of a nonwoven material to form sufficiently strong ultrasonic seals may be determined using a method as disclosed below.

The ultrasonic seal strength of the manufactured nonwovens, in dry state, is measured on a cut out strip of the nonwoven material having a length of about 30 cm in the machine direction (MD) of the nonwoven material and a width of 20 mm in the cross-machine direction (CD) of the nonwoven material. The strip is double folded to obtain a two-ply material having a length of about 15 cm. The two plies are welded to each other e.g., using a laboratory ultrasound sealer from Swiss sonic with an anvil and an ultrasonic horn as disclosed in WO 2017/093486 A1, with a sealing time of 0.06 s and an amplitude of 80%.

The samples to be measured are made by cutting at about 5 mm from the seal at one side and at about 50 mm from the seal on the other side of the seal and tested in the same way as described above for the heat seals.

The seal strength is determined as the average value of five analysed samples.