CIGARETTE BUTT : AN ENERGY PACKAGE

Rate of harmful effects of human activity on the biophysical environment is increasing day by day and in this difficult time scientist are working hard to get a solution to a growing environmental problem.

Scientists have successfully converted used cigarette butts 

into a high performing material that could be integrated into 

computers, handheld devices, electric 

 vehicles and wind 

turbines to store energy.

 In their study researchers have shown that cigarette filters 

can be transformed into a high performing carbon-based material using a simple one step process, which simultaneously offers a green solution for meeting the energy demands of society.

It may someday be used to coat the electrodes of supercapacitors: electrochemical components that can store extremely large amounts of electrical energy.

Professor Jongheop Yi of Seoul National University said that Numerous countries are developing strict regulations to avoid the trillions of toxic and non-biodegradable used cigarette filters that are disposed of into the environment each year and their method would be one addition to those.

Carbon is the most common material found in supercapacitors due to its low cost, high surface area, high electrical conductivity and long term stability.

Scientists around the world are working to improve the characteristics of supercapacitors - such as their energy density, power density and cycle stability - while trying to reduce production costs.
In their study, Yi and colleagues demonstrated that the cellulose acetate fibres found in most cigarette filters could be transformed into a carbon-based material using a simple, one-step burning technique called pyrolysis.

We can get a quick review on pyrolysis?

Pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen (or any halogen). It involves the simultaneous change of chemical composition and physical phase, and is irreversible.

The resulting material after the pyrolysis of cellulose acetate 

fibres of cigarette contained a number of tiny pores, 

increasing its performance as a supercapacitive material.

"A high performing supercapacitor material should have a 

large surface area, which can be achieved by incorporating a 

large number of small pores into the material," said Yi.

"A combination of different pore sizes ensures that the material has high power densities, which is an essential property in a supercapacitor," said Yi.

Once fabricated, the carbon-based material was attached to an electrode and tested in a three-electrode system to see how well the material could adsorb electrolyte ions (charge) and then release them (discharge).

The material stored more electrical energy than commercially available carbon, graphene and carbon nanotubes.

 This shows that the  material outperforms commercially available carbon, graphene and carbon nanotubes.

So once the method is implemented it would prove to be a great help in reducing environmental issues and will also be a boom to our electronics world.