Cigarettes, the most frequently littered item in the country, could give a big bump to green tech, according to a group of South Korean scientists. The researchers transformed thousands of dirty filters into a material that can help store energy.
The scientists took used butts from Marlboro Light Gold, The One Orange, and Bohem Cigar Mojito cigarettes and and broke them down through a high-temperature process called pyrolysis.
When the researchers attached the hybrid carbon material they created onto an electrode, they found that it was able to store more electricity than commercially available carbon. The scientists see a wide range of possible applications for energy-retaining capacitors in portable devices, wind turbines, and electric vehicles. The Institute of Physics reports:
Read more: http://grist.org/list/scientists-may-have-found-a-way-to-green-our-electronics-with-cigarette-butts/
