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Adsorption of copper on chars from cigarette butts

Papazoglou Panagiota

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Summary

Billions of toxic and non-biodegradable waste cigarette butts are daily discarded into the natural environment worldwide. Cigarette butts may cause significant environmental threats from the leaching of toxic components contained in the filters and smoked tobacco if they are not reasonably managed. Living organisms can be seriously harmed by the consumption of cigarette parts. From the consumption of these organisms by their predators, the non-biodegradable particles are bio-accumulated at the higher levels of the food chain. The conversion of cigarette butts into added-value product, such as the production of porous carbon, has recently gained attention. Pyrolysis carbonization process is commonly recommended to convert hazardous materials such as cigarette butts to carbοnaceous materials with potential advantageous properties. Currently adsorption using activated carbon is the best approach to remove both organic and inorganic materials from water. The aim of this study was to synthesize porous carbon from cigarette butts via pyrolysis process under very low oxygen concentrations, at relative low temperature (300°C), with a residence time of 1 h. The produced char underwent thermo-chemical activation at 800°C for 2h, using potassium hydroxide (KOH). The pyrolysis yield of the obtained char was approximately 25% and the activation yield was approximately 70%. The physical surface properties (BET surface area and porosity) of the non-activated and the activated chars were determined. The morphologies of both chars were analyzed by SEM while their chemical composition was determined by EDS analysis. XPS analysis determined the chemical bonds between the elements of the chars and the adsorbed copper. The effects of solution pH, adsorbent dosage, temperature, and contact time on copper adsorption from aqueous solutions were studied. It was found that the maximum adsorption capacity of the char was 5.7 mg/g at 45oC and the maximum removal was 70% with an adsorbent dose of 1g/L. The adsorption results obtained from the prepared charred cigarette filters after chemical activation indicate the utility of the recycled material.

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