Trillions of cigarette butts are produced every year worldwide, with most discarded into the environment. Researchers from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) in Australia have demonstrated that asphalt mixed with cigarette butts can handle heavy traffic and also reduce thermal conductivity. The team encapsulated cigarette butts with bitumen and paraffin wax to lock in the chemicals and prevent any leaching from the asphalt concrete. "These encapsulated cigarette butts developed will be a new construction material which can be used in different applications and lightweight composite products," said Abbas Mohajerani, from RMIT University. "This research shows that you can create a new construction material while ridding the environment of a huge waste problem," Mohajerani added.

Source: dna August 07, 2017 07:18 UTC