Cigarette Ash Removes Arsenic

Water Contaminated with Arsenic Can Be Treated with Aluminum Oxide-Coated Cigarette Ashes

Arsenic, a well-known poison, can be taken out of drinking water using sophisticated treatment methods. But in places that lack the equipment or technical know-how required to remove it, it still laces drinking water and makes people sick.

To tackle this problem, scientists have come up with a new low-cost, simple way to remove arsenic using leftovers from another known health threat -- cigarettes. They report their method in ACS' journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research .

Jiaxing Li and colleagues explain that naturally occurring and industry-related arsenic contaminates groundwater at high levels in many countries, including Chile, China, Hungary and Mexico. The odorless, tasteless element can cause skin discoloration, stomach pain, partial paralysis and a range of other serious health problems.

While the technology for removing arsenic from water exists and is in widespread use in industrialized areas, it is expensive and impractical for rural and developing regions.

Scientists have been exploring the use of natural waste materials such as banana peels and rice hulls for removing arsenic from water, but these so far have shown limited efficiency. Recognizing that the porous structure of cigarette ash could be better suited to this purpose, Li's team decided to test it.

Source: ScienceDaily

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