Filtration Aided by Nanomaterials

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 05/05/2011

Chinese researchers have shown for the first time that nanomaterials made from titanium dioxide can be used in cigarette filters to reduce significantly the amount of harmful chemicals inhaled by smokers, according to a Royal Society of Chemistry story. The researchers say these materials offer a cheaper and safer alternative than carbon-based nanomaterials, and that they show potential for use in other filtering devices, including gas masks and air purification systems. The story pointed out that current cigarette filters were made of cellulose acetate, which absorbed some of the toxic and carcinogenic compounds present in tobacco smoke. In recent years, scientists had attempted to improve standard filters by adding nanomaterials, including carbon nanotubes or mesoporous silica, to capture more of these chemicals, it added. But these experimental methods remained expensive and could pose health risks. Now, Mingdeng Wei's laboratory at Fuzhou University, Fujian province, together with colleagues at the Fujian Tobacco Industrial Corporation, Xiamen, had found that titanate nanosheets and nanotubes could filter tobacco smoke. "A great range of harmful compounds including tar, nicotine, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, selected carbonyls and phenolic compounds can be reduced efficiently," says Wei. Enditem