Can Cigarettes Beat Tesla At The Energy Storage Game?
A scientific breakthrough in a laboratory in Seoul, South Korea could soon give Tesla, and other companies, a run for their money in the energy storage game. Scientists have developed a new technique to store energy from the unlikeliest of sources – a cigarette butt.
Cigarette filters contain certain fibers that are used to trap certain hazardous particles. Using a process called “pyrolysis,” the scientists modified the cellulose acetate fibers in the cigarette butts. The new material consists of carbon, which can be used to store energy. The high-performance material can be applied to energy storage for electric vehicles, wind turbines, computers and handheld devices.
Several scientists in South Korea demonstrated the concept in a study published in the journal Nanotechnology last year. Korean scientists have found that the new material from cigarette butts exceeds the potential storage capacity of currently used materials such as: grapheme, nanotube capacitators and carbon.
