Enhancement of cigarette filter using MgO nanoparticles to reduce carbon monoxide, total hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides of cigarette

Abstract

Consumption of cigarettes in large cities is a source of air pollutants. Using the new generation of cigarette filters may be a solution to reduce pollutants emitted from consumption of cigarettes. In this study, cigarette filters were enhanced by different amounts of MgO nanoparticles to find the extent to which they are effective in removing carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, total hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke. The MgO nanoparticles were produced by the sol-gel method. The characteristics of produced MgO nanoparticles were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) theory. It was revealed that concentration of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, total hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide gradually increased during cigarette consumption for both conventional and enhanced filters due to saturation of the cigarette filter. The results demonstrated that the enhanced filters could remove nearly 56%, 30%, 44% and 43% of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, total hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, respectively, compared with conventional filters. The enhanced filter using MgO nanoparticles was introduced as an effective adsorbent to reduce the contribution of cigarette consumption to air pollution in cities.