New efficient selective adsorbent of tobacco specific nitrosamines derived from discarded cigarette filters

Abstract

Abstract To expand the application of the principle of selective adsorption, new hierarchical porous carbon was fabricated from cigarette filters and cheap metal salts via one-pot synthesis, in order to selectively capture the tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA) in solution. The type and amount of metal salt in the carbon precursor took charged of pore texture, electrical property and morphology, forming a new sorbent beyond activated carbon and zeolite in the selective liquid adsorption of TSNA. With the amount of FexO-doped of 10%–16.5%, new carbon sorbent captured the 29.4%–33.8% of TSNA in the tobacco extract solution though the solution contained thousands of components. Moreover, it exhibited a zeolite-like selectivity to remove 93% of 4-methylnitrosamino-1-3-pyridyl-1-butanone (NNK). The hierarchical sorbents combined the high adsorption capability of mesopore and the shape-selectivity of micropore, based on waste utilization and simply controllable process, offering a clue for preparation of new hierarchical material and resource regeneration and environmental protection.