Possible Recycling of Cigarette Butts as Fiber Modifier in Bitumen for Asphalt Concrete

Abstract

Littering waste is among the top environmental issues in the world, and the management of the waste has turned into a challenge in almost every city. It has been reported that 75% of smokers dispose of their cigarette butts (CBs) on the ground, even in public places. Researchers have discovered that CBs make up more than one-third of the total littered waste on the planet. Cigarette butts predominantly consist of a cellulose acetate fiber (plastic)-based filter wrapped in paper. Waste CBs contain burnt tobacco and tar, along with many other toxic chemicals. They take years to biodegrade depending on the environmental conditions, and toxic chemicals leach out and contaminate the environment. As part of an ongoing project, this paper presents a novel and sustainable technique to recycle cigarette butts in bitumen for the construction of flexible pavements. In this research, CBs have been pre-processed and mixed with bitumen classes C320, C170, and PMB A10E as a fiber modifier. Comprehensive laboratory investigations, including a penetration test, softening point test, and viscosity test, have been performed along with a binder drain off test to evaluate the performance of the modified samples. During this investigation, samples were prepared with 0.3% cellulose fiber, 0.2%, 0.3% 0.4%, and 0.5% CBs. The results of the CB-modified samples were compared with the sample with cellulose fiber and fresh bitumen (0% fiber). The results show that the physical and rheological properties of bitumen incorporating CBs improve significantly, and CBs could be used instead of virgin cellulose fiber as a fiber modifier.

Smoking kills you, littering butts damages others too: analysing sustainable consumer behaviour in the era of circular economy

“…Even after numerous health awareness campaigns, in 2018, the World Health Organization summed up the worldwide number of smokers to a total of 1.1 billion (WHO, 2018), and the production of cigarettes has increased to support the growing need (Zafeiridou et al, 2018). In the last years, there has been an increase in environmental social awareness (Rajesh, 2020), but smokers are wasting 5.8 trillion cigarette butts worldwide, causing serious landfill and economic issues (Leistikow et al, 2000;Novotny et al, 2009;Rahman et al, 2020). Furthermore, in the wake of an ever-growing sensitivity to environmental issues (Rajesh, 2018(Rajesh, , 2020, the World Health Organization declared cigarette butts littering to be a landfill hazard, promoting several initiatives to find a reuse for the cigarette butts that are infesting the world's streets and landfills.…”

“…Furthermore, in the wake of an ever-growing sensitivity to environmental issues (Rajesh, 2018(Rajesh, , 2020, the World Health Organization declared cigarette butts littering to be a landfill hazard, promoting several initiatives to find a reuse for the cigarette butts that are infesting the world's streets and landfills. For instance, cigarette butts could be used as fibre modifier in bitumen for asphalt concrete (Rahman et al, 2020), as a precursor for the preparation of mosquito pesticides and as tools for malaria vector management (Murugan et al, 2018), or as an eco-friendly row material in ceramic roofing tile (Maciel et al, 2020). If cigarette butts were collected separately, they could be recycled, and this aspect would have a positive impact on the environment.…”

“…If cigarette butts were collected separately, they could be recycled, and this aspect would have a positive impact on the environment. Unfortunately, it has been shown that only a tiny part is collected and that 75% of cigarette butts are often dumped on beaches, parks, footpaths, and other public spaces, posing a severe landfill threat (Al-Khatib et al, 2009;Novotny et al, 2009Novotny et al, , 2011Rahman et al, 2020). Due to the impossibility of separating cigarette butts from the rest of the waste collected on the ground, most countries dump them alongside other waste in landfills, while others incinerate them, emitting toxic fumes and causing severe air pollution (Knox, 2005;Krishna & Swamy, 2016).…”

Recycling of Waste Materials for Asphalt Concrete and Bitumen: A Review

“…A study was carried out in Turkey to investigate the effect of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) modified binder in hot mix asphalt (HMA). HDPE was mixed with the bitumen content at proportions of 4%-6% and 8% (by weight of optimum bitumen content) [37]. Results of the prepared sample showed increased Marshall stability, Marshall quotient (MQ), and flow.…”

A Preliminary Laboratory Evaluation on the Use of Shredded Cigarette Filters as Stabilizing Fibers for Stone Mastic Asphalts

“…Good results have been obtained for the recycling of CBs in the production of new construction materials (i.e., fired bricks, lightweight bricks, precast concrete blocks) or acoustic insulation systems [18][19][20]. A few studies have also been developed on the use of CBs as bituminous materials for road pavements, and the proposed experimental applications were mostly focused on the use of waste CBs as bitumen modifiers/additives [21,22].…”