Chileno transforms cigarette butts into a super fertilizer

02/06/2015

Recycling of cigars

One afternoon in 2007, Daniel Sandoval was smoking with a group of classmates from Civil Engineering in Biotechnology in the courtyard of the U. San Sebastián de Concepción. He then noticed the enormous amount of cigarette butts around him: «I thought that all that could have some value ... for something they had to serve. So I started investigating the properties of the butts", remember.

First he noticed that the fiber of the filters could be useful to make clothes, but his performance was very low. Already titled, in laboratory studies he discovered that his nicotinic acid had great potential to accelerate metabolic processes and cell growth. So the 2010 created Smokebox (http://www.smokebox.cl), the first company in the world that offers recycling services from cigarette waste. The processed material of the cigarette butts is used as a nutrient to increase the size of blueberry production, the main national export to the generous Asian market.

The formula

Each butt undergoes a physical, chemical and thermal separation process, which allows heavy metals to be separated from nicotinic acid and transform this material into non-toxic material. From there, a molecule useful for agricultural purposes is extracted, with which a product is produced in the form of a spray liquid that is applied to the plant. This novel fertilizer is being used in Monte Águila with surprising results: «If before a blueberry measured 14 millimeters, with this technology its caliber can grow up to the 18, with all that that means when sending the fruit abroad. With a single processed stub you can inoculate a large plant«says Sandoval.

Virtuous circle

Smokebox has been supported in its different stages by Innova Bío Bío, due to its potential and the value it gives to recycling. One form of raw material collection operates through the sale of cigarette butt containers with a friendly design, made of stainless steel and fire-proof paint, which encourage mining company workers not to occupy the ground like a large ashtray. Along with this, its creator receives this type of waste by mail and collects what he finds lying on the street. «One goes anywhere and is full of cigarette butts, even though one can contaminate up to twenty liters of water. Luckily today the trend is to recycling"he reflects

Think big

Sandoval affirms that this type of biotechnology is far from reaching its ceiling. With his work team he is investigating properties to cover other export fruits. «We will also study the recycling of batteries, which today is not entirely effective for the care of the environment«Comments.

Today he has two projects that keep him awake: he acquired a plot of land in Pucón, which will function as a Technology Park to promote socio-environmental innovation and study volcano bacteria that could be effective in recycling toxic products. In addition to this, Lab8 (http://www.lab8.cl) complements its academic work in the USS by transmitting knowledge to land science and put it at the service of people.

Source: LUN