Cigarette butt waste as material for phase inverted cellulose acetate membranes synergistically incorporated with silver/copper oxide (CA-Ag/CuO) for reverse osmosis water treatment.

Livhuwani Mafhala, Nomcebo Khumalo, Shohreh Azizi, Ilunga Kamika

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Article in RSC advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Livhuwani MafhalaUNESCO-UNISA Africa Chair in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology College of Graduates Studies, University of South Africa Muckleneuk Ridge Pretoria 392 South Africa azizis@unisa.ac.za.

Nomcebo KhumaloNanotechnology and Water Sustainability Research Unit, College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, University of South Africa Florida Johannesburg 1709 South Africa.

Shohreh AziziUNESCO-UNISA Africa Chair in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology College of Graduates Studies, University of South Africa Muckleneuk Ridge Pretoria 392 South Africa azizis@unisa.ac.za.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0419-9953

Ilunga KamikaNanotechnology and Water Sustainability Research Unit, College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, University of South Africa Florida Johannesburg 1709 South Africa.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The improper disposal of cigarette butts presents a significant environmental challenge, yet their cellulose acetate (CA) content offers the potential for upcycling into functional materials. In the study, the potential of using CA waste obtained from cigarette butts for fabricating CA phase-inverted membranes is demonstrated. The CA membranes were impregnated with silver (Ag) and copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO) simultaneously to improve permeation flux and salt rejection during reverse osmosis. The effect of the variation of Ag/CuO on the CA membranes was probed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) which confirmed the successful introduction of Ag/CuO NPs into the CA matrix. The effect of the nanoparticles on the membrane morphology was assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An increase in the contact angle measurements concurrent with higher nanoparticle loading was observed, indicating an improved membrane hydrophilicity. Membrane performance was evaluated using a crossflow RO test whereby a significant increase in pure water flux (up to 73.33 Lm

Identifiers

PMID41769040

DOI10.1039/d6ra00485g

PMCPMC12947815

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LicenceCC BY

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.