Cigarette Filter as a Carbon-Based Component of Galvanic Cell

Worldwide, more than six trillion cigarettes are produced annually, each containing filters or butts, most consisting of microplastics known as cellulose acetate fibers. Smokers indiscriminately dropped their cigarettes virtually everywhere. These cigarette filters do not naturally break down because their plastic fibers are synthetic. However, they can gradually decompose based on their environment. Only 38% decomposed after two years (Register, 2000). It is a problem that the country depends so heavily on rigid baseload fossil fuel plants. When these plants malfunction, millions of Filipinos are vulnerable to brownouts, which impact the entire Luzon grid (Cantillana, 2021). According to the Philippine Country Commercial Guide (2022), COVID-19 caused the energy sector to face numerous difficulties requiring revisions to ensure consumer energy services' continuity. The Malampaya natural gas resources, which presently provide 30% of Luzon's energy consumption, are predicted to run out by 2024, putting the Philippines amid a growing energy crisis. Realizing the danger it can bring, the researchers investigated these wastes on their potential use as an energy source. The researchers used a multiple-group posttest-only design and conducted three (3) treatments, each consisting of four (4) trials in which voltage output and time interval of cigarette filter were measured for each test. To determine the number of cigarette filters that produce the highest voltage and as shown by MANOVA, the researchers concluded that the null hypotheses for both amounts of voltage produced and the time interval are rejected with p-values that are lesser than 0.05, indicating significant differences between the treatments in terms of these variables. Therefore, this study aims to determine the potential use of cigarette filters as a carbon-based component of a galvanic cell for producing electricity and energy storage in hopes of addressing the environmental problem of waste disposal and the issue of energy scarcity in the Philippines.