Trash to Treasure 中國人讓香煙頭變廢為寶

By Matt McGrath, BBC science reporter

媒體英語會帶大家一起學習BBC撰稿人在報道世界大事時常用到的單詞和短語。

Backgound: 中國西安交通大學的一位博士生和合作研究人員稱他們已經找到了讓丟棄的香煙頭變廢為寶的新奇途徑。 他們發現從煙頭過濾嘴中提取的化學物能夠保護鋼管不被腐蝕。這項研究已經發表在美國的某化學學會期刊上，它有望讓回收香煙頭成為一件具有經濟前景的事情。

On pavements, nature trails and especially on beaches, wherever you find people on this planet you inevitably find cigarette butts: around 4.5 trillion of these ugly remnants find their way into the environment every year. Capable of surviving up to fifteen years in the sea, butts contain chemicals that are fatally toxic to many forms of fish.

Now researchers in China say they have found a novel use for these chemicals that could make the recycling of cigarette butts financially worthwhile.

The scientists found that by immersing the butts in water they were able to extract nine different chemical compounds including nicotine. When these extracts were applied to a type of steel widely used in the oil industry they were found to be very effective in preventing corrosion even under harsh conditions. The replacement of rusting steel pipes is a major ongoing cost for oil producers around the world.

China itself has no shortage of cigarette butts for scientists to experiment with: one third of the world's cigarettes are consumed there.