Recycle cigarette butts? The estimated 4.5 trillion butts that are tossed each year into the environment can be recycled to make steel stronger, according to a new study.

Chinese researchers found that nine chemicals in cigarette butts, including nicotine, protect a type of steel from rusting under even harsh conditions. Their cigarette-derived cocktail reduced corrosion between 90% and 94%.

This steel (N80) is used widely in the oil industry, and its corrosion costs oil producers millions annually, say the scientists from Xi'an Jiaotong University. Their study appeared in a recent edition of the American Chemical Society's Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, a biweekly journal.

(Usa Today, 18/05/2010)