Conversion of high moisture biomass to hierarchical porous carbon via molten base carbonisation and activation for electrochemical double layer capacitor

Ishioma Laurene Egun; Bamidele Akinwolemiwa; Bo Yin; Hai Tian; Haiyong He; Kam Loon Fow; Honglei Zhang; George Z Chen; Di Hu

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2024.131251

Conversion of high moisture biomass to hierarchical porous carbon via molten base carbonisation and activation for electrochemical double layer capacitor

Bioresour Technol. 2024 Oct:409:131251. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.131251. Epub 2024 Aug 8.

Authors

Ishioma Laurene Egun¹, Bamidele Akinwolemiwa², Bo Yin³, Hai Tian⁴, Haiyong He⁵, Kam Loon Fow⁶, Honglei Zhang⁷, George Z Chen⁸, Di Hu⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, PR China; Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, PR China; School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo Tech University, Ningbo 315100, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ Chemistry and Chemical Engineering College, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, 341000, PR China; Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁷ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁸ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁹ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39127362
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.131251

Abstract

Biomass-derived carbon for supercapacitors faces the challenge of achieving hierarchical porous carbon with graphitic structure and specific heteroatoms through a single-stage thermal process that minimises resource input. Herein, molten base carbonisation and activation is proposed. The process utilises the inherent moisture of Moso bamboo shoots, coupled with a low amount of KOH, to form potassium organic salts before drying. The resultant potassium salts promote in-situ activation during single-stage heating process, yielding hierarchical porous, large specific surface area, and partially graphitised carbon with heteroatoms (N, O). As an electrode material, this carbon exhibits a specific capacitance of 327F g^-1 in 6 M KOH and 182F g^-1 in 1 M TEABF₄/AN, demonstrating excellent cycling stability over 10,000 cycles at 2 A/g. Overall, this study presents a straightforward process that avoids pre-drying of biomass, minimises base consumption, and employs single-stage heating to fabricate electrode carbon suitable for supercapacitors.

Keywords: Bamboo shoots; Capacitance; Graphitic; Heteroatoms; Potassium ion; Specific surface area; Ultra micropores.

MeSH terms

Biomass*
Carbon* / chemistry
Electric Capacitance*
Electrochemical Techniques / methods
Electrodes*
Porosity

Substances

Carbon