CARiM’s researcher Dr. Mariya Kalapsazova had presented results and achievements on the project at an international conference “14th International Conference on Ceramic Materials and Components for Energy and Environmental Systems”, 18 – 22.08.2024, Budapest, Hungary.
Biowaste for electrodes: converting the biomass waste into a sustainable host for sodium-ion storage
Mariya Kalapsazova, Sonya Harizanova, Ivan Uzunov, Ivanka Stoycheva, Bilyana Petrova, Boyko Tsyntsarski, Radostina Stoyanova
Abstract: Conversion of biowastes, obtained by households and bio-processing industries, into valuable materials is among the main aims of the waste management. Due to the high carbon content, biowastes can serve as excellent precursors for synthesizing important carbon materials such as activated carbon, graphene, soft carbons, etc.
Herein, we compare the Na-storage properties of biowaste-derived hard caprbons (bioHCs) from spent coffee grounds (SCGs) and walnut shell waste (WS). The SCGs-derived carbons were prepared by a classical pyrolysis at 750, 1100 and 1300 °C, while pyrolysis and hydropyrolysis techniqniques were applied for the synthesis of WS-derived carbons. The effect of the synthesis procedure on the carbon micrstructure and porosity were examined. The electrochemical properties of bio-HCs were analysed in model Na-ion cells with carbonate-based sodium electrolyte. To quantify the Na-storage performance of bio-HCs, we determined four parameters: reversible specific capacity, first irreversible capacity, cycling stability and rate capability. Based on the above results, it is established that WS -derived carbons outperforms SCGs -analogues.
Furhtermore, the best performed bio-HCs were used as negative electrodes in full sodium-ion cells with sodium transition-metal oxides as positive electrodes. The full-cells testing demonstrates that biowaste-derived hard carbons are a valuable material with potential applications for energy storage in sodium-ion batteries.
Acknowledgments: The authors thank for the financial support of the project BionN (КП-06-ПН-69/7 from 15.12.2022) for researching biowaste-derived carbon materials, as well as to the project CARiM (NSP Vihren, КП-06-ДB-6/16.12.2019) for full-cells experiments.
The authors from CARiM’s Research Team are bolded.
VIHREN-CARiM 2019 