Pre-formed activated carbon matting derived from the pyrolysis of biomass natural fibre textile waste

Low grade biomass fibre produced as a by-product from the flax and hemp industry was manufactured into a non-woven, pre-formed matting material via entanglement, layering and needling. The advantage of such a structure is that textile technology is used to form a self supporting fibre matrix, utilising the ease with which fibre can be worked. The non-woven matting was then pyrolysed and gasified with steam to produce activated carbon. The influence of pyrolysis process conditions on the production of chars and activated carbon from the pre-formed, non-woven textile matting were investigated.     

Development of the Self-doping Porous Carbon and Its Application in Supercapacitor Electrode

The massive discharge of biomass wastes not only causes waste of resources, but also pollutes the environment. Therefore, converting biomass wastes into carbon materials is an effective way to solve the above problems. Here, using biomass waste pig nails as raw materials and K₂CO₃ as chemical activators, the N-doped porous carbon(KPNC) is prepared by direct pyrolysis. As an electrode for supercapacitors, the electrochemical tests of KPNCs showed that they exhibited good electrochemical performance and excellent cycling stability. When the current density is 0.2 A/g, the specific capacitance is up to 344.6 F/g. Moreover, it still maintains 97.6% initial capacitance retention after 2000 cycles at a high current density of 5 A/g. Above exceptional electrochemical performances may be ascribed to an appropriate porous structure(S_micro/S_total=80.31%, V_micro/V_total=76.19%), high nitrogen contents(4.44%, atomic fraction), oxygen contents(9.13%, atomic fraction) as well as small internal resistance. The above experimental results show that the conversion of pig nails to porous carbon can reduce the waste of resources and alleviate environmental pollution.     

Hierarchical porous carbon derived from Allium cepa for supercapacitors through direct carbonization method with the assist of calcium acetate

Hierarchical porous carbon was prepared from onion through a direct carbonization method and it was used as suercapacitor electrode material.     

Analysis of graphene-like activated carbon derived from rice straw for application in supercapacitor

Activated carbons with large surface area, abundant microporosity and low cost are the most commonly used electrode materials for energy storage devices. A very slack activated carbon with ultra-thin two-dimensional (2D) layer structure was prepared by our proposed approach in this work, which includes a pre-treatment process and potassium hydroxide activation at high temperatures.     

A biomass carbon material with microtubule bundling and natural O-doping derived from goldenberry calyx and its electrochemical performance in supercapacitor

A promising biomass carbon material,manufactured by the carbonation of Physalis peruviana L.calyx at 700℃,is presented in this wo rk.Morphology characterization shows that the carbon material possesses long microtubule bundling and above 30%natural O-atom component on the surface.After KOH chemical etching,the materials maintain the oxygen content but exhibit more micropores and higher specific surface area up to 1732.6 m^2/g.Using as an electrode material for supercapacitor,the active carbon material exhibits high specific capacitance up to 339.7 F/g at 0.5 A/g in 3 mol/L KOH aqueous solution through three-electrode system.The active carbon material also exhibits excellent cycling stability(97%retention)by 10,000 cycles at 10 A/g.The outstanding electrochemical performances are attributing to the unique long microtubule bundling with much more pores and the abundant Oelement on the surface.This biomass carbon material with excellent electrochemical properties could be a useful material for multiple applications.     

Preparation and performance of polyvinyl alcohol-based activated carbon as electrode material in both aqueous and organic electrolytes

Porous carbon materials with high surface area and different pore structure have been successfully prepared by phenolic resin combined with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and KOH as activation agents. The surface morphology, structure, and specific surface area of the carbon materials were studied by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and nitrogen sorption measurement, respectively. Furthermore, the effects of specific surface area, pore structure, and electrolyte on electrochemical properties were investigated by galvanostatic charge–discharge measurement. The results show that KOH–PVA-activated carbon materials display specific capacitance as high as 218 F?g^?1 in 30 wt.% KOH aqueous electrolyte, 147 F?g^?1 in 1 M LiPF₆/(ethylene carbonate (EC) + dimethyl carbonate) (1:1?v/v), and 115 F?g^?1 in 1 M Et₃MeNBF₄/propylene carbonate organic electrolyte, respectively. In addition, the carbon materials demonstrate long-term cycle stability, especially the AK3P-0.30 in aqueous electrolyte and the AK2P-0.30 with excellent rate capability in organic electrolyte. These reveal that the existence of a micro-mesoporous structure of activated carbon is beneficial to store energy in an aqueous supercapacitor and broad pore size distribution of activated carbon is favorable to energy storage in an organic supercapacitor. The carbon materials with pore size distribution in different ranges improve the electrochemical performance of supercapacitor in different electrolytes. A new pore-expand agent (PVA combining with KOH) was used to obtain porous carbons with enhanced properties for supercapacitor.     

Application studies of activated carbon derived from rice husks produced by chemical-thermal process--a review

The production of functional activated carbon materials starting from cheap natural precursors using environmentally friendly processes is a highly attractive subject in material chemistry today. Recently, much attention has been focused on the use of plant biomass to produce functional carbonaceous materials, encompassing economic, environmental and social issues. Besides the classical route to produce activated carbons from fossil materials, rice husk shows clear advantages in that it can generate a variety of cheap and sustainable carbonaceous materials with attractive nanostructure and functional patterns for a wide range of applications. From a comprehensive literature review, it was found that porous carbon that derived from rice husks, in addition to having wide availability, has fast kinetics and appreciable adsorption capacities too. Porous carbon materials also play a significant role in new applications such as catalytic supports, battery electrodes, capacitors, and gas storage. In this review, an extensive list of rice husks literature has been compiled. Conclusions have been drawn from the literature reviewed, and suggestions for future research are proposed.     

Surface modification by graphene oxide:An efficient strategy to improve the performance of activated carbon based supercapacitors

An efficient and cost-effective strategy to modificate the surface of active carbon (AC), form a 3D-conductive network, and therefore improve the electrochemical performance of AC based supercapacitor was developed.     

Effect of an activating agent on the physicochemical properties and supercapacitor performance of naturally nitrogen-enriched carbon derived from Albizia procera leaves

The present study reports the preparation of naturally nitrogen-doped carbon nanostructured materials from Albizia procera leaves with enhanced electrochemical supercapacitance properties. The doped carbon materials were prepared by the pyrolysis of Albizia procera leaves at 850 °C. The effect of using various activating agents such as NaHCO₃ and ZnCl₂ was checked and compared on the structural and textural properties, specific capacitance, surface functional groups, and surface area. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis shows that NaHCO₃-activated nitrogen-doped carbon (NaNC) has a higher specific surface area compare to ZnCl₂-activated nitrogen-doped carbon (ZnNC) and nitrogen-doped carbon prepared without an activating agent (WANC). Overall, the BET and microscopic analyses confirmed that NaNC is composed of carbon nanosheets with macropores and mesopores, as well as a large number of micropores, which is completely different from the composition of ZnNC and WANC. In addition, the XPS analysis confirmed the existence of higher amount of nitrogen in NaNC compared to that of ZnNC, and WANC. NaNC exhibits a specific capacitance of 231 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ current with good energy and power densities, and an outstanding charging-discharging stability thanks to its unique features such as the existence of high amounts of nitrogen, high SSA, and the nanosheet-type morphology.     

Extraction of lanthanides from aqueous solution by using room-temperature ionic liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide in conjunction

For the first time, the study of a three-step extraction system of water/ionic liquid/supercritical CO2 has been performed. Extraction of trivalent lanthanum and europium from an aqueous nitric acid solution to a supercritical CO2 phase via an imidazolium-based ionic liquid phase is demonstrated, and extraction efficiencies higher than 87 % were achieved. The quantitative extraction is obtained by using different fluorinated beta-diketones with and without the addition of tri(n-butyl)phosphate. The complexation phenomenon occurring in the room-temperature ionic-liquid (RTIL) phase was evidenced by using luminescence spectroscopy.     

Capacitive performance of ordered mesoporous carbons with tunable porous texture in ionic liquid electrolytes

Ordered mesoporous carbons with tunable pore size and surface chemical properties are prepared by doping boric acid using a hard-templating method. The capacitive performance of these carbons is investigated in two common ionic liquids of EMImBF₄ and EMImTSFI. As demonstrated by the structure analysis, the pore size increases from 3.3 to 5.7 nm and the content of oxygenated groups on the carbon surface increases from 2.0 to 5.2 mol% with the increase of the boron doping from 0 to 50 mol%. In ionic liquid electrolyte, the carbons mainly show typical electric double layer capacitance, and the capacitance retention ratio and ion diffusion in the carbon channels is determined to the surface chemical property. The prepared carbons present visible pseudo-capacitance due to the rapid redox reactions of the oxygenated groups in hydrophilic EMImBF₄, reflecting by the increasing of the specific surface capacitance, while no visible pseudo-capacitive behavior was observed in hydrophobic EMImTSFI.     

High performance of N,P co-doped metal-free carbon catalyst derived from ionic liquid for oxygen reduction reaction

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - One-pot strategy to fabricate N, P co-doping carbon was developed based on the functional ionic liquid (IL) as the N, P, and C precursors. The IL featuring...     

Heats of solution of 1∶1 electrolytes in 1-propanol,and derived enthalpies of transfer from water

Heats of solution of 13 11 electrolytes in 1-propanol have been determined calorimetrically at various electrolyte concentrations, and extrapolated to zero concentration to give H _s ^o values for these electrolytes. Together with literature data on three additional 11 electrolytes, these measurements yield a self-consistent set of single-ion enthalpies of transfer from water to 1-propanol. Values are tabulated for 10 univalent cations and five univalent anions. It is shown that the H _t ^o (Ph ₄ As⁺)=H _t ^o (Ph ₄ B^–) assumption yields chemically reasonable single-ion values. Using this assumption, it may be deduced that all the univalent ions studied have about the same enthalpy in 1-propanol as in methanol.     

Effect of surface area and heteroatom of porous carbon materials on electrochemical capacitance in aqueous and organic electrolytes

A series of porous carbon materials with wide range of specific surface areas and different heteroatom contents had been prepared using polyaniline as carbon precursor and KOH as an activating agent. Effect of surface area and heteroatom of porous carbon materials on specific capacitance was investigated thoroughly in two typical aqueous KOH and organic 1-butyl-3- methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/acetonitirle electrolytes. The different trends of capacitance performance were observed in these two electrolytes. Electrochemical analyses suggested that the presence of faradaic interactions on heteroatom-enriched carbon materials in organic environment is less significant than that observed in aqueous electrolytes. Thus, in aqueous electrolyte, a balance between surface area and heteroatom content of activated porous carbon would be found to develop a supercapacitor with high energy density. In organic electrolyte, the capacitance performance of porous carbon is strongly dependent on the surface area. The results may be useful for the design of porous carbon-based supercapacitor with the desired capacitive performance in aqueous and organic electrolytes.     

Double hydrophilic diblock copolymers containing a poly(ionic liquid) segment: Controlled synthesis, solution property, and application as carbon precursor

In this contribution, we demonstrate the controlled synthesis of double hydrophilic block copolymers comprising a hydrophilic poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) segment via the RAFT/MADIX process. The non-ionic segment is made up from either poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) or poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA), due to their favorable controllable solubility in water at room temperature. They were employed as macro-chain transfer agents (macro-CTAs) for the RAFT polymerization of four different 1-vinylimidazolium ionic liquid monomers possessing different alkyl substitutes and anions. The block copolymers of PNIPAAm-b-PIL are dual stimuli-responsive copolymers that can respond to the changes in temperature and ionic strength in aqueous solution. This special property facilitated a facile anion exchange of the PIL segment. In addition, one copolymer could successfully be employed as carbon precursor for the preparation of mesoporous graphitic nanostructures in the presence of metal salts.     

Bioreduction of ionic mercury from wastewater in a fixed-bed bioreactor with activated carbon

Wide industrial use of mercury led to significant mercury pollution of the environment. It requires development of cleanup technologies which would allow treating large volumes of mercury contaminated water in a cost effective and environmentally friendly way. A novel bio-technology, developed from laboratory to industrial scale in Germany at HZI (former GBF), is based on enzymatic reduction of highly toxic Hg(II) to water-insoluble and relatively non-toxic Hg(0) using live mercury resistant bacteria immobilized on a porous carrier material in a fixed-bed bioreactor. Improvement of the original method was based on the use of activated carbon as a carrier for microorganisms and an adsorbent for mercury. Such integration of the process should increase the technology efficiency. In order to compare different carrier materials, activated carbon and pumice stones were used. The strain Pseudomonas putida was immobilized in bioreactors continuously fed with solutions of HgCl₂ enriched with nutrients. Simultaneously, experiments in two more reactors were run in the absence of microorganisms to investigate the influence of nutrients on the adsorption process. In the bioreactor with activated carbon, the outlet mercury concentration was approximately 50 % of that supplied with pumice. It may be concluded that the use of activated carbon in a fixed-bed bioreactor enables improvement of the technology by process integration. Presented at the 34th International Conference of the Slovak Society of Chemical Engineering, Tatranské Matliare, 21–25 May 2007.     

A synthesis of porous activated carbon materials derived from vitamin B9 base for CO2 capture and conversion

CO₂ capture and conversion are still a favorable way to reduce CO₂ in the atmosphere. Herein, we have developed an environmentally friendly, low energy consumption porous activated carbon from vitamin B9 carbonaceous material for CO₂ capture and conversion materials. It is demonstrated that the KOH/vitamin B9 carbonaceous material impregnation ratio of 2 is the optimum condition for obtaining porous activated carbons with high specific surface area of 1903 m²g^-1, micropore surface area of 710 m²g^-1, total pore volume of 1.05 cm³g^-1 and micropore volume of 0.38 cm³g^-1. Among all the porous activated carbons prepared, the porous activated carbon synthesized with the KOH/vitamin B9 carbonaceous material impregnation ratio of 2 registers the most excellent CO₂ capture for 5.41 mmolg^?1 at 0 °C/1 bar and 3.66 mmolg^?1 at 25 °C/1 bar. They can also effectively catalyze the cycloaddition of CO₂ and epoxides under mild conditions (1 bar, 100 °C and 8 h) with a yield of 89–94%. The synthesized porous carbon materials from vitamin B9 is a promising candidate material for CO₂ capture and fixation.     

Removal of trace organic compounds from multicomponent liquid mixtures. I. Adsorption of surfactant mixtures on activated carbon

This study shows how trace amounts of surfactants are adsorbed by activated carbon under competitive conditions in aqueous solution. Surfactants used as adsorbates are sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and eicosaneoxyethylene hexadecyl ether (POE). Activated carbon used as an adsorbent is Pittsburgh activated carbon. Adsorption isotherms on the activated carbon were all Freundlich-type, both in the multi-solute system and in the mono-solute systems. The total adsorbed amount in the multi-solute system increases linearly with increasing molar fraction of SDS in the initial concentration. Thus, the total adsorbed amount in the multi-solute system can be estimated by the Freundlich constants, which can be determined from the single-solute equilibrium adsorptions, and molar fractions of adsorbates in the initial concentration.     

Promotion of Ionic Liquid to Dimethyl Carbonate Synthesis from Methanol and Carbcn Dioxide

Promotion of ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (emimBr), to the synthesis of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from methanol and carbon dioxide in the presence of potassium carbonate and less amount of methyl iodide under mild conditions was investigated. The results showed that the high selectivity and raised yield of DMC was achieved due to the addition of emimBr in the reaction system. And effect of several reaction conditions such as temperature, pressure and amount of emimBr was discussed.     

Global non-ideality effects in adsorption of organic substances from dilute aqueous solutions on activated carbon

Summary A method for the quantitative estimation of the global non-ideality of the adsorption of weak organic electrolytes on activated carbon from dilute aqueous solutions is presented. The method is based on the analysis of aGraham plot which reflects the adsorption isotherm deviations from ideality. Averaging these deviations over the whole range of adsorption, one gets a single value representing the global non-ideality of a system. The method also allows to estimate the contributions of heterogeneity and interactions in the adsorbed phase to the global non-ideality effect. The theoretical considerations are illustrated by some model calculations. The usefulness of the method is tested for experimental data of benzoic and salicyclic acid adsorption over a wide range ofpH and concentrations.

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Globaler Effekt der Nicht-Idealität bei der Adsorption organischer Substanzen aus verdünnten wässerigen Lösungen an Aktivkohle

Zusammenfassung Es wird eine Methode zur quantitativen Abschätzung der globalen Nicht-Idealität für die Adsorption schwacher organischer Elektrolyte aus verdünnten wässerigen Lösungen an Aktivkohle vorgestellt. Diese Methode basiert auf der Analyse der bekanntenGraham-Abhängigkeit, die die Abweichung der Adsorptionsisotherme von der Idealität zeigt. Bei Errechnung des Durchschnittwertes dieser Abweichung über den ganzen Asorptionsbereich erhält man einen Wert, der die globale Nicht-Idealität für ein Adsorptionssystem charakterisiert. Die Methode erlaubt auch, den Beitrag der Heterogenität und der Wechselwirkungen in der Adsorptionsphase zum globalen Effekt der Nicht-Idealität abzuschätzen. Die theoretischen Erörterungen werden an Hand von Modellberechnungen illustriert. Die Nutzbarkeit der Methode wurde mit experimentellen Daten der Benzoe- und Salicylsäureadsorption in einem weiten Bereich vonpH und Konzentration getestet.