Residue of Corncob Gasification as Electrode of Supercapacitors: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

DC Martinez-Casillas and I Mascorro-Gutierrez and ML Betancourt-Mendiola and G Palestino and E Quiroga-Gonzalez and JE Pascoe-Sussoni and A Guillen-Lopez and J Muniz and AK Cuentas-Gallegos, WASTE AND BIOMASS VALORIZATION, 12, 4123-4140 (2021).

DOI: 10.1007/s12649-020-01248-2

In this work, it is proven that a biochar obtained from a commercial gasifier can be used as electrode material for supercapacitors (SC). This biochar was produced at 1000 degrees C from corn cob wastes (GAS), and was compared to an activated biochar obtained in a traditional lab pyrolysis process (LAB). Both biochars were characterized by different physicochemical techniques, observing their amorphous nature with well- developed microporosity dependent of their pretreatment and production methodology. Furthermore, a computational modeling based on Molecular Dynamics at the ReaxFF level was also performed to elucidate the geometry of the resulting microporous structure after simulated pyrolysis. X-ray structure and pore size distribution are in agreement with those results obtained via computational simulation. Both carbon materials were electrochemically evaluated in acidic electrolyte using 3 and 2 electrode systems, obtaining capacitances of 130 F g(-1) (20 mV s(-1)), and excellent performance compared to commercial activated carbons, with only about 10% of capacitance loss after 5000 cycles. However, GAS performance in SC was higher than activated biochar due to its higher micropore volume. This study provides a novel useful application to use gasifier residues from agricultural biomass waste for energy storage devices. GRAPHICS .

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