Project R-12133

Co-pyrolysis of N-containing spent biomass into activated carbon for electrochemical energy storage (Research)

Nitrogen containing biomass will be converted into a marketcompetitive electrode material for electrochemical charge storage devices, supercapacitors. Novel biomass streams will be evaluated as feedstock: common ivy and microalgae. Before conversion, highvalue chemical compounds will be extracted from biomass resulting in a spent biomass stream. The conversion of this spent biomass will be done using (co-)pyrolysis, which a thermal treatment in an oxygen deficient atmosphere. After pyrolysis, a new product is obtained called biochar. Three pyrolysis methods will be researched, i.e. conventional and microwave pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization. Subsequently this biochar will be activated, thus creating activated carbon. Which will be characterized, evaluated and further optimized to be used as an electrode material. The challenge in this research lies in finding the perfect process parameters to optimize the properties of the produced activated carbon. Ultimately, the goal is to co-pyrolyze both algal and lignocellulosic biomass thus further improving these activated carbon properties. After the process is optimized on lab-scale, upscaling to pilot-scale will be done. This research will investigate the influence of different extraction methods on resulting products, the interaction of different biomass streams, and the influence of pyrolysis and activation process parameters on product properties.

01 November 2021 - 31 October 2023