University of Louisville
Towards Integrated Bio-refinery: Production of Activated Carbons from Sustainable Agricultural Biomass
Institution
University of Louisville
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Jagannadh Satyavolu
Abstract
Non-food source biomass byproducts from agricultural processing industries such as distilleries and industrial agriculture can be a sustainable raw material source for battery manufacturing in automotive and many other industries. Light-weight and high performing activated carbon fibers (ACF) for energy storage applications such as Li-S batteries, supercapacitors, photo-voltaic cells, and hydrogen storage can be produced from agricultural biomasses such as grains from distilleries and soy hulls. As a part of their Integrated C5-based Bio-refinery, the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research at the University of Louisville has developed a route to produce light-weight ACF. The biomass is first put through an acid hydrolysis that removes sugars such as xylose and arabinose, which are useful for biofuel production. The remaining fibers are then used to create ACF using a low-cost and simple activation method. As opposed to lignin based carbon fibers for composites applications, these light-weight cellulose-based carbon fibers are better suited for energy storage applications due to their unique pore structure and high surface area. This work has shown that the hydrolysis process and resulting morphology of the biomass fibers is what allows the carbons to be produced with such high surface area. This need for sugar removal allows for a holistic process that uses all of the biomass’ potential for chemical products and energy applications.
Towards Integrated Bio-refinery: Production of Activated Carbons from Sustainable Agricultural Biomass
Non-food source biomass byproducts from agricultural processing industries such as distilleries and industrial agriculture can be a sustainable raw material source for battery manufacturing in automotive and many other industries. Light-weight and high performing activated carbon fibers (ACF) for energy storage applications such as Li-S batteries, supercapacitors, photo-voltaic cells, and hydrogen storage can be produced from agricultural biomasses such as grains from distilleries and soy hulls. As a part of their Integrated C5-based Bio-refinery, the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research at the University of Louisville has developed a route to produce light-weight ACF. The biomass is first put through an acid hydrolysis that removes sugars such as xylose and arabinose, which are useful for biofuel production. The remaining fibers are then used to create ACF using a low-cost and simple activation method. As opposed to lignin based carbon fibers for composites applications, these light-weight cellulose-based carbon fibers are better suited for energy storage applications due to their unique pore structure and high surface area. This work has shown that the hydrolysis process and resulting morphology of the biomass fibers is what allows the carbons to be produced with such high surface area. This need for sugar removal allows for a holistic process that uses all of the biomass’ potential for chemical products and energy applications.