(47e) Development of Electrocatalyst from Biomass for Energy Storage with the Aid of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

The rapid depletion of fossil fuel reserves, along with climate change and rising energy demands, highlights the urgent need for clean and sustainable renewable energy sources. Biomass has emerged as a promising renewable resource due to its variety, cost-effectiveness, and environmental benefits. Notably, it serves as an efficient precursor for synthesizing carbon-based materials for energy applications.

This study aims to synthesize and characterize carbon materials derived from safflower seeds using supercritical CO₂ treatment. The objective is to evaluate their physical, chemical, and electrochemical properties, particularly for use as sustainable electrocatalyst materials in energy storage applications. Safflower seeds were first carbonized in the presence of KOH to enhance porosity. The resulting biomass-derived carbon materials were then impregnated using an organometallic precursor, Iron(III) acetylacetonate, solubilized in supercritical CO₂ to enhance surface area and structural properties. Affect of temperature, pressure and time was studied. Following this process, the impregnated materials were pyrolyzed under an N₂ atmosphere at 500 °C to obtain the final electrocatalyst. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted for each case using the SimaPro software. The carbon materials were characterized using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Nitrogen Adsorption-Desorption Isotherm Analysis (BET and BJH methods).

The findings highlight the potential of supercritical CO₂-treated biomass-derived carbons as sustainable electrocatalyst materials, contributing to the advancement of greener and more efficient energy storage systems.