Rakhmawati Farma

Preparation of highly porous binderless activated carbon electrodes from fibres of oil palm empty fruit bunches for application in supercapacitors

Fibres from oil palm empty fruit bunches, generated in large quantities by palm oil mills, were processed into self-adhesive carbon grains (SACG). Untreated and KOH-treated SACG were converted without binder into green monolith prior to N2-carbonisation and CO2-activation to produce highly porous binderless carbon monolith electrodes for supercapacitor applications. Characterisation of the pore structure of the electrodes revealed a significant advantage from combining the chemical and physical activation processes. The electrochemical measurements of the supercapacitor cells fabricated using these electrodes, using cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic charge-discharge techniques consistently found that approximately 3h of activation time, achieved via a multi-step heating profile, produced electrodes with a high surface area of 1704m(2)g(-1) and a total pore volume of 0.889cm(3)g(-1), corresponding to high values for the specific capacitance, specific energy and specific power of 150Fg(-1), 4.297Whkg(-1) and 173Wkg(-1), respectively.

Supercapacitor Electrodes from Activated Carbon Monoliths and Carbon Nanotubes

Binderless monoliths of supercapacitor electrodes were prepared by the carbonization (N2) and activation (CO2) of green monoliths (GMs). GMs were made from mixtures of self-adhesive carbon grains (SACG) of fibers from oil palm empty fruit bunches and a combination of 5 & 6% KOH and 0, 5 & 6% carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by weight. The electrodes from GMs containing CNTs were found to have lower specific BET surface area (SBET). The electrochemical behavior of the supercapacitor fabricated using the prepared electrodes were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD). In general an addition of CNTs into the GMs reduces the equivalent series resistance (ESR) value of the cells. A cell fabricated using electrodes from GM with 5% CNT and 5% KOH was found to have the largest reduction of ESR value than that from the others GMs containing CNT. The cell has steeper Warburgs slope than that from its respective non-CNT GM, which reflect the smaller resistance for electrolyte ions to move into pores of electrodes despite these electrodes having largest reduction in specific BET surface area. The cell also has the smallest reduction of specific capacitance (Csp) and maintains the specific power range despite a reduction in the specific energy range due to the CNT addition.

Effect of Compression Pressure on the Physical and Electrochemical Properties of Activated Carbon Monoliths Electrodes for Supercapacitor Application

Green Monoliths (GMs) of self-adhesive carbon grain from fibers of oil palm empty fruit bunches were prepared by compression pressure at 1.43 × 107, 1.91 × 107 and 2.39 × 107 kg/m2, respectively. Activated carbon monoliths ACM-A, ACM-B and ACM-C prepared by CO2 activation from these GMs, respectively, were used as electrodes in supercapacitor cells which employed stainless steel 316L current collector and H2SO4 electrolyte. Evaluation of the electrochemical properties showed that ACM-A, ACM-B and ACM-C cells had specific capacitance of 30, 9 and 5 F/g, total ESR of 3.21, 4.95 and 7.33 Ω, specific power (maximum) of 173.41, 107.58 and 33.82 W/kg, and specific energy (maximum) of 0.67, 0.15 and 0.09 Wh/kg. These properties are directly associated with the surface area of the ACMs, i.e. 419, 336 and 302 m2/g for the ACM-A, ACM-B and ACM-C, respectively, indicating a direct effect of compression pressure on the physical and electrochemical properties of ACMs electrodes.

Physical properties of activated carbon from fibers of oil palm empty fruit bunches by microwave assisted potassium hydroxide activation

The activated carbon adsorption was influenced by the quality of activated carbon. The activated carbon quality can be improved by chemical activation and microwave irradiation. In this study, activated carbon has been made using biomass from fibers of oil palm empty fruit bunches. The microwave irradiation was applied at various irradiation times of 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes, and at output power of 630 Watt. The physical properties of activated carbon were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, and methylene blue adsorption. Analysis of microstructure showed that the activated carbon was semicrystalline with two peaks of 002 and 100 at 2θ around of 22° and 44°, respectively. The values of stack height (Lc) before and after irradiation increased from 2,799 nm to 3,860 nm, which indicated increasing surface area. Characteristics of surface morphology of activated carbon showed the pores number increased after microwave irradiation. Microwave irradiation ti...

Effect of microwave irradiation time on the physical properties of Terminalia catappa fruit shells-based activated carbon

Activated carbon (AC) from Terminalia catappa fruit shells has been produced through microwave irradiation assisted chemical activation. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) was used as activating agent with ratio of mass percentage of pre-carbonized of Terminalia catappa fruit shells and KOH of 2:1. The AC was irradiated using microwave with the output power of 630 Watt and different irradiation time of 15, 20, and 25 minutes. The physical properties of ACs i.e. microstructures, surface morphology, and BET surface area were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherm, respectively. Interlayer spacing d002 and d100, and stack width La increased, and stack height Lc decreased with increasing irradiation time. The N2 adsorption/desorption isotherm data of the ACs showed the BET surface area of 365 and 300 m2/g for AC15 and AC25, respectively.