Advanced Biocoal Carbon Materials from Biorefinery for both Supercapacitors and Lithium-Ion Capacitor Applications

Advanced carbon materials are crucial for applications in supercapacitors (SCs) and Li-ion capacitors (LICs) to advance consumer electronics and e-vehicle applications. The current study introduces an innovative approach to transform biorefinery-derived biocoal into graphitized activated carbon for SCs using ultrasonic-assisted Fe-based catalytic graphitization and hard carbon for LICs using high-temperature carbonization methods. Utilizing biocoal-derived activated carbon (BCA) and hard carbon (BCHC) in various cell configurations demonstrates the potential of sustainable and cost-effective materials for advanced energy storage devices. The supercapacitor electrode material (BCA) exhibits an impressive specific capacitance of 153.33 F g–1 and a low ESR value of 0.28 Ω. The constructed pouch cell supercapacitor device using BCA retains 90% of its capacitance and powers a string of 20 warm white LEDs for up to 21 min. The LIC based on biocoal-derived hard carbon shows a maximum specific capacity of 118 mAh g–1, a Coulombic efficiency of 92.88%, and the capability to power LEDs. These findings suggest practical implications for developing more efficient and sustainable energy storage devices with broad utility, leveraging industrial waste to create advanced electronic materials.