Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China; Institute of Advanced Energy Storage Technology and Equipment, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China.
Ningbo CRRC New Energy Technology Co., Ltd, Ningbo, 315112, China.
J Environ Manage. 2022 Nov 15;322:116083. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116083. Epub 2022 Aug 29.
Currently, efficient and cost-effective recycling of waste capacitors is a pressing issue. In this study, the recovery of electrode powder from waste supercapacitors and enabling the reuse of the prepared samples are reported. The recovered powder is directly activated by mixing it with KOH using chemical activation to regenerate the waste-activated carbon. The regenerated activated carbon's specific surface area could be restored to a level similar to that of the original commercial powder, reaching 1803.15 m/g. The regenerated activated carbon has a high proportion of microporous, which played a crucial role in its electrochemical performance. The samples' capacity in the organic system reached 125.96 F/g at 0.2 A/g and 111.77 F/g at 20 A/g, with a retention rate of 88.74%. Furthermore, the capacitance was maintained at 91.18% after 10,000 cycles, showing good cycling performance. Additionally, the supercapacitor assembled from the regenerated activated carbon delivered a high energy density of 31.83 Wh/kg and a power density of 269.76 W/kg, indicating great application potential. Overall, this study offers a useful and low-cost approach for recycling activated carbon from waste electrodes, which would be possible for supercapacitors recycling.
目前，高效且经济地回收废旧电容器是一个紧迫的问题。在本研究中，报告了从废旧超级电容器中回收电极粉末并使制备的样品能够重复使用的方法。通过使用化学活化将回收的粉末与 KOH 混合，直接对其进行激活，以再生废活性炭。再生的活性炭的比表面积可以恢复到与原始商业粉末相似的水平，达到 1803.15 m/g。再生的活性炭具有较高比例的微孔，这对其电化学性能起着至关重要的作用。在有机体系中，样品在 0.2 A/g 时的容量达到 125.96 F/g，在 20 A/g 时的容量达到 111.77 F/g，保持率为 88.74%。此外，在经过 10000 次循环后，电容保持率为 91.18%，表现出良好的循环性能。此外，由再生活性炭组装的超级电容器具有 31.83 Wh/kg 的高能量密度和 269.76 W/kg 的功率密度，表明其具有巨大的应用潜力。总体而言，本研究为从废电极中回收活性炭提供了一种有用且低成本的方法，这对于超级电容器的回收是可行的。
