Abdul Rehman

The utilization of biomass waste for the production of biochar and activated carbon provides a useful approach for converting low-cost agricultural waste into value-added carbon materials. In this study, different biomass materials including rice husk, wheat straw and sawdust were used for the production of biochar. The effect of pyrolysis temperature and holding time on the biochar yield was investigated. The results showed that the biochar yield decreased with increasing temperature and holding time due to the higher decomposition of biomass and release of volatile compounds. Among the investigated biomass materials, rice husk showed the highest biochar yield, followed by wheat straw and sawdust. The prepared biochar was further activated using KOH and Na₂CO₃ at 700 °C for 1 h under nitrogen atmosphere. The effect of activating agent on the surface properties of the prepared activated carbon was investigated using BET and FTIR analysis. Among the different samples, KOH-activated sawdust showed the highest BET surface area of 555 m²/g with a pore volume of 0.357 cc/g. KOH-activated wheat straw showed a surface area of 142 m²/g, while Na₂CO₃-activated wheat straw and rice husk showed surface areas of 126 and 109 m²/g, respectively. The FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of different oxygen-containing and aromatic functional groups on the surface of the prepared carbon materials. Overall, the results showed that the type of biomass, pyrolysis conditions and activating agent have an important effect on the yield and surface properties of the prepared biochar and activated carbon.

In this study, activated carbon was prepared from rice husk using acidolysis, carbonization and chemical activation. The prepared activated carbon was characterized using BET, Raman, SEM, TEM and XRD analysis. The BET results showed a high surface area of approximately 747 m²/g. Raman analysis confirmed the presence of both graphitic and disordered carbon structures. SEM and TEM images showed a rough, porous and interconnected structure, while XRD confirmed the mainly amorphous nature of the activated carbon. The electrochemical performance of activated carbon-modified carbon felt (AC-CF) was compared with pristine carbon felt (PCF) in a VRFB. Both electrodes showed high current efficiencies of approximately 95-98%. Although PCF showed a slightly higher discharge capacity, AC-CF showed improved energy and voltage efficiencies. The energy efficiency of AC-CF was 85-87%, compared with 82-84% for PCF. Similarly, AC-CF showed higher voltage efficiency of approximately 86-88%. It can be seen that the high surface area and porous structure of rice husk-derived activated carbon provided additional active sites and improved the electrochemical performance. Overall, rice husk-derived activated carbon can be considered a promising, low-cost and sustainable material for VRFB electrode applications.

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