Recovery and reuse of floc sludge for high-performance capacitors

Abstract

• The feasibility of facile fabrication of capacitor from floc sludge is discussed.

• The porous carbon composites are obtained by acidification and KOH activation.

• The as-prepared 3D structure has large surface area and optimal pore size.

• Admirable specific capacitance and outstanding cycling stability are obtained.

In this paper, floc sludge was transformed into porous carbon matrix composites by acidification and KOH activation at high temperature and used as an electrode material for application in capacitors. The effects of different treatment processes on the electrochemical properties of sludge materials were compared. The results of electrochemical tests showed that the sludge electrode exhibited excellent energy storage performance after HNO₃ acidification and KOH activation with a mass ratio of 3:1 (KOH/C). The specific capacitance of the sludge electrode reached 287 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g. In addition, the sludge electrode material showed excellent cycle stability (specific capacity retained at 93.4% after 5000 cycles at 5 A/g). Based on XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, and BET surface analysis, the morphology of sludge electrode materials can be effectively regulated by chemical pretreatment. The best-performing material showed a 3D porous morphology with a large specific surface area (2588 m²/g) and optimal pore size distribution, improving ion channels and charge conductivity. According to the life cycle assessment of floc sludge utilization, it reduced the resource consumption and toxicity risk by more than 90% compared with ordinary sludge disposal processes. This work provided a cost-effective and eco-friendly sludge reuse method and demonstrated the application potential of sludge-based materials in high-performance supercapacitors.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Floc sludge / Porous carbon electrode / Energy storage performance / Supercapacitors

References

[1] Ai F, Liu N, Wang W, Wang A, Wang F, Zhang H, Huang Y (2017). Heteroatoms-doped porous carbon derived from tuna bone for high performance Li-S batteries. Electrochimica Acta, 258: 80–89

[2] Cao Z, Zheng X, Cao H, Zhao H, Sun Z, Guo Z, Wang K, Zhou B (2018). Efficient reuse of anode scrap from lithium-ion batteries as cathode for pollutant degradation in electro-Fenton process: Role of different recovery processes. Chemical Engineering Journal, 337: 256–264

[3] Eid E M, Alrumman S A, Galal T M, El-Bebany A F (2019). Regression models for monitoring trace metal accumulations by Faba sativa Bernh. plants grown in soils amended with different rates of sewage sludge. Scientific Reports, 9(1): 5443

[4] Fan L, Liu P F, Yan X, Gu L, Yang Z Z, Yang H G, Qiu S, Yao X (2016). Atomically isolated nickel species anchored on graphitized carbon for efficient hydrogen evolution electrocatalysis. Nature Communications, 7(1): 10667

[5] Feki E, Battimelli A, Sayadi S, Dhouib A, Khoufi S (2020). High-rate anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge by integration of electro-Fenton process. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 25(3): 626

[6] Feng H, Zheng M, Dong H, Xiao Y, Hu H, Sun Z, Long C, Cai Y, Zhao X, Zhang H, Lei B, Liu Y (2015). Three-dimensional honeycomb-like hierarchically structured carbon for high-performance supercapacitors derived from high-ash-content sewage sludge. Journal of Materials Chemistry. A, Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 3(29): 15225–15234

[7] Giebułtowicz J, Nałęcz-Jawecki G, Harnisz M, Kucharski D, Korzeniewska E, Płaza G (2020). Environmental risk and risk of resistance selection due to antimicrobials’ occurrence in two polish wastewater treatment plants and receiving surface water. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 25(6): 1470

[8] Guo M, Song W, Tian J (2020). Biochar-facilitated soil remediation: mechanisms and efficacy variations. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 8: 521512

[9] IKE (2020). eBalance v.4.7.14122.518. Chengdu: IT Knowledge & Education

[10] Jin Z, Ji F, He Y, Zhao M, Xu X, Zheng X Y (2017). Evaluating the efficiency of carbon utilisation via bioenergetics between biological aerobic and denitrifying phosphorus removal systems. PLoS One, 12(10): e0187007

[11] Laipan M, Fu H, Zhu R, Sun L, Zhu J, He H (2017). Converting spent Cu/Fe layered double hydroxide into Cr(VI) reductant and porous carbon material. Scientific Reports, 7(1): 7277

[12] Lei Z, Liu L, Zhao H, Liang F, Chang S, Li L, Zhang Y, Lin Z, Kröger J, Lei Y (2020). Nanoelectrode design from microminiaturized honeycomb monolith with ultrathin and stiff nanoscaffold for high-energy micro-supercapacitors. Nature Communications, 11(1): 299

[13] Li M, Liu C, Cao H, Zhao H, Zhang Y, Fan Z (2014). KOH self-templating synthesis of three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon materials for high performance supercapacitors. Journal of Materials Chemistry. A, Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2(36): 14844–14851

[14] Li T, Ma R, Lin J, Hu Y, Zhang P, Sun S, Fang L (2020). The synthesis and performance analysis of various biomass‐based carbon materials for electric double-layer capacitors: A review. International Journal of Energy Research, 44(4): 2426–2454

[15] Li X, Chen L, Mei Q, Dong B, Dai X, Ding G, Zeng E Y (2018). Microplastics in sewage sludge from the wastewater treatment plants in China. Water Research, 142: 75–85

[16] Li X, Hao T, Tang Y, Chen G (2021). A “Seawater-in-Sludge” approach for capacitive biochar production via the alkaline and alkaline earth metals activation. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 15(1): 3

[17] Li X, Liu K, Liu Z, Wang Z, Li B, Zhang D (2017). Hierarchical porous carbon from hazardous waste oily sludge for all-solid-state flexible supercapacitor. Electrochimica Acta, 240: 43–52

[18] Li Z, Zhang L, Amirkhiz B S, Tan X, Xu Z, Wang H, Olsen B C, Holt C M B, Mitlin D (2012). Carbonized chicken eggshell membranes with 3D architectures as high-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors. Advanced Energy Materials, 2(4): 431–437

[19] Liang Q, Liu Y, Chen M, Ma L, Yang B, Li L, Liu Q (2020). Optimized preparation of activated carbon from coconut shell and municipal sludge. Materials Chemistry and Physics, 241: 122327

[20] Lin X, Chen X, Li S, Chen Y, Wei Z, Wu Q (2021). Sewage sludge ditch for recovering heavy metals can improve crop yield and soil environmental quality. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 15(2): 22

[21] Liu W, Iordan C M, Cherubini F, Hu X, Fu D (2020). Environmental impacts assessment of wastewater treatment and sludge disposal systems under two sewage discharge standards: A case study in Kunshan, China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 287: 125046

[22] Liu X, Liu L, Leng P, Hu Z (2019). Feasible and effective reuse of municipal sludge for vegetation restoration: physiochemical characteristics and microbial diversity. Scientific Reports, 9(1): 879

[23] Mandal B K, Vankayala R, Uday Kumar L (2011). Speciation of chromium in soil and sludge in the surrounding tannery region, ranipet, Tamil Nadu. ISRN Toxicology, 2011: 697980

[24] Mirbagheri M, Nahvi I, Emamzade R (2015). Reduction of chemical and biological oxygen demands from oil wastes via oleaginous fungi: an attempt to convert food by products to essential fatty acids. Iranian Journal of Biotechnology, 13(2): 25–30

[25] Mitravinda T, Nanaji K, Anandan S, Jyothirmayi A, Chakravadhanula V S K, Sharma C S, Rao T N (2018). Facile synthesis of corn silk derived nanoporous carbon for an improved supercapacitor performance. Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 165(14): A3369–A3379

[26] Muniandy L, Adam F, Mohamed A R, Ng E P (2014). The synthesis and characterization of high purity mixed microporous/mesoporous activated carbon from rice husk using chemical activation with NaOH and KOH. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 197: 316–323

[27] Rashidi N A, Yusup S (2020). Recent methodological trends in nitrogen–functionalized activated carbon production towards the gravimetric capacitance: A mini review. Journal of Energy Storage, 32: 101757

[28] Sadri Moghaddam S, Alavi Moghaddam M R, Arami M (2010). Coagulation/flocculation process for dye removal using sludge from water treatment plant: optimization through response surface methodology. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 175(1–3): 651–657

[29] Smith K M, Fowler G D, Pullket S, Graham N J (2009). Sewage sludge-based adsorbents: a review of their production, properties and use in water treatment applications. Water Research, 43(10): 2569–2594

[30] Tobiszewski M, Marć M, Gałuszka A, Namieśnik J (2015). Green chemistry metrics with special reference to green analytical chemistry. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 20(6): 10928–10946

[31] Wang D W, Li F, Liu M, Lu G Q, Cheng H M (2008). 3D aperiodic hierarchical porous graphitic carbon material for high-rate electrochemical capacitive energy storage. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English), 120(2): 379–382

[32] Wang H, Li Z, Tak J K, Holt C M B, Tan X, Xu Z, Amirkhiz B S, Harfield D, Anyia A, Stephenson T, Mitlin D (2013a). Supercapacitors based on carbons with tuned porosity derived from paper pulp mill sludge biowaste. Carbon, 57: 317–328

[33] Wang L, Wang R, Zhao H, Liu L, Jia D (2015a). High rate performance porous carbon prepared from coal for supercapacitors. Materials Letters, 149: 85–88

[34] Wang L, Yang C, Thangavel S, Guo Z, Chen C, Wang A, Liu W (2021). Enhanced hydrogen production in microbial electrolysis through strategies of carbon recovery from alkaline/thermal treated sludge. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 15(4): 56

[35] Wang T, Peng Z, Wang Y, Tang J, Zheng G (2013b). MnO nanoparticle@mesoporous carbon composites grown on conducting substrates featuring high-performance lithium-ion battery, supercapacitor and sensor. Scientific Reports, 3(1): 2693

[36] Wang Y K, Pan X R, Geng Y K, Sheng G P (2015b). Simultaneous effective carbon and nitrogen removals and phosphorus recovery in an intermittently aerated membrane bioreactor integrated system. Scientific Reports, 5(1): 16281

[37] Xia W, Qiu B, Xia D, Zou R (2013). Facile preparation of hierarchically porous carbons from metal-organic gels and their application in energy storage. Scientific Reports, 3(1): 1935

[38] Xiang R, Liu J C, Xu Y, Liu Y Q, Nai C X, Dong L, Huang Q F (2020). Framework, method and case study for the calculation of end of life for HWL and parameter sensitivity analysis. Scientific Reports, 10(1): 19509

[39] Xu Z X, Deng X Q, Zhang S, Shen Y F, Shan Y Q, Zhang Z M, Luque R, Duan P G, Hu X (2020). Benign-by-design N-doped carbonaceous materials obtained from the hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge for supercapacitor applications. Green Chemistry, 22(12): 3885–3895

[40] Yakaboylu G A, Jiang C, Yumak T, Zondlo J W, Wang J, Sabolsky E M (2021). Engineered hierarchical porous carbons for supercapacitor applications through chemical pretreatment and activation of biomass precursors. Renewable Energy, 163: 276–287

[41] Yue X M, An Z Y, Ye M, Liu Z J, Xiao C C, Huang Y, Han Y J, Zhang S Q, Zhu J S (2019). Preparation of porous activated carbons for high performance supercapacitors from Taixi anthracite by multi-stage activation. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 24(19): 3588

[42] Yui K, Kuramochi H, Osako M (2018). Understanding the behavior of radioactive cesium during the incineration of contaminated municipal solid waste and sewage sludge by thermodynamic equilibrium calculation. ACS Omega, 3(11): 15086–15099

[43] Zhang J, Deng R J, Ren B Z, Hou B, Hursthouse A (2019). Preparation of a novel Fe₃O₄/HCO composite adsorbent and the mechanism for the removal of antimony (III) from aqueous solution. Scientific Reports, 9(1): 13021

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press