BACKGROUND
The steady increase in the consumption of fossil fuels in modern society has caused several serious environmental and human health issues. The burning of fossil fuels not only produces carbon dioxide emissions, which are contributing to global warming and poisoning the world’s oceans, but also releases toxic air-borne pollutants into the atmosphere. For example, combustion of fossil fuels in diesel engines generates nanoscale particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter lower than 2.5 μm (ex. PM2.5). According to Global Burden of Disease report, almost 3.2 million worldwide deaths per year are attributed to health diseases associated with PM2.5 air pollution, making it the 6th highest risk factor for premature mortality. The long-reaching adverse effects of this PM includes complications in infant development during prenatal period, mental illnesses, respiratory health and cardiovascular health. Combustion-derived carbonaceous particles have been suggested in recent years to be up to 5 times more toxic than inorganic particulate compositions. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2017 National Emissions Inventory Report, approximately 123,000 tons of PM2.5 were released by diesel combustion in the year 2017. The combustion of diesel fuels in California alone produces more than 25,000 tons of toxic nanoscale particulate matter (PM) as a waste product every year. This has captured the attention of global organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), which gives an average annual guideline of 10 μg/m3 of PM2.5 in their air quality guidelines. Furthermore, this attention has prompted decision makers such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal-Provincial Advisory Committee, and the European Union to impose standards on the emissions of nanoscale particulate matter. For example, the Euro 6 update limited the emission of particulate matter to 0.01 g/kWh for heavy duty engines and 0.005 g/km for light-duty vehicles operating in Europe, and further, more stringent air quality standards are expected in the future. Effective implementation of these policies is key to control and mitigate PM2.5 air pollution.
SUMMARY OF TECHNOLOGY
OSU researchers report the successful capture and reuse of diesel exhaust soot particles as activated carbon in Li ion batteries. This approach enables an abundant toxic pollutant to be converted into a valuable material for energy storage devices. This study consists of an initial characterization of the diesel soot particles, a high temperature annealing step to remove residual organics and unburned hydrocarbons, and construction of a coin cell lithium-ion battery. The battery performance is compared to that obtained with commercially available activated carbon (i.e., Super P®). Both the diesel soot particle cell and the Super P® cell result in current densities on the order of 40mA per gram of material with charging capacities exceeding 70mAh/g. It should be noted, however, that the performance of the unannealed diesel particulate material is substantially lower with highly unstable current-voltage characteristics and charging capacities of just 20mAh/g. Based on high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) images and scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) spectra, we find that these diesel soot nanoparticles follow a narrow log-normal distribution centered around 100nm in diameter and consist of highly porous amorphous carbon, which provide a large surface-to-volume ratio, making them ideal candidates for electrode materials in Li ion batteries.
POTENTIAL AREAS OF APPLICATION
MAIN ADVANTAGES
- Re-use industrial waste material (conversion into batteries)
STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT
- There is a Proof of Concept for this technology.
CONTACT: Please contact Amanda Aker amanda.aker@okstate.edu for more information.
