Sustainably transforming biomass into advanced carbon materials for solid-state supercapacitors: a review.

Biomass-derived carbon materials (BDCMs) are widely considered as promising and practical candidates for electrode materials of solid-state supercapacitors (SSCs), due to their low cost, good chemical and mechanical stabilities, excellent electrical conductivity, and high deployment feasibility. Numerous investigations have recently been conducted for sustainably transforming biomass into electrode materials with high electrochemical performance in SSCs, even guided by data-driven approaches. Therefore, this review addresses conventional and emerging synthesis routes for BDCM-based electrode materials and discusses recent advances in energy storage mechanisms and electrochemical performance enhancement of BDCMs for SSCs, improving electrode preparation and performance optimization of BDCMs in a practical and efficient manner.

Upcycling waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into high-performance activated carbon for electrochemical desalination.

Upcycling waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles has attracted intensive research interests. This simultaneously alleviates plastic pollution and achieves a waste-to-resource strategy. Waste PET water bottles were used to fabricate value-added activated carbon (AC) electrodes for capacitive deionization (CDI).

Active Learning-Based Guided Synthesis of Engineered Biochar for CO Capture.

Biomass waste-derived engineered biochar for CO capture presents a viable route for climate change mitigation and sustainable waste management. However, optimally synthesizing them for enhanced performance is time- and labor-intensive. To address these issues, we devise an active learning strategy to guide and expedite their synthesis with improved CO adsorption capacities.

Pyrolysis-catalysis upcycling of waste plastic using a multilayer stainless-steel catalyst toward a circular economy.

Current un-sustainable plastic management is exacerbating plastic pollution, an urgent shift is thus needed to create a recycling society. Such recovering carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) from waste plastic has been considered as one practical route to achieve a circular economy. Here, we performed a simple pyrolysis-catalysis deconstruction of waste plastic via a monolithic multilayer stainless-steel mesh catalyst to produce multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and H, which are important carbon material and energy carrier to achieve sustainable development.

Recent advancements and challenges in emerging applications of biochar-based catalysts.

The sustainable utilization of biochar produced from biomass waste could substantially promote the development of carbon neutrality and a circular economy. Due to their cost-effectiveness, multiple functionalities, tailorable porous structure, and thermal stability, biochar-based catalysts play a vital role in sustainable biorefineries and environmental protection, contributing to a positive, planet-level impact. This review provides an overview of emerging synthesis routes for multifunctional biochar-based catalysts.

Nickel-iron nanoparticles encapsulated in carbon nanotubes prepared from waste plastics for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells.

Low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (LT-SOFCs) are a promising next-generation fuel cell due to their low cost and rapid start-up, posing a significant challenge to electrode materials with high electrocatalytic activity. Herein, we reported the bimetallic nanoparticles encapsulated in carbon nanotubes (NiFe@CNTs) prepared by carefully controlling catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics. Results showed that plenty of multi-walled CNTs with outer diameters (14.

Sustainable management of plastic wastes in COVID-19 pandemic: The biochar solution.

To prevent the COVID-19 transmission, personal protective equipment (PPE) and packaging materials have been extensively used but often managed inappropriately, generating huge amount of plastic waste. In this review, we comprehensively discussed the plastic products utilized and the types and amounts of plastic waste generated since the outbreak of COVID-19, and reviewed the potential treatments for these plastic wastes. Upcycling of plastic waste into biochar was addressed from the perspectives of both environmental protection and practical applications, which can be verified as promising materials for environmental protections and energy storages.

Diamond in the rough: Polishing waste polyethylene terephthalate into activated carbon for CO capture.

The scientific community has believed the potential of waste PET plastics as an effective carbon precursor, however, developing PET-derived activated carbons (PETACs) for a specific application is still a challenge we are facing. To overcome the limitation, a whole chain from development method screening to experiments design, finally to sample optimization, for a sample with promising performance, is proposed in this work. By employing PETACs as CO adsorbents, the waste PET plastics, which we believed the "diamond in the rough", have been polished successfully.

Prediction of Soil Heavy Metal Immobilization by Biochar Using Machine Learning.

Biochar application is a promising strategy for the remediation of contaminated soil, while ensuring sustainable waste management. Biochar remediation of heavy metal (HM)-contaminated soil primarily depends on the properties of the soil, biochar, and HM. The optimum conditions for HM immobilization in biochar-amended soils are site-specific and vary among studies.

Pyrolysis of waste surgical masks into liquid fuel and its life-cycle assessment.

Pyrolysis of the middle layer of a surgical mask (MLM) and inner and outer layers of a surgical mask (IOM) was performed to assess their potential valorization as waste-to-energy feedstocks, and the characteristics of the resulting products were investigated. Pyrolysis of the main organics in waste surgical masks occurred at a very narrow temperature range of 456-466 °C. The main product was carbon-rich and oxygen-deficient liquid oil with a high heating value (HHV) of 43.

Adsorption mechanism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using wood waste-derived biochar.

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been attracted increasing attentions due to their carcinogenicity and teratogenicity. Adsorption is widely considered one of the most potential technologies for PAHs removal. In this study, we prepared two kinds of oxygen-rich biochar derived from waste wood to investigate the PAHs adsorption performance, and the molecular simulation was used to build the 16 priority PAHs, 23 nitrated PAHs, 9 oxygenated PAHs adsorption model.

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic model revealed the distinct bio-transportation and turnover of arsenobetaine and arsenate in marine fish.

Arsenobetaine (AsB) is the major form of arsenic in marine fish; however, its biodynamics within the fish tissues is not well understood. This study simulated the biodynamics and biotransportation (absorption, distribution, and elimination) of dietary AsB and arsenate [As(V)] in the marine grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus, by constructing a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model. The transfer rates between different compartments (gill, intestine, liver, heart, kidney, and muscle) and blood were modeled during exposure (14 d) and depuration (20 d).

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates a shift to a plastic circular economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating plastic pollution. A shift in waste management practices is thus urgently needed to close the plastic loop, requiring governments, researchers and industries working towards intelligent design and sustainable upcycling.

Recycling Polymeric Solid Wastes for Energy-Efficient Water Purification, Organic Distillation, and Oil Spill Cleanup.

Conventional approaches (e.g., pyrolysis) for managing waste polymer foams typically require highly technical skills and consume large amounts of energy resources.

Applied Machine Learning for Prediction of CO Adsorption on Biomass Waste-Derived Porous Carbons.

Biomass waste-derived porous carbons (BWDPCs) are a class of complex materials that are widely used in sustainable waste management and carbon capture. However, their diverse textural properties, the presence of various functional groups, and the varied temperatures and pressures to which they are subjected during CO adsorption make it challenging to understand the underlying mechanism of CO adsorption. Here, we compiled a data set including 527 data points collected from peer-reviewed publications and applied machine learning to systematically map CO adsorption as a function of the textural and compositional properties of BWDPCs and adsorption parameters.

Review on upgrading organic waste to value-added carbon materials for energy and environmental applications.

Value-added materials such as biochar and activated carbon that are produced using thermo-chemical conversion of organic waste have gained an emerging interest for the application in the fields of energy and environment because of their low cost and unique physico-chemical properties. Organic waste-derived materials have multifunctional abilities in the field of environment for capturing greenhouse gases and remediation of contaminated soil and water as well as in the field of energy storage and conversion. This review critically evaluates and discusses the current thermo-chemical approaches for upgrading organic waste to value-added carbon materials, performance enhancement of these materials via activation and/or surface modification, and recent research findings related to energy and environmental applications.

Carbon precursors in coal tar: Extraction and preparation of carbon materials.

Coke resources are abundantly available worldwide and are a large by-product of tar production. Moreover, their utilization presents a series of environmental pollution problems. Common technologies for coal tar production applications urgently need to be upgraded because coal tar is listed as a national hazardous waste.

Co-hydrothermal carbonization of swine manure and cellulose: Influence of mutual interaction of intermediates on properties of the products.

Co-hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of livestock manure and biomass might improve the fuel properties of the hydrochar due to the high reactivity of the biomass-derived intermediates with the abundant oxygen-containing functionalities. However, the complicated compositions make it difficult to explicit the specific roles of the individual components of biomass played in the co-HTC process. In this study, cellulose was used for co-HTC with swine manure to investigate the influence on the properties of the hydrochar.

Co-hydrothermal carbonization of swine and chicken manure: Influence of cross-interaction on hydrochar and liquid characteristics.

Swine and chicken manures are abundant solid wastes that can be converted into carbonaceous materials through hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). Owing to their unique biochemical compositions, co-HTC of these two types of manures may have significant implications for the generated products. We investigated the co-HTC of swine manure and chicken manure to understand the influence of the interaction between contrasting manures on the properties of the derived products.

Valorization of waste polyethylene terephthalate plastic into N-doped microporous carbon for CO capture through a one-pot synthesis.

Valorization of waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic into microporous carbon with N-doping treatment was successfully performed in a one-pot synthesis and the N-doped microporous carbon was used for CO capture, which can mitigate plastic pollution and climate change simultaneously. The PET-derived microporous carbon developed by KOH activation and urea treatment in a one-pot synthesis at 700 °C exhibited the highest CO adsorption uptake of 6.23 mmol g at 0 °C and 4.

Upcycling of waste polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles into porous carbon for CF adsorption.

Thermo-chemical processes for converting plastic wastes into useful materials are considered promising technologies to mitigate the environmental pollution caused by plastic wastes. In this study, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic wastes were used to develop cost-effective and value-added porous carbons; the developed porous carbons were subsequently tested for capturing CF, a greenhouse gas with a high global-warming potential. The activation temperature was varied from 600 °C to 1000 °C and the mass ratio of KOH/carbon ranged from 1 to 3 in the preparation process and their effects on the textural properties and CF-capture performance of the PET plastic waste-derived porous carbons were investigated.

Energy dissipation evaluation of temperature swing adsorption (TSA) cycle based on thermodynamic entropy insights.

The special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) on global warming of 1.5 °C marks a critical point in climate negotiations, which emphasizes the importance to control the CO level in the atmosphere. The current technology cluster of CO capture is still energy-intensive which results in a substantial increase in costs, thus the efficient conversion among various forms of energy is the major topic of research.

Entropy Analysis of Temperature Swing Adsorption for CO Capture Using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Method.

Carbon capture by adsorption is supposed to be an effective method to reduce CO emissions, among which Temperature Swing Adsorption (TSA) can utilize low-grade thermal energy even from renewable energy source. At present, TSA technology still has several challenges to be practical application, such as intensive energy-consumption and low energy-efficiency. Thermodynamics could be a powerful method to explore the energy conversion mechanism of TSA, among which entropy analysis could further provide a clear picture on the irreversible loss, even with a possible strategy of energy-efficient improvement.