Carbon for Energy Storage and Environment Protection and Selected Papers from CESEP 2019

A special issue of C (ISSN 2311-5629).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2020) | Viewed by 10843

Special Issue Editors

Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Institute, University of Alicante, 03080 Alicante, Spain
Interests: environmental catalysis; heterogeneous catalysts; metal nanoparticles; biomass valorization; nanomaterials; carbon materials; hydrogen production
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Departamento de Química Física e Instituto Universitario de Materiales, Universidad de Alicante (UA), Apartado 99, E03080 Alicante, Spain
Interests: electrochemical technologies; electroactive materials; wastewater treatment; energy storage and conversion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Institute, University of Alicante, 03080 Alicante, Spain
Interests: carbon materials; nitrogen functionalisation; supercapacitors; electrocatalysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to their flexible coordination chemistry and ability to incorporate functional groups, carbon materials exhibit a unique combination of structural and chemical properties that can be exploited in a large number of applications related to contemporary societal and industrial challenges. The aim of this Special Issue of C, Journal of Carbon Research (ISSN 2311-5629), is to compile representative breakthroughs achieved in the field of carbon materials that have been presented in the 8th International Conference on Carbon for Energy Storage and Environment Protection (CESEP´19), held in Alicante (Spain). Manuscripts related to the following topics will be welcome:

  • Synthesis of new forms of carbons and surface functionalization by different methodologies;
  • Structural and nanotextural characterization;
  • Gas separation and gas storage;
  • Solar energy conversion;
  • Carbon as catalyst and catalyst support;
  • Adsorption of gas-phase pollutants;
  • Carbon in green chemistry and recycling processes;
  • Carbon for water production and remediation;
  • Supercapacitors;
  • Lithium batteries and other advanced batteries;
  • Fuel cells;
  • Biological and health applications of carbons;
  • Carbon materials in sensor and biosensor;
  • In situ and operando studies;
  • Simulation and computational methods;
  • Demonstration systems.

We cordially invite you to submit your manuscript and contribute to this Special Issue of CJournal of Carbon Research.

Please note that all submissions are subject to a 30% discount.

We look forward to hearing from you and receiving your manuscript.

Kind regards,

Dr. Miriam Navlani-García
Dr. Raul Berenguer
Dr. David Salinas-Torres
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. C is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Carbon materials
  • Energy storage
  • Environment protection
  • Adsorption
  • Catalysis

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 2910 KiB  
Article
Biochar and Energy Production: Valorizing Swine Manure through Coupling Co-Digestion and Pyrolysis
by Rubén González, Judith González, José G. Rosas, Richard Smith and Xiomar Gómez
C 2020, 6(2), 43; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/c6020043 - 24 Jun 2020
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4724
Abstract
Anaerobic digestion is an established technological option for the treatment of agricultural residues and livestock wastes beneficially producing renewable energy and digestate as biofertilizer. This technology also has significant potential for becoming an essential component of biorefineries for valorizing lignocellulosic biomass due to [...] Read more.
Anaerobic digestion is an established technological option for the treatment of agricultural residues and livestock wastes beneficially producing renewable energy and digestate as biofertilizer. This technology also has significant potential for becoming an essential component of biorefineries for valorizing lignocellulosic biomass due to its great versatility in assimilating a wide spectrum of carbonaceous materials. The integration of anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis of its digestates for enhanced waste treatment was studied. A theoretical analysis was performed for three scenarios based on the thermal needs of the process: The treatment of swine manure (scenario 1), co-digestion with crop wastes (scenario 2), and addition of residual glycerine (scenario 3). The selected plant design basis was to produce biochar and electricity via combined heat and power units. For electricity production, the best performing scenario was scenario 3 (producing three times more electricity than scenario 1), with scenario 2 resulting in the highest production of biochar (double the biochar production and 1.7 times more electricity than scenario 1), but being highly penalized by the great thermal demand associated with digestate dewatering. Sensitivity analysis was performed using a central composite design, predominantly to evaluate the bio-oil yield and its high heating value, as well as digestate dewatering. Results demonstrated the effect of these parameters on electricity production and on the global thermal demand of the plant. The main significant factor was the solid content attained in the dewatering process, which excessively penalized the global process for values lower than 25% TS. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

14 pages, 2445 KiB  
Article
Silicon/Biogas-Derived Carbon Nanofibers Composites for Anodes of Lithium-Ion Batteries
by Ignacio Cameán, Nuria Cuesta, Alberto Ramos and Ana B. García
C 2020, 6(2), 25; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/c6020025 - 24 Apr 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2202
Abstract
The electrochemical performance of novel nano-silicon/biogas-derived carbon nanofibers composites (nSi/BCNFs) as anodes in lithium-ion batteries was investigated, focusing on composition and galvanostatic cycling conditions. The optimization of these variables contributes to reduce the stress associated with silicon lithiation/delithiation by accommodating/controlling the volume changes, [...] Read more.
The electrochemical performance of novel nano-silicon/biogas-derived carbon nanofibers composites (nSi/BCNFs) as anodes in lithium-ion batteries was investigated, focusing on composition and galvanostatic cycling conditions. The optimization of these variables contributes to reduce the stress associated with silicon lithiation/delithiation by accommodating/controlling the volume changes, thus preventing anode degradation and therefore improving its performance regarding capacity and stability. Specific capacities up to 520 mAh g−1 with coulombic efficiency > 95% and 94% of capacity retention are achieved for nSi/BCNFs anodes at electric current density of 100/200 mA g−1 and low cutoff voltage of 80 mV. Among the BCNFs, those no-graphitized with fishbone microstructure, which have a great number of active sites to interact with nSi particles, are the best carbon matrices. Specifically, a nSi:BCNFs 1:1 weight ratio in the composite is the optimal, since it allows a compromise between a suitable specific capacity, which is higher than that of graphitic materials currently commercialized for LIBs, and an acceptable capacity retention along cycling. Low cutoff voltage in the 80–100 mV range is the most suitable for the cycling of nSi/BCNFs anodes because it avoids formation of the highest lithiated phase (Li15Si4) and therefore the complete silicon lithiation, which leads to electrode damage. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

12 pages, 2899 KiB  
Article
Supercapacitor Electrodes from Viscose-Based Activated Carbon Fibers: Significant Yield and Performance Improvement Using Diammonium Hydrogen Phosphate as Impregnating Agent
by Stefan Breitenbach, Alexander Lumetzberger, Mathias Andreas Hobisch, Christoph Unterweger, Stefan Spirk, David Stifter, Christian Fürst and Achim Walter Hassel
C 2020, 6(2), 17; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/c6020017 - 27 Mar 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3198
Abstract
Viscose fibers were impregnated with different concentrations of diammonium hydrogen phosphate (DAHP), carbonized, activated, and tested as high-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors. The yield of these activated carbon fibers (ACFs) could be increased by a factor of 14 by using DAHP compared to [...] Read more.
Viscose fibers were impregnated with different concentrations of diammonium hydrogen phosphate (DAHP), carbonized, activated, and tested as high-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors. The yield of these activated carbon fibers (ACFs) could be increased by a factor of 14 by using DAHP compared to ACF without impregnation. These specific activation procedures yielded a high specific surface area of more than 2700 m2·g−1 with a pore size distribution (PSD) suitable for use as a supercapacitor electrode. The electrode materials were implemented in symmetric supercapacitors using TEMA BF4 as electrolyte and cyclic voltammetry measurements showed high specific capacitances of up to 167 F·g−1. Furthermore, the devices showed high energy densities of up to 21.4 W·h·kg−1 and high-power densities of up to 8.7 kW·kg−1. The supercapacitors featured high capacity retention (96%) after 10,000 cycles. These results show that ACFs made of viscose fibers, previously impregnated with DAHP, can be used as high-performance electrodes in supercapacitors for energy storage applications. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop