Researcher: Dr. Josphat Phiri, D.Sc. (Tech), Postdoctoral researcher, Aalto University
Supervisor: Professor Thad Maloney, Ph.D., Aalto University, School of Chemical Engineering, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems.
Description of the project:
The main objective of this project is to develop energy storage devices that are based largely on low environmental impact, renewable and sustainable materials from lignocellulosic materials such as those from the forest industry. The demand for energy storage systems has increased rapidly in recent years due to new technological advancements in various portable electronic devices and the dire need for renewable energy sources that could have a greater influence on the global climate change. The production of renewable energy depends on the availability of energy storage systems because energy must be efficiently stored when available especially in the case of solar energy. Therefore, it is vital to have efficient energy storage systems that can not only store but also release it when needed.
The application of energy storage devices is vast. Some examples of these applications include mobile phones, hybrid electric vehicles, trains, trolleybuses, uninterruptible power supplies, computers, energy harvesting systems, electric vehicles, solar panels or wind turbines, body sensors, hearing aids etc.
The most common types of energy storage systems are batteries, solar cells, and supercapacitors. At the heart of all energy storage devices are electrodes. Electrodes play a significant role in the performance of all energy storage devices. As such, this project emphasizes the design and fabrication of electrodes which could in theory be applied in various energy storage systems. Developing electrodes with a well-defined pore structure and high surface area is vital for the performance efficiency. The surface area and pore structure can be influenced by the type of biomass used and the fabrication conditions. Therefore, various methods for activation of biomass will be investigated as well as various biomass sources such as waste products from pulp and paper industry.
Furthermore, commercially, electrodes are fabricated using toxic binders. In this project, we also investigate the possibility of using modified cellulosic materials as potential substitutes to the fossil-based counterparts and how efficient they perform. In addition, we also explore the possibility of fabrication an all carbon-carbon composite system from renewable and sustainable sources, which is expected to also enhance the efficiency and performance of the devices.
This project is expected to promote the use of the Finnish forest industry as a source for renewable and sustainable materials for fabrication of high-end devices for energy storage application which is vital in this bio-economy society. In addition, the transformation of waste into high-end application can show that it is possible to reduce the environmental pollution strain caused by certain waste products that has potential to be transformed into high value products.
