Aug 9, 2023
Updated: Oct 13, 2023
Hydrothermally carbonized and alkali-activated brewer's spent grain has a microporous structure leading to an extremely high surface area making it a promising candidate for electrochemical applications.
Dye solar cells with activated brewer's spent grain biocarbon performed well in extended accelerated aging test, and the biocarbon also reduced the degradation via loss of electrolyte charge carriers during the aging test.
Activated brewer's spent grain biocarbon provides a promising alternative for platinum-based catalysts.
Tiihonen, A., Siipola, V., Lahtinen, K., Pajari, H., Widsten, P., Tamminen, T., Kallio, T., & Miettunen, K. (2021). Biocarbon from brewery residues as a counter electrode catalyst in dye solar cells. Electrochimica Acta, 368, [137583]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2020.137583
Al Haj, Y., Mousavihashemi, S., Robertson, D., Borghei, M., Pääkkönen, T., Rojas, O. J., Kontturi, E., Kallio, T., & Vapaavuori, J. (2022). Biowaste-derived electrode and electrolyte materials for flexible supercapacitors. Chemical Engineering Journal, 435(3), [135058]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.135058