FROM AGRICULTURAL WASTE TO LITHIUM-ION BATTERY ANODES: DECIPHERING THE FEEDSTOCK-PROCESSING-PROPERTY-PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIP

Graphite is the anode material used in most commercialized lithium-ion batteries, but it is one of the strategic materials in which the U.S. is deficient. Recently, biochar-based materials derived from agricultural, forestry, and food waste that can display a sufficient electrochemical performance have attracted a significant amount of attention. Tailoring biochar-based materials as anodes can deliver higher specific capacity than graphite via interaction and adsorption mechanisms, leading to high-energy and high-power-density lithium-ion batteries, which is very promising as an environmentally sustainable, technically feasible, and economically beneficial solution for producing sustainable lithium-ion battery anodes.However, the establishment of design principles for biochar-based anodes has been complicated by the heterogeneity of biomass sources, synthesis routes, and resulting properties. So far, all the proposed technologies are still at the laboratory scale. Our understanding of the feedstock-processing-property-performance relationship of biochar-based anodes remains very limited due to a lack of systematic study. Scattered research on different feedstocks is unsuitable for comparison due to high variability in the experimental design. The goal of this project is to conduct an extensive but well-controlled experimental campaign to generate a comprehensive data frame and use data science to decipher the feedstock-processing-property-performance relationship of biochar-based anode materials used in lithium-ion batteries. The established relationship can be used to provide optimal solutions for any specific type of lithium-ion battery.To develop biochar-based anodes for lithium-ion batteries and establish the feedstock-processing-property-performance relationship to pave the way for full-scale industrial production, the study is underpinned by the following four objectives.Objective #1: Select suitable biomass sources and optimize the pyrolysis parameters to enable efficient preparation of biochar anodes.Objective #2: Identify and quantify the biochar properties using a broad suite of analytical techniques to ensure optimal outcomes for battery application.Objective #3: Measure the electrochemical behavior of biochar-based anodes and understand the underlying mechanisms of the improved performance.Objective #4: Decipher the feedstock-processing-property-performance relationship of biochar-based anodes using data science techniques.