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Highly porous biomass-based capacitive deionization electrodes for water defluoridation

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Abstract

The high concentration of fluoride (F−) in water sources is the main challenge in major fluoride belts. Though capacitive deionization (CDI) with porous carbon electrodes is the promising alternative in removing charged species from aqueous solution, little has been presented on the usefulness of CDI with biomass-based electrodes in removing F− from natural water existing together with other ions such as Ca2+ and Mg2+. This study investigated the feasibility of using biomass-based electrodes for natural water defluoridation application. Porous carbon was synthesized from jackfruit peels (JFAC) through potassium hydroxide (KOH) activation. Surface morphology, pore structure, and electrochemical properties of the JFAC were investigated. The textural properties of the synthesized carbon and electrochemical characteristics of the fabricated electrodes were found to be influenced by activation temperature. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, pore diameter, pore volume, and pore surface area increased with an increase in activation temperature and KOH to carbon ratio. It was further confirmed that as the applied voltage increased from 1.2 to 2 V, the amount of adsorbed anions increased without significantly affecting the pH of the water. At 2.0 V, the electrodes showed a maximum F− adsorption efficiency and electrosorption capacity of 62% and 0.13 mg/g respectively. The electrosorption capacity depends on the initial concentration of the ion in the feed water. It was further observed that natural organic substances contained in the natural water might inhibit JFAC electrode surface and decrease its adsorption efficiency. This study provides cost-effective CDI electrode material prepared from biomass for water defluoridation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Prof. Marta Hatzell and Daniel A. Moreno from Georgia Institute of Technology for manufacturing the CDI cell.

Funding

This work was supported by the research grant from European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under FLOWERED project grant agreement number 690378, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) through grant number 16-529 RG/CHE/AF/AC_G–FR3240293305 dated 12 December 2016, and the University of Dodoma.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials and Energy Sciences and Engineering, The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 447, Arusha, Tanzania

    Joyce Elisadiki & Yusufu Abeid Chande Jande

  2. Department of Physics, School of Physical Sciences, College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, University of Dodoma, P.O. Box 338, Dodoma, Tanzania

    Joyce Elisadiki

  3. Water Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy Futures (WISE-Futures) African Centre of Excellence, The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Nelson Mandela Road, Tengeru, Nelson Mandela, P.O. Box 9124, Arusha, Tanzania

    Yusufu Abeid Chande Jande & Revocatus Lazaro Machunda

  4. Department of Physics, Mkwawa University College of Education, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O.Box 2513, Iringa, Tanzania

    Talam Enock Kibona

  5. Department of Water and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 447, Arusha, Tanzania

    Revocatus Lazaro Machunda

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  1. Joyce Elisadiki
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  2. Yusufu Abeid Chande Jande
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Elisadiki, J., Jande, Y.A.C., Kibona, T.E. et al. Highly porous biomass-based capacitive deionization electrodes for water defluoridation. Ionics 26, 2477–2492 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-019-03372-z

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