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Development of Low-Cost DDGS-Based Activated Carbons and Their Applications in Environmental Remediation and High-Performance Electrodes for Supercapacitors

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Abstract

A one-step, facile method to produce 3-dimensional porous activated carbons (ACs) from corn residual dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) by microwave-assisted chemical activation was developed. The ACs’ application potentials in dye removal and supercapacitor electrodes were also demonstrated. The porous structure and surface properties of the ACs were characterized by N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the surface area of the as-prepared ACs was up to 1000 m2/g. In the dye removal tests, these DDGS-based ACs exhibited a maximum adsorption ratio of 477 mg/g on methylene blue. In electric double layer capacitors, electrochemical tests indicated that the ACs had ideal capacitive and reversible behaviors and exhibited excellent electrochemical performance. The specific capacitance varied between 120 and 210 F/g under different scan rates and current densities. In addition, the capacitors showed excellent stability even after one thousand charge–discharge cycles. The specific capacitance was further increased up to 300 F/g by in situ synthesis of MnO2 particles in the ACs to induce pseudo-capacitance. This research showed that the DDGS-based ACs had great potentials in environmental remediation and energy storage applications.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Jessica Lattimer for the training of the microwave furnace and Drs. Yechun Wang and Qixin Zhou for their assistance to the EIS experiment. The authors also gratefully thank Guofeng Ren from Texas Tech University for helpful and enlightening discussion.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108, USA

    Yong Wang, Long Jiang & Chad Ulven

  2. Program of Materials and Nanotechnology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108, USA

    Yong Wang & Long Jiang

  3. COHMAS Laboratory, Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia

    Jian Zhou & Gilles Lubineau

  4. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108, USA

    Guodong Liu

  5. Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108, USA

    Jianchao Xiao

Authors
  1. Yong Wang
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  2. Jian Zhou
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  3. Long Jiang
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  4. Chad Ulven
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  5. Gilles Lubineau
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  6. Guodong Liu
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  7. Jianchao Xiao
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Long Jiang or Gilles Lubineau.

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Funding

Research funds from North Dakota Corn Council and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Baseline are greatly appreciated.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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Wang, Y., Zhou, J., Jiang, L. et al. Development of Low-Cost DDGS-Based Activated Carbons and Their Applications in Environmental Remediation and High-Performance Electrodes for Supercapacitors. J Polym Environ 23, 595–605 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-015-0741-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-015-0741-8

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