Chicken Feathers-Derived Carbon Electrodes for Capacitive Deionization

Abstract

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an emerging technology which is being developed as a promising desalination alternative for charged species from salt water, being electrode materials as key drivers for highly efficient process. In this study, we report sustainable, scalable and stable carbon electrodes for CDI. Electrodes were synthesized from poultry chicken feathers waste using pyrolysis followed by chemical activation with potassium hydroxide at a 1:4 ratio to produce highly porous carbon. Poultry chicken feathers-activated carbon (CF-AC) were prepared and fabricated into electrodes using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) binder and later crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (GA) to produce a PVA-GA polymer due to its hydrophilicity by acetylation reaction to improve the resistance of carbon material. Prepared materials were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and cyclic voltammetry. Fabricated CDI electrodes were used to investigate their performance for desalination, and exhibited different electrosorption capacity at different applied potentials. Modified electrode possessed good stability in shear conditions and CDI process was stable and reproducible around 16 electrosorption cycles. Salt removal capacity of PVA-GA-bonded CF-AC (PVA-GA-CF-AC) electrodes was found to be 3.89 mg g-1. The obtained outcomes offer important considerations of ions electrosorption and help advancing CDI system for water treatment and desalination.