Functional utilization of biochar derived from Tenebrio molitor feces for CO2 capture and supercapacitor applications.

Abstract

Biochar has attracted great interest in both CO2 capture and supercapacitor applications due to its unique physicochemical properties and low cost. Fabrication of eco-friendly and cost-effective biochar from high potential biomass Tenebrio molitor feces can not only realize the functional application of waste, but also a potential way of future carbon capture and energy storage technology. In this study, a novel KOH activation waste-fed Tenebrio molitor feces biochar (TMFB) was developed and investigated in terms of CO2 capture and electrochemical performance. When activated at 700 °C for 1 h, the specific surface area of the feces biochar (TMFB-700A) increased significantly from 232.1 to 2081.8 m2 g−1. In addition, well-developed pore distribution facilitates CO2 capture and electrolyte diffusion. TMFB-700A can quickly adsorb a large amount of CO2 (3.05 mol kg−1) with excellent recycling performance. TMFB-700A also exhibited promising electrochemical performance (335.8 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1) and was used as electrode material in a symmetrical supercapacitor. It provided a high energy density of 33.97 W h kg−1 at a power density of 0.25 kW kg−1 with 90.47% capacitance retention after 10 000 charge–discharge cycles. All the results demonstrated that TMFB could be a potential bifunctional material and provided valuable new insights for Tenebrio molitor feces high-value utilization.