Manufacturing of supercapacitor carbon electrodes based on a mixture of acacia bark and nutmeg leaf waste for environmentally friendly energy storage

Titin Hartini, Novi Yanti, Erman Taer, Apriwandi Apriwandi, Vira Friska, Pharada Kresna, Julnaidi Julnaidi, Muhammad Nasir, Minarni Shiddiq, Erwin Amiruddin, Awaludin Martin, Rika Taslim

Abstract


The utilization of biomass waste as a source of functional materials for energy storage systems is an important focus in the development of environmentally friendly and sustainable technologies. In this study, a mixture of acacia shell waste and nutmeg leaves as plantation waste was processed into activated carbon through an integrated chemical and physical activation process. The process begins with chemical activation using a 0.5 M ZnCl solution, carbonization in a nitrogen (N2) gas atmosphere from a temperature of 30°C – 600°C, followed by further thermal activation in a CO2 gas atmosphere from a temperature of 600°C – 850°C. This method aims to produce activated carbon with high porosity and increase the accessibility of electrolyte ions. The activated carbon mixture of acacia shell waste and nutmeg leaves produced quite large porosity with a density shrinkage percentage reaching 28.4%. Electrochemical characterization was carried out in a two-electrode configuration using 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte at a scan rate of 1 mV/s. The test results show that the activated carbon produced has a specific capacitance of 118.7 F/g with an energy density and power density of 59.08 Wh/kg and 164 W/kg, demonstrating competitive electrochemical performance as a supercapacitor electrode material. These findings prove that the mixture of acacia shell and nutmeg leaf waste has high potential to be developed as a base material for high-performance activated carbon, while providing solutions to waste management issues and future energy material needs.

Keywords


Activated carbon; biomass; chemical-physical activation; supercapacitor; sustainable energy

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.31258/jkfi.22.3.227-232

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