Development and optimization of wood-based activated carbon for supercapacitors

Cantimber Biotech Inc.是加拿大唯一一家大型木质活性炭（AC）生产商，其AC目前用于净化水、食品和药品。为了进一步扩大其市场，Cantimber正在寻求增强其AC的特性，以用于高价值和利基应用，即，电化学能量储存装置（超级电容器）。他们的竞争优势是其AC的成本效益和可再生性，该AC是通过无化学热物理过程生产的。然而，其产品的某些特性（例如，目前的研究项目旨在研究Cantimber的AC在电化学吸附应用中的现有性能。在分析这些性质的基础上，将通过实验室规模的研究确定进一步开发所需性质的相应方法。此外，将根据现有商业规模工艺装置提出生产工艺的修改。超级电容器电极将在优化的工艺条件下制造，并与现有的商业材料进行比较。

Cantimber Biotech Inc. is the only large-scale manufacturer of wood-based activated carbon (AC) in Canada.Their AC is currently used for purifying water, food and pharmaceuticals. To further expand their market,Cantimber is looking to enhance the characteristics of their AC to be used in high-value and niche applications,i.e., electrochemical energy storage devices (supercapacitor). Their competitive advantage is thecost-effectiveness and renewability of their AC which is produced by a chemical-free thermo-physical process.However, certain properties of their product (e.g., electrical conductivity) need to be developed to competewith commercial existing carbon-based material.The current research project is aimed at studying the existing properties of Cantimber's AC for electrochemicaladsorption applications. Upon analyzing these properties, corresponding methods to further develop therequired properties will be identified through lab-scale research. Furthermore, the modifications in theproduction process will be proposed based on the existing commercial scale process units. Supercapacitorelectrodes will be made with optimized process conditions and will be compared with the commercial existingmaterial.