Development and optimization of wood-based activated carbon for supercapacitors

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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.