Brazil’s Klabin and ISI developing battery anode from paper processing byproduct

Brazilian paper manufacturer Klabin and the electrochemistry arm of chemical industry body the Senai Institute of Innovation (ISI) is working on developing promising battery anode material hard carbon (HC) from Kraft lignin, a byproduct of paper pulp processing.

The second phase of the project seeks to consolidate the material as a competitive, affordable, more sustainable alternative to synthetic graphite for lithium-ion battery anodes.

ISI Electrochemistry researcher Francisca Elenice de Oliveira said the project’s focus has been on modifying lignin to optimize its application as an anode. “The optimizations have addressed surface area control, pore distribution, and hard carbon purity,” she said. “These factors are essential for increasing ion storage capacity and the efficiency of battery charge and discharge rates. In the new phase [of development], the expectation is to scale up production of the material and further improve it so that it can compete in performance with commercial products already established on the market.”

Overcoming the technical challenges inherent in lignin processing has been a milestone of the project. Amorphous and structurally irregular Kraft lignin has been transformed by pyrolysis processes which alter its morphology and crystalline structure. Pyrolysis is the thermal degradation of materials at high temperature in an inert, oxygen-free atmosphere.

ISI Electrochemistry staff have already improved the electrochemical properties of the material and want to test the HC in cylindrical battery prototypes to demonstrate industrial-scale viability.

The project involves use of ISI Electrochemistry’s battery and supercapacitor pilot plant, which mimics the battery production chain, from coin cells to cylindrical devices.

With China dominant in the production of synthetic graphite, Kraft lignin-derived HC could diversify global supply and reduce battery costs.

From pv magazine Brasil.