Lithium-Metal Free Sulfur Battery Based on Waste Biomass Anode and Nano-Sized Li2S Cathode

The realization of a stable lithium-metal free (LiMF) sulfur battery based on amorphous carbon anode and lithium sulfide (Li2S) cathode is here reported. In particular, a biomass waste originating full-cell combining a carbonized brewer's spent grain (CBSG) biochar anode with a Li2S-graphene composite cathode (Li2S70Gr30) is proposed. This design is particularly attractive for applying a cost-effective, high performance, environment friendly, and safe anode material, as an alternative to standard graphite and metallic lithium in emerging battery technologies. The anodic and cathodic materials are characterized in terms of structure, morphology and composition through X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopies. Furthermore, an electrochemical characterization comprising galvanostatic cycling, rate capability and cyclic voltammetry tests were carried out both in half-cell and full-cell configurations. The systematic investigation reveals that unlike graphite, the biochar electrode displays good compatibility with the electrolyte typically employed in sulfur batteries. The CBSG/Li2S70Gr30 full-cell demonstrates an initial charge and discharge capacities of 726 and 537 mAh g−1, respectively, at 0.05C with a coulombic efficiency of 74%. Moreover, it discloses a reversible capacity of 330 mAh g−1 (0.1C) after over 300 cycles. Based on these achievements, the CBSG/Li2S70Gr30 battery system can be considered as a promising energy storage solution for electric vehicles (EVs), especially when taking into account its easy scalability to an industrial level. © 2022 The Authors. Energy & Environmental Materials published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Zhengzhou University

Effects of SiO2-based scaffolds in TiO2 photocatalyzed CO2 reduction

CO2 photoreduction has claimed as appealing process to upgrade a waste gas into valuable fuels or chemicals. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is one of the most popular material used as catalyst for this reaction, having however a poor activity. The utilization of transparent, insulating and highly porous scaffolds to support a photoactive phase has been reported as one of the possible strategies to improve the performances of this material. In this work, two silica-based materials with different porosity type and level, were involved as support for the TiO2 and assessed in the gas-phase CO2 photoreduction with H2O. The morphological, structural and surface properties were then evaluated by means of different characterization techniques, aiming to correlate them with the catalytic activity and selectivity. The TiO2-SiO2 composites revealed a comparable activity compared to pure TiO2, despite the low fraction of photoactive phase due to improved light harvesting and reagents adsorption on the composites. The CO2 capture/photoconverting ability was evaluated, to explore the potentiality as multifunctional material

Life goast green organic agents for sustainable tanneries

LIFE GOAST Green Organic Agents for Sustainable Tanneries (LIFE ENV/IT/000416) belongs to European LIFE programme which supports and promotes the research and innovation on environmental and sustainability topics. The project started on July 2017 and is an ongoing investigation, and involves the competences of three direct actors in the leather industry such as GSC Group spa as chemical supplier, Conceria Pasubio as tannery and Mediochiampo as waste-water treatment agency, in conjunction with the expertise of Università 'Ca Foscari di Venezia. It aims at demonstrating the benefits of a new tanning technology on a semi-industrial scale, particularly focusing at the tanning stage of the leather manufacture, and put itself as a more sustainable alternative to Traditional Chrome Tanning Process (TCTP). The technical feasibility of LIFE GOAST implementation, as well as its social and economic impact, have been monitored and compared with the TCTP in order to demonstrate the reduced environmental impacts of the new process, while producing comparable or better quality leather. It was then demonstrated that it was possible to treat collagen with the GOAST technology to give stabilised collagen to be used in the leather industry. A series of leather swatches were realised according to the new protocol in order to obtain preliminary information on chemical oxygen demand COD of the effluents and technical feasibility of the process. The results were remarkable: the collected waste-water generated from tanning and retanning showed COD values in line with TCTP and it was possible to obtain soft and firm grain leather despite a shrinkage temperature lower than chromium process