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Description
In the frame of SuNaMa project innovative nanocarbon materials will be synthesized from the waste of wood industry, biorefineries, as well the pulp and paper industry. Industrial waste will be used to synthesize novel, highly conductive, electrocatalytically active, durable, cost effective and high surface area nanocarbon materials. Novel nanocarbon materials will be achieved by activation and pyrolysis approach together with heteroatom doping. These materials are potential candidates to be employed in low carbon energy technologies such as ultracapacitors, metal-air batteries and fuel cells. This would represent a significant breakthrough in the renewable and low-carbon energy technology sector and exponentially widen the market with an environmentally friendly, low-cost technology with a substantial impact on reducing CO2 emission as well the environmental hazard produced various industries.
The objectives of the SuNaMa project are clearly novel with a high degree of challenge and sophistication, and have been focused to improve the performance of the state-of-the-art ultracapacitors, metal-air batteries and fuel cells as well significantly reduce the price of these technologies. The present project involves collaborative research in fundamental and applied physics and chemistry, which enables the applicants to get acquaintance with several active research groups in Baltic States and Norway. Using in-depth knowledge of Glomment Technology AS in biorefining chemistry and comprehensive know-how of carbon material synthesis brought by Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry (LSIWC), porous nanocarbon materials will be synthesized and employed as the electrode materials.
Summary of project results
The development of fuel cell technologies is currently one of the most important environmentally friendly alternative energy topics. Project team intend to make an essential breakthrough in this area and give additional value to the wood-industry waste which usually will be just burned or will become the waste-issue. The main Project goal was to create cheap and environmentally friendly carbon materials that would substitute expensive carbide-derived carbons, carbon nanotubes and graphene.
During the project, efficient carbon materials having significantly high specific surface areas, high performance, and stability for oxygen reduction were prepared. The developed materials were used for ultracapacitor manufacturing and testing. They also were tested in metal-air battery and fuel cells.
Main results :
1. expected materials, e.g., biological wastes from wood and paper industry were found to be excellent promoters of catalysts for different catalytic processes;
2. the results showed that the carbon materials obtained during this project are innovative and exhibit high-performance properties in green energy conversion processes;
3. the expected economic effect should be appreciable by using newly developed low-cost carbon materials from biological biowastes.
Summary of bilateral results
The research teams exchange was very useful for obtaining new knowledge as well as in experimental view, e.g., using different facilities of the project participants. The physical meetings between partners and exchanges with young researchers were very helpful for more comprehensive international cooperation and dissemination of knowledge and experience in the synthesis of novel catalysts from biomass resources and helped to broaden and deepen subject knowledge. The joint work was useful in the preparation of joint applications to be submitted for further funding.