Researchers developed a new method of creating lithium-ion batteries using ferric oxide derived from peanut shells and published their findings in the Journal of Energy Storage.
Lithium-ion batteries work by moving lithium ions between two electrodes with opposite polarity: the cathode (positively charged) and the anode (negatively charged). Currently, the majority of anodes in lithium-ion batteries are made using carbon-based materials such as graphite, silicon, or a combination of both.
However, scientists who work on these batteries believe that we can do better.
"It is common knowledge that graphite anodes have the problem of poor capacity and are associated with safety concerns," wrote the authors of another scientific study published in the scientific journal Applied Surface Science Advances titled, "Anode materials for lithium-ion batteries: A review." The authors wrote that, as a result, "Many high-performance anode materials have been explored as novel materials for the next generation of [lithium-ion batteries]."
The latest of these anode materials is the one made out of peanut shells, which, the researchers explained, are attractive as a material because of how inexpensive they are.
"Efforts have been made to find cheap raw materials as hard carbon sources and suitable pyrolysis processes to improve the cyclic performance," they wrote.
The researchers also tried carbon-containing materials made from bamboo, tremella, mulberry leaves, wood, and green tea.
Using a commonly discarded organic material such as peanut shells to make lithium-ion batteries is an elegant solution to two problems at once. In addition to helping to improve the efficiency, safety, and cost of the batteries, it would help to tackle food waste — ensuring that the shells go to some use instead of taking up space in landfills and emitting planet-overheating gases as they slowly decompose.
Similarly, another team of researchers recently developed a method of recycling lithium-ion batteries using citrus fruit peels.
Peanut shells have also been proposed as an ideal component for biofuel.
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