Upcycling Waste Cotton Cloth into a Carbon Textile: A Durable and Scalable Layer for Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Applications

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Sustainability

Publication Date

12-23-2024

Abstract

In our investigation, we unveil a novel, eco-friendly, and cost-effective method for crafting a bio-derived electrode using discarded cotton fabric via a carbonization procedure, marking its inaugural application in a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). Our findings showcase the superior reaction surface area, heightened carbon content, and enhanced catalytic prowess for vanadium reactions exhibited by this carbonized waste cloth (CWC) electrode compared to commercially treated graphite felt (TT-GF). Therefore, the VRFB system equipped with these custom electrodes surpasses its treated graphite felt counterpart (61% at an equivalent current) and achieves an impressive voltage efficiency of 70% at a current density of 100 mA cm−2. Notably, energy efficiency sees a notable uptick from 58% to 67% under the same current density conditions. These compelling outcomes underscore the immense potential of the carbonized waste cotton cloth electrode for widespread integration in VRFB installations at scale.

ISSN

2071-1050

Publisher

MDPI AG

Volume

16

Issue

24

First Page

11289

Last Page

11289

Disciplines

Engineering

Keywords

Carbon textile, Upcycling, Waste cotton cloth, Vanadium redox flow battery, Eco-friendly electrode

Indexed in Scopus

no

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series

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