Researchers Reuse Waste By Converting Packing Peanuts Into Electrodes For Batteries

A lot of research these days goes into creating newer sources of energy for our many gadgets. The prominent source among these are the Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) batteries which are found in smartphones as well as tablets and many other industrial applications. Well, a team of scientists from Purdue University has been able to convert the packing peanuts into carbon electrodes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and claim that their performance is better than the traditional graphite electrode based batteries. Now packing peanuts are used as loose-fill packaging or cushioning material for preventing damage to fragile objects during shipping. By reusing this waster material, the researchers have found a really great eco-friendly solution for recycling it.

The packing peanuts caught the attention of the Purdue University researchers when they saw the packing peanuts used while shipping material in setting up their new lab. In their aim to produce something useful from these peanuts, the team found a way to manufacture carbon-nanoparticle and microsheet anodes from these thousands of polystyrene and starch-based peanut balls.
The team found out that even if the packing peanuts are used worldwide, only 10% of them are recycled because they aren't easy to break down and the costs of recycling them are pretty high. Thus, they often end up remaining intact after getting dumped in landfills. In these landfills, they can not only contaminate soil, but also disturb the aquatic ecosystems (both flora and fauna). By making them useful again, the used packing peanuts can now serve an important purpose - providing energy through Lithium Ion batteries. Let's find out how the researchers achieve this feat.

By heating the peanuts in a furnace at 500-900 degrees celsius under inert atmosphere in the presence or absence of a transition metal salt catalyst, the researchers were able to produce a material that can be processed into the anodes. This process is not only eco-friendly, but cheap and fit for large scale production too. Because the nanosheets are thin and porous, they allow better contact with the liquid electrolyte in batteries. The tests by the researchers showed that the new batteries deliver superior electrochemical performances even after many charge-discharge cycles.

What are your thoughts on the new kind of material to be used to develop Li-ion batteries? Share with us in comments below.