Issue 6, 2021

Valorization of carbon fiber waste from the aeronautics sector: an application in Li-ion batteries

Abstract

Carbon fibers developed by the aerospace industry for enhancing the structural integrity of aircrafts represent a hurdle to recycling at the end of the aircraft's service life. A major issue is the short length and entanglement of the fibers, which limits manufacturing processes as well as reemployment targets in other structural composites. A best-case green solution to this growing problem would involve integrating these recycled carbon fibers into an alternative high-value product. Herein, we present novel free-standing electrodes (FSEs) for use in Li-ion batteries that were synthesized from these recycled aerospace carbon fibers. The high mechanical strength fibers were combined with a LiFePO4 active material, selected for its ultrafast charge/discharge capacity, stability, and minimal environmental impact. The recycled carbon fiber content was varied from 0 to 5 wt% to examine its effect on the positive electrode's electrochemical performance and mechanical stability. The resulting LiFePO4 based FSEs exhibited a total electrode capacity of 141 mA h g−1 and an energy density of 468 W h kg−1. The increase in energy density partly results from the carbon fibers enabling the elimination of the metallic current collector from the composite electrode design. This approach is not environmentally sound for virgin fibers due to the large energy investment required for their production. However, recycled fibers where the energy investment has already been recovered in their primary role offers a unique avenue to enhance Li-ion battery performance, while eliminating an important waste problem.

Graphical abstract: Valorization of carbon fiber waste from the aeronautics sector: an application in Li-ion batteries

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
21 Nov 2020
Accepted
17 Feb 2021
First published
17 Feb 2021

Green Chem., 2021,23, 2464-2470

Valorization of carbon fiber waste from the aeronautics sector: an application in Li-ion batteries

L. Savignac, A. S. Danis, M. Charbonneau and S. B. Schougaard, Green Chem., 2021, 23, 2464 DOI: 10.1039/D0GC03954C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements