In a procedure developed by a team from CAS Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Environmental Technology, biomass was gasified to syngas using oxygen and steam.A side-product was biomass-rich oxygenated residual biochar. It showed good physicochemical properties, with a specific surface area of 1715 m2 g-1 and a graphene-like sheet structure. The application in lithium carbon ion batteries showed good performance with an average charge capacity of 327 mAh g-1 at a current density of 100 mA g-1 and a battery Coulomb efficiency of 99.5% at a current density of 500 mA g-1. The study expands new avenues for the downstream high value-added utilization of bio-semi-coke, which is expected to improve the overall economic performance of the biomass conversion and utilization process.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.118771