Home
Resources
Publications
Recycling of Typical Supercapacitor Materials

Recycling of Typical Supercapacitor Materials

Eleni C Vermisoglou, Maria Giannouri, Nadia Todorova, Tatiana Giannakopoulou, Constantina Lekakou, Christos Trapalis

Waste Manag Res. 2016 Apr;34(4):337-44.

PMID: 26862148

Abstract:

A simple, facile and low-cost method for recycling of supercapacitor materials is proposed. This process aims to recover some fundamental components of a used supercapacitor, namely the electrolyte salt tetraethyl ammonium tetrafluoroborate (TEABF4) dissolved in an aprotic organic solvent such as acetonitrile (ACN), the carbonaceous material (activated charcoal, carbon nanotubes) purified, the current collector (aluminium foil) and the separator (paper) for further utilization. The method includes mechanical shredding of the supercapacitor in order to reduce its size, and separation of aluminium foil and paper from the carbonaceous resources containing TEABF4 by sieving. The extraction of TEABF4 from the carbonaceous material was based on its solubility in water and subsequent separation through filtering and distillation. A cyclic voltammetry curve of the recycled carbonaceous material revealed supercapacitor behaviour allowing a potential reutilization. Furthermore, as BF4(-) stemming from TEABF4 can be slowly hydrolysed in an aqueous environment, thus releasing F(-) anions, which are hazardous, we went on to their gradual trapping with calcium acetate and conversion to non-hazardous CaF2.

Chemicals Related in the Paper:

Catalog Number	Product Name	Structure	CAS Number	Price
AP13826830	Ammonium tetrafluoroborate		13826-83-0	Price

As a specialist in analytical chemical Products, Alfa Chemistry offers consumers a wealth of raw materials and a full range of technologies and services.

QUICK LINKS

HEADQUARTERS

Tel:

Fax:

Email: