Using crude residual glycerol as precursor of sustainable activated carbon electrodes for capacitive deionization desalination

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a promising electrochemical technology for water desalination that can contribute to reducing water scarcity. At the same time, appropriate routes for the disposal or reuse of liquid wastes are also a major current concern. Based on the water-waste nexus concept, this work demonstrates that crude glycerol from biodiesel plants can be successfully used to obtain a new sustainable activated carbon. After polymerization, the crude glycerol was carbonized and activated to obtain polyglyceml activated carbon (PGAC), which was employed as an electrode for CDI desalination of brackish water. Evaluation was made of the electrode performance and stability over cycles of electrosorption/desorption, using different cell configurations (symmetric, asymmetric, and membrane CDI) and cell voltages (E-cell). It was observed that maintaining the potential of zero charge of the negative and positive electrodes outside their working domains during the cycles enabled minimization of that part of the applied potential deviated to co-ion repulsion, consequently improving the salt adsorption capacity (SAC) and charge efficiency (Q(E)). Furthermore, maintaining the potential of the positive electrode below the oxidation potential by controlling the applied E-cell could ensure electrode stability. The best desalination performance using the PGAC electrode was achieved using the membrane CDI configuration (at 1.6 V), resulting in stable SAC (similar to 27.1 mg g(-1)) and Q(E) (similar to 100%) over 50 cycles. The low cost and high SAC and Q(E) values suggested that the PGAC electrode could be considered a potential candidate for use in CDI desalination.

Automated summary

This study successfully utilized waste crude glycerol to produce sustainable activated carbon for capacitive deionization (CDI) desalination, demonstrating improved salt adsorption capacity and charge efficiency through controlling electrode potential and E-cell. The activated carbon electrode showed stable performance in membrane CDI configuration, suggesting its potential as a low-cost and effective option for water desalination.