Lignocellulosic biomass for ethanol production and preparation of activated carbon applied for supercapacitor

To make full use lignocellulosic biomass resources, comprehensive utilization of this renewable energy resource was proposed. In this work, Amygdalus pedunculata shell served as typical lignocellulosic biomass was used for ethanol production and activated carbon preparation, and the maximum ethanol yield 0.0158 g g(-1) and activated carbon with maximum BET surface 2059 m(2) g-1 were obtained. Additionally, the porous carbon was systematically characterized and applied as electrode material for supercapacitor which exhibits high specific capacitance of 358.4 F g(-1) at a current density of 0.5 A g(-1). After 1000 cycles, the capacitor still exhibited a stable performance with capacitance retention of 86.3% at a current density of 5 A g(-1). The conversion of Amygdalus pedunculata shell to bioethanol and activated carbon applied as electrode material in high performance supercapacitor offers significant potentials for comprehensive utilization of lignocellulosic biomass. (C) 2016 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.