MOSCOW, 9 Oct. The technology for producing refractory ceramics using high-temperature decomposition products of citrus peels was developed by Tomsk Polytechnic scientists. According to them, the created sample can effectively capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and could become a key element in decarbonization strategies. The results are presented in the New Journal of Chemistry.
As Tomsk Polytechnic experts noted, today countries and companies are striving either for waste-free production, or are developing waste disposal strategies with maximum benefit for other industrial applications.
The greatest interest, according to chemists, is plant waste — seeds, zest, shells, leaves and other inedible plant fragments, since it is possible to obtain pure carbon with different structures from them. It is used for the synthesis of various compounds, which are then used in electronics, medicine, and aircraft manufacturing.
Experts said that carbon compounds with certain metals make it possible to create materials with improved physical, electrical and mechanical properties, used in extreme conditions, for example in the vacuum of space or in chemically aggressive environments.
One such substance is titanium carbide (TiC). In addition to narrow applications in unusual conditions, it is used, for example, in batteries, catalysts for the production of palladium and simple organic compounds, as well as in effective filters that capture carbon dioxide from the air.
Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University proposed a new method for producing titanium carbide using biocarbon from pomelo peel.
“Each plant has its own structure, which is repeated in the morphology of the carbon obtained from it. We conducted research on the resulting carbon and found that of all the plant wastes we use, carbon from pomelo peel has excellent properties for producing refractory ceramics,” said the associate professor scientifically -educational center I.N. Butakov Tomsk Polytechnic Kirill Larionov.
The synthesis of titanium carbide was carried out from titanium powder and carbon from pomelo peel without the use of vacuum, which significantly reduced energy costs and production time. And the characteristics of the new product in some cases exceeded the characteristics of titanium carbide powder obtained using carbon black, noted one of the authors of the project, engineer of the laboratory of advanced materials of the energy industry of TPU Arina Svinukhova.
«Its main advantages are low cost and has a larger specific surface area, meaning it reacts better with the metal,” she added.
< /span>
As Alexander Pak, head of the strategic project “Future Energy” of Tomsk Polytechnic University, noted, this research fits into the global agenda of the fourth energy transition, affects the processes of recycling waste and obtaining useful materials from them. Thus, ceramics made from plant carbon can not only capture carbon dioxide, but also utilize carbon.
Scientists plan to continue work on synthesizing titanium carbides using other types of biocarbon and making ceramics based on it to compare its properties with similar samples.
Tomsk Polytechnic University is a participant in the state support program for universities of the Russian Federation «Priority-2030» of the national project «Science and Universities».