15 April 2024 | Xiangdong Zhu, Litao Lin, Mingyue Pang, Chao Jia, Longlong Xia, Guosheng Shi, Shicheng Zhang, Yuanda Lu, Liming Sun, Fengbo Yu, Jie Gao, Zehlin He, Xuan Wu, Aodi Li, Liang Wang, Meiling Wang, Kai Cao, Weigu0 Fu, Huakui Chen, Gang Li, Jiabao Zhang, Yujun Wang, Yi Yang & Yong-Guan Zhu
This study presents a continuous and low-carbon production method for flash graphene (FG) from biomass. The researchers developed an integrated automatic system with energy-efficient allocation to achieve continuous FG production with significantly reduced carbon footprint. The system uses a programmable logic controller to coordinate modular components, enabling the turnover of biomass FG production. A pyrolysis-FJH nexus was proposed, where pyrolysis is first used to release biomass pyrolytic volatiles, followed by FJH reaction to optimize FG structure. Biochar with appropriate resistance self-suffices to initiate the FJH reaction, resulting in a low carbon emission of 1.9 g CO₂-eq g⁻¹ graphene, a reduction of up to 86.1% compared to traditional biomass-based FG production. The system also addresses the high carbon footprint caused by excessive energy use in AC-FJH and carbon black utilization. The integrated device significantly improves production rate, with a sample tray of 16 samples produced in -8 min with a high yield of 21.6 g h⁻¹. The system enables the production of high-purity FG with few-layer structures, demonstrating excellent dispersibility, catalytic, and photothermal properties. The study also evaluates various production pathways, showing that biochar-involved FG production has significantly lower carbon emissions. The continuous production of FG at pilot scale is feasible, with biomass such as sawdust and bamboo producing high-purity FG with low carbon emissions. The study highlights the potential of the pyrolysis-FJH nexus for sustainable FG production, offering a promising solution for large-scale applications. The results demonstrate that the integrated system can achieve low-carbon, continuous FG production, with significant environmental and economic benefits.This study presents a continuous and low-carbon production method for flash graphene (FG) from biomass. The researchers developed an integrated automatic system with energy-efficient allocation to achieve continuous FG production with significantly reduced carbon footprint. The system uses a programmable logic controller to coordinate modular components, enabling the turnover of biomass FG production. A pyrolysis-FJH nexus was proposed, where pyrolysis is first used to release biomass pyrolytic volatiles, followed by FJH reaction to optimize FG structure. Biochar with appropriate resistance self-suffices to initiate the FJH reaction, resulting in a low carbon emission of 1.9 g CO₂-eq g⁻¹ graphene, a reduction of up to 86.1% compared to traditional biomass-based FG production. The system also addresses the high carbon footprint caused by excessive energy use in AC-FJH and carbon black utilization. The integrated device significantly improves production rate, with a sample tray of 16 samples produced in -8 min with a high yield of 21.6 g h⁻¹. The system enables the production of high-purity FG with few-layer structures, demonstrating excellent dispersibility, catalytic, and photothermal properties. The study also evaluates various production pathways, showing that biochar-involved FG production has significantly lower carbon emissions. The continuous production of FG at pilot scale is feasible, with biomass such as sawdust and bamboo producing high-purity FG with low carbon emissions. The study highlights the potential of the pyrolysis-FJH nexus for sustainable FG production, offering a promising solution for large-scale applications. The results demonstrate that the integrated system can achieve low-carbon, continuous FG production, with significant environmental and economic benefits.