Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Bamboo Charcoal Developed As a Battery Component

Banjarbaru Industrial Research and Standardization (Baristand) Center, South Kalimantan, develops bamboo charcoal to be used as a battery component. This material is used to replace dry battery components commonly used from graphite.

"So, bamboo charcoal is a substitute for graphite in the battery component. The bamboo used is betung bamboo which is a natural potential in South Kalimantan," said Head of the Industrial Research and Development Agency (BPPI) of the Ngakan Timur Ministry of Industry, Antara, in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday ( 14/8)

Banjarbaru Industrial Baristand is a technical implementation unit within the Ministry of Industry. According to Ngakan, so far the commonly used dry battery component comes from graphite, which is a non-renewable natural mining mineral.

"The potential for graphite mining in Indonesia is found on the island of Sumatra with the remaining mine production of around 2 million tons or an area of ​​30 hectares," he said.

Therefore, to reduce carbon consumption from natural minerals, it is necessary to look for raw materials that are sustainable, such as bamboo.

"Bamboo as a cultivable plant that has a planting time of about 4-5 years. In addition, bamboo has a high lignocellulose component so that carbon and oxygen levels exceed 90 percent of the overall weight," said Ngakan.

Bamboo charcoal is made by pyrolysis method, which is bamboo carbonized at a temperature of 500-600oC using special equipment.

Furthermore, the charcoal produced is activated using acidic and alkaline chemicals and is given additional metal to increase its electric capacity. The metals used are zinc (Zn) and nickel (Ni) metals.

"Then, nanoparticles were made using high energy mechanic (HEM) based on Ball Mill. The resulting carbon was tested for structure and properties using Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and conductivity, "he explained.

Do not believe, bamboo charcoal will have a more optimal value or electrical capacity if nano-size particles can be formed. At this stage, further development is still carried out.

"The highest electrical conductivity (DHL) was obtained in betung bamboo charcoal with KOH activator and dopping by Zn metal with a DHL value of 7.02 mS / cm," he added.

The potential for developing these raw materials for batteries is also in line with the high usage of smartphones or other gadgets.

Referring to data from the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, smartphone consumers in Indonesia in 2018 will exceed 100 million people or become the fourth most active smartphone user in the world.

"Digitizing technology is a feature of the entry of a country into the digital era, including Indonesia. Moreover, Indonesia is a very large market share with a total population of up to 267 million people. For that, we need to be masters in our own country using local products and components, "said Ngakan.

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