Scientists Obtain Energy-Storing Substances from Tamarind Waste for EVs

Sep, 2021 - By SMI

Researchers in Singapore with an international team have successfully obtained wealth from the waste of tamarind shells.

The world is behind the invention of sustainable solutions to reduce rather than stop the harm to the environment. Electric cars need quick delivering power while accelerating, which can be obtained by the use of supercapacitors. Fortunately, new research has obtained an important component used in such devices. It could be made from tamarind shells which are in anyways waste.

Tamarind is the most commonly used fruit in many Asian countries and neighboring regions. Yet it is not so prominently used in Europe and North America. The disposal of the tamarind shell although compostable is a major concern as it occupies much space in landfills where it is thrown.

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore started a project that also involved researchers from Alagappa University in India and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. The research involved the use of shells to their highest value. This multinational scientist’s team worked towards utilizing the shells as raw material for making nanosheets of carbon. The electrical charge is stored inside supercapacitors.

The scientist after obtaining the tamarind shells from the food industry, washed them clean to dry them for six hours at a temperature of 100ºC. The shells were then crushed into powder. The further procedure involved baking the powder in a furnace at a temperature range of 700 to 900 ºC for 150 minutes in an anaerobic environment.

The powdered shell was thus converted into nanosheets of carbon, these were ultra-thin sheets of carbon. Tamarind shells are porous structured and abundant in carbon and hence they are best suited for this purpose. This substance allowed to store more electricity as the porosity in it provided surface area. The benefits of the whole experiment were that the production process was low energy consumption with a good output of nanosheets. These nanosheets have good conductivity and are stable thermally.