Improving Secondary Battery Performance by Recycling Mask Waste!

UNIST Produces Carbon Nanotubes from Waste Plastic

A technology has been developed that processes mask waste into advanced materials to enhance battery performance.

Professor Kwangjin Ahn's team from the Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST announced on the 18th that they have developed a process to produce carbon nanotubes from mask waste and apply them as cathode conductive materials in lithium-ion batteries.

First author researcher Eonwoo Nam explained, "Producing carbon nanotubes from mask waste and studying battery performance is a good example of plastic upcycling development," adding, "The process is not limited to mask waste but can also be applied to other waste plastics with similar structures."

Pyrolysis is one of the representative chemical recycling methods that produces pyrolysis oil and hydrocarbon gases from waste plastics.

The hydrocarbon gases generated during this process, such as methane, ethylene, and propylene, are used as raw materials for synthesizing high value-added carbon materials like carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Carbon nanotubes are applied in various industrial fields due to their excellent thermal and electrical conductivity and mechanical strength.

Professor Kwangjin Ahn of the Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering said, "By sequentially utilizing two technologies?'pyrolysis' and 'chemical vapor deposition,' which decomposes hydrocarbons at high temperatures?waste plastics can be upcycled to produce advanced materials such as carbon nanotubes."

Carbon nanotubes are receiving significant attention as cathode conductive materials for lithium-ion batteries. Conductive materials facilitate electron movement between active materials that determine battery capacity.

Using carbon nanotubes as conductive materials offers higher surface area and conductivity compared to conventional carbon black materials. This allows reducing the amount of conductive material used while increasing the input of active materials, thereby enhancing battery capacity and lifespan.

Professor Ahn stated, "We were able to achieve great results through collaboration with various universities and institutions," and added, "We plan to conduct economic and environmental evaluations to assess the scalability and industrial implementation potential of this process."

Professor Myungwon Seo of the University of Seoul emphasized, "Unlike conventional carbon nanotube production methods, the distinctive feature is the use of gases produced by pyrolysis of solid wastes such as masks without a separate separation process," and highlighted, "This achievement will be a core technology in environmental aspects and various advanced industries."

The research was supported by funding from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Materials, Parts Technology Development - Strategic Core Materials Independence Technology Development project and the Leading Research Center collective research project (ERC) funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea under the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The research was featured on the cover of Green Chemistry, an internationally renowned journal in the fields of chemistry and environment published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, and was published online on September 11. The research results have been patented.

The study was jointly conducted by Professor Kwangjin Ahn of UNIST, Professor Kyungjin Lee of Chungnam National University, and Professor Myungwon Seo of the University of Seoul. Technical support was provided by Dr. Howon Ra’s research team at the Korea Institute of Energy Technology, Dr. Youngsoo Park’s research team at the Korea Carbon Industry Promotion Agency, Dr. Jiseon Lim at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, and CEO Deukju Kang of J.O.