Graphene Produced from Waste Materials

Scientists have developed a technique to produce graphene from waste materials using flash Joule heating technology. The research will reduce the cost of graphene production and minimize its harmful environmental effects. Scientists recognize that graphene is an important material and are seeking new methods to produce it. Researchers at Rice University have achieved a major breakthrough in this field, developing a new processing technique that can convert various waste products into cheap and efficient "flash graphene." Graphene opens doors to exciting possibilities in the world of materials science with its high thermal and electrical conductivity, ultra-thin structure and durability. According to James Tour, a chemist at Rice University, the current commercial price of graphene ranges between USD 67,000 and USD 200,000 per ton and production is quite labor-intensive. Researchers discovering a new way to produce the material are using environmental waste as a carbon source.

New graphene production technique promises lower costs and higher output

The process uses flash Joule heating technology, in which electric current is passed through a conductive material to generate heat. In this technique, carbon-containing materials are heated to approximately 3,000 Kelvin (2,730 degrees Celsius) to convert waste into graphene particles in approximately 10 milliseconds, while the remaining non-carbon elements transform into useful gases. Tour states that when this process is used in industry, elements such as oxygen and nitrogen exiting the flash reactor can be captured as small molecules. The most promising aspect of this new technology is that a wide variety of materials can be used to produce graphene. The team notes that everything from banana peels to coal, other food waste and even plastics can serve as carbon sources, and this technique can be used to produce more graphene at lower cost than existing methods. The team tested plastic and concrete composites enriched with flash graphene and obtained promising results. Researcher Tour emphasized the importance of the research, stating: "By reinforcing concrete with graphene, we could use less concrete in buildings. Production would be lower and shipping costs would be cheaper. In fact, we are capturing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane that waste would release into the soil. We are converting these carbons into graphene and adding this graphene to concrete. Thus, we are reducing the amount of carbon dioxide generated in concrete production. With graphene use, it is a complete win-win scenario." Tour and his team aim to continue developing flash graphene production within the next two years to produce 1 kg of material per day. During this period, their focus will be a new project aimed at converting coal into flash graphene.   Source