Bio‑Derived Materials for Electrochemical Energy and Environmental Systems

A special issue of Bioengineering (ISSN 2306-5354). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemical Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 96

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Guest Editor
Ampère Lab, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, 69134 Ecully, France
Interests: electrochemical sensors; biosensors; microbial fuel cells; wastewater treatment; electrochemical treatment; Galvano–Fenton process; biochar-based electrodes
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The transition toward a sustainable society calls for the replacement of critical and fossil‑derived components in electrochemical devices by abundant, renewable, and low‑impact alternatives. Bio‑sourced materials—ranging from biomass‑derived carbons and biochars to lignin, chitosan, cellulose nanofibres, and other biopolymers—are emerging as high‑performance candidates for electrodes, membranes, binders, and catalysts in next‑generation electrochemical systems. Their intrinsic porosity, rich surface chemistry, and tunable functionality enable competitive performance while drastically reducing environmental footprints and fostering a circular economy.

This Special Issue aims to gather cutting‑edge research and critical reviews on the design, characterization, and integration of bio‑derived materials in devices such as microbial fuel cells, supercapacitors, metal‑ion batteries, redox‑flow batteries, electrolyzers, and electro‑synthesis reactors. Contributions that link molecular‑scale understanding to device‑level performance, address scalability and life‑cycle assessment, or showcase advanced characterization techniques are particularly welcome. We invite original research articles, short communications, perspectives, and comprehensive reviews.

We look forward to your valuable contributions to this exciting and evolving field.

Dr. Naoufel Haddour
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • bio‑sourced materials
  • biomass‑derived carbon
  • biopolymers
  • microbial fuel cells
  • supercapacitors
  • sustainable batteries
  • biochar electrodes
  • bio‑inspired catalysis

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 1807 KiB  
Article
Influence of Pyrolysis Temperature on the Properties and Electrochemical Performance of Cedar Wood-Derived Biochar for Supercapacitor Electrodes
by Layal Abdallah, Chantal Gondran, Virginie Monnier, Christian Vollaire and Naoufel Haddour
Bioengineering 2025, 12(8), 841; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12080841 (registering DOI) - 4 Aug 2025
Abstract
This study examines the effect of temperature during pyrolysis on the capacity of cedar wood-derived biochar to be employed as a sustainable electrode material for supercapacitors. Cedar wood-derived biochars were produced at different temperatures of 800 °C, 900 °C, 1000 °C and 1100 [...] Read more.
This study examines the effect of temperature during pyrolysis on the capacity of cedar wood-derived biochar to be employed as a sustainable electrode material for supercapacitors. Cedar wood-derived biochars were produced at different temperatures of 800 °C, 900 °C, 1000 °C and 1100 °C and fully characterized in terms of their structural, physicochemical and electrochemical properties, including specific surface area, hydrophobicity, electrical conductivity, and surface functional groups. The results indicated that the cedar wood biochar obtained through pyrolysis at 900 °C (BC900) provided optimal electrical conductivity, hydrophobicity, and porosity characteristics relative to the other cedar wood biochars produced by pyrolysis at 800 °C to 1100 °C. Specifically, when compared to commercial activated carbon (AC), BC900 provided half the specific capacitance at a current density of 1 A g−1 and indicated that there is more potential for improvement with further activation and doping. The influence of the binder (either polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) or chitosan) in combination with conductive carbon black (CB) was also examined. Electrodes fabricated with PVDF binder showed higher specific capacitance, while biochar electrodes made from CB and chitosan (BC900/CB/chitosan) showed better electrical conductivity, wettability, and good electrochemical stability with >95% capacity retention even after 10,000 cycles. Full article
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