Effect of Activation Methods on the Supercapacitor Performance of Hydrochar Derived from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch

Abstract

In this study, the activated carbon (AC) derived from oil-palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) for using in effective supercapacitor application was carried out by two main steps namely hydrothermal carbonization and activation with three different activated agents steam, carbon dioxide and potassium hydroxide for increase of the AC's specific area. The fabricated AC had surface area of 246.9-809.7 m2/g which were extremely higher as compared to the non-activated carbon i.e., 1.1 m2/g. It is concluded that the chemically AC afforded the best material and showed the high specific capacitance of 101.1 F/g at the scan rate of 5 mV/s with 1 M Na2SO4 as neutral electrolyte over the three-electrode cell. The study revealed that EFB could be considered as a promising potential electrode for supercapacitor.