Unlocking the Potential of Carbonized Lignin for Sustainable Battery Anodes—Coupling Life Cycle and Economic Assessments with Technical Advancements

The global demand for energy storage solutions has led to increasing scrutiny of supply chains and environmental impacts of battery materials. Graphite, a widely used anode material in lithium-ion batteries, is both energy-intensive to produce and reliant on non-renewable resources. These challenges necessitate the exploration of sustainable alternatives. Lignin, derived from wood and an abundant byproduct of pulp and paper manufacturing, offers a renewable and domestically sourced carbon precursor for battery anodes.¹ This research investigates the use of carbonized lignin as a sustainable alternative to graphite for sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries, with focus both on enhancing its electrochemical performance through catalytic graphitization and assessing its environmental impact through life cycle analysis.
In the first part of this work, we conduct a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) and technoeconomic analysis (TEA) to quantify the environmental benefits of replacing synthetic graphite with carbonized lignin in Li-ion batteries. LCA results show a 36% reduction in energy consumption and a 60% reduction in non-biogenic carbon emissions during production compared to synthetic graphite.² These findings underscore the economic viability and scalability of lignin-based anodes, demonstrating their potential to contribute to reducing the environmental footprint of battery manufacturing.
We will also discuss the experimental control over the electrochemical performance of carbonized lignin anodes by introducing graphitization catalysts during pyrolysis. Key challenges hindering the use of carbonized lignin anodes for lithium-ion batteries are low initial Coulombic efficiency and low reversible capacity. This is due in part to the presence of minimal graphitic domains and exacerbated lithium trapping given the random nanostructure of lignin-derived hard carbon.³ For carbonized lignin anodes to contend with conventional graphite anodes, their charge storage and electrochemical degradation mechanisms must be further understood and improved.^4,5 By incorporating various transition metal catalysts, we aim to improve the degree of graphitization within the lignin-derived carbon structure, thereby enhancing charge storage capacity and reversibility. Systematic electrochemical studies in both sodium-ion and lithium-ion systems, combined with advanced characterization techniques such as BET, X-Ray Diffraction, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, reveal that partial graphitization induced by these catalysts significantly improves the electrochemical performance of the anodes. Additionally, the investigation of degradation mechanisms in both full and half-cell configurations provides insights into the long-term stability of the material.
This work couples economic and life cycle analysis, with the development of novel lignocellulosic battery materials, thus positioning carbonized lignin as a transformative material, capable of reshaping the energy storage landscape and paving the way for more sustainable and economically viable battery technologies.
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2. Dunn, J. et al. Material and Energy Flows in the Production of Cathode and Anode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries. (2015).
3. Zhang, H., Zhang, W. & Huang, F. Graphene inducing graphitization: Towards a hard carbon anode with ultrahigh initial coulombic efficiency for sodium storage. Chemical Engineering Journal 434, 134503 (2022).
4. García-Negrón, V. et al. Processing–Structure–Property Relationships for Lignin-Based Carbonaceous Materials Used in Energy-Storage Applications. Energy Technology 5, 1311–1321 (2017).
5. Demir, M. et al. Graphitic Biocarbon from Metal-Catalyzed Hydrothermal Carbonization of Lignin. Ind Eng Chem Res 54, 10731–10739 (2015).