Graphite Electrode Carbon Footprint

Graphite, a material used in the production of lithium-ion cells for electric vehicles, is a critical component. The growth of the battery industry has caused disruptions to the graphite chain, which are increasing costs. Several countries have ambitious energy storage targets that will increase the use of graphite and make it an important raw material. However, no study currently provides a comprehensive overview of natural and synthetic graphite in various end uses from a whole life cycle perspective for the United States.

The purpose of the current article is to close existing data gaps using transparent primary information from a Chinese graphite supplier to conduct a Cradle-to Gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for a graphite material used as anode in lithium-ion batteries. The LCA is a comprehensive assessment of the material and energy flows, as well the associated direct emissions, from the production process for battery anode and the transport activities in the supply chain.

Mixing the conductive material and sodium carboxymethylcellulose (Walocel NA-CMC Mw) produced a pristine electrode of graphite as well as a carbon-coated electrode. The electrochemical performance of both types of graphite electrodes was evaluated by a C-rate test and constant cycling at C/2. In order to assess the electrochemical performance, both types of graphite were subjected to a C/Rate test and constant cycling with C/2. The results are shown in Figure 6. The first cycle voltage plot and a small portion of the differential capability plot for carbon-coated material show that it has a much higher discharge capacity. Carbon-coated carbon electrodes show higher values of coulombic efficacy in the second cycling.

In addition, carbon-coated Graphite has a greater ability to disperse Lithium Metal during the lithiation. Carbon-coated graphite electrodes require less lithium to be loaded compared with pristine graphite. These results suggest the carbon coating improves electrode performance by enabling quicker lithium diffusion and providing greater surface area for sodium to be stored during the lithiation. The reduction in lithium metal can lower the cost of energy-storage solutions. This improvement could contribute to China achieving its carbon peak emissions target. The authors wish to thank the National Science Foundation for their support under Grant No. 1746301. The project site contains all the data required for this analysis. The link is in the section Additional Supporting Information. The authors have declared that they do not have any conflicts of interest. The work took place at the Joint Laboratory of Applied Research in Sustainable Energy of University of Wisconsin-Madison ArgonneNational Laboratory. Open access to this article under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 2024 Elsevier Ltd., All Rights Reserved. This does not alter the author's adherence to all the journal's editorial policies. Please contact our editorial office with any questions.

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