Mesoporous carbon synthesized from sewage sludge and its electrochemical properties

Activated carbon having high specific surface area was synthesized from sewage sludge by acid treatment and KOH activation process, and its electrochemical properties were measured to research the potential use as electrode material. All activated sludge samples were synthesized as graphitic-like phase. The optimum activation condition, where the specific surface area, cyclic voltametry (CV) characteristics and capacitance showed the best values, was at the weight ratio of W_KOH/W_sludge = 3.5/1. Mesoporous carbon synthesized at this condition showed 1,617 m²g⁻¹ of specific surface area and 134.6 Fg⁻¹ of specific capacitance at the current density of 0.2 Ag⁻¹. High specific surface area resulted in the high specific capacitance.