Fenton-like reagent pretreatment for enhanced activation of corn straw: A green approach to sustainable activated carbon with improved electrochemical performance

Corn straw is the second most produced agricultural residue globally, and the efficient utilization of this resource is of great environmental and economic importance. The study utilized Fenton-like reagents for the pretreatment of corn straw, followed by carbonization and activation. It was found that the activated carbon samples pretreated with Fenton-like reagents exhibited remarkable microporous structures with good electrochemical properties. Specifically, activated carbon samples treated with a 0.1 M concentration of FeCl 3 solution and 3 wt% H 2 O 2 reached a specific surface area of 1842 m 2 /g, with a capacitance of up to 342 F g −1 at a current density of 0.5 A g −1 . The findings of the life cycle assessment demonstrate that the utilization of Fenton-like reagent pretreatment resulted in a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and ecotoxicity in comparison with conventional methodologies. The study observed a near 30 % decrease in CO 2 emissions and a 59 % reduction in terrestrial ecotoxicity. This pretreatment method has been demonstrated to enhance activation efficiency while concomitantly reducing the amount of activator required. This study demonstrates the potential of Fenton-like reagent pretreatment technology in improving the electrochemical performance of activated carbon and reducing environmental impact, providing a green and efficient process path.