A simple fabrication route of activated carbons from chicken droppings

We report a simple fabrication route of activated carbons (ACs) from a waste biomass, chicken droppings without any additional activation process. The ACs with specific surface area up to 1618 m2 g−1 with well developed micropore channels are successfully fabricated by pyrolysis followed by HCl treatment. The detailed analysis of pyrolysis behavior using thermogravimetry and gas chromatography reveals that activation of the precursor takes place through the catalytic gasification by CO2 evolved from CaCO3 during the pyrolysis. Electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) fabricated from the ACs show good specific capacitance up to 25 F g−1 due to well developed sub-nanometer sized pore channels.

► We have successfully fabricated activated carbons (ACs) from chicken droppings.
► The ACs were obtained without any artificial activation process.
► The spontaneous activation is ascribed to the catalytic gasification by CO2 from thermal decomposition of CaCO3.
► The ACs are suitable for electric double-layer capacitor application.