University research team makes rechargeable batteries out of rice husks
A team of researchers and students at the HCM City University of Science – Việt Nam National University – Ho Chi Minh City have succeeded at making a prototype lithium-ion rechargeable battery from rice husks, a common agricultural waste in Việt Nam, especially in the Mekong Delta.
Leader of the team, Vũ Tấn Phát, said: “Rice husks are rich with silica (silicon dioxide: SiO2). In order to develop low cost anode materials and good properties (less than $10 per kilogramme) for Li-ion rechargeable batteries, our research aims to use rice husks from Long An Province in the Delta and carry out a treatment process to create useful anode electrode materials.”
Unlike the costly process to create pure silicon, rice husks as the raw material source could be promising for low-cost and functional SiO2 , which has a high energy efficiency, is environmentally safe, and can be easy to scale up for synthesis, Phát said.
