Sustainable and Circular Supercapacitors: Biomass-Derived Carbon Electrodes, Green Processing, and Scalable Manufacturing

Supercapacitor electrode materials are dominated by synthetic activated carbons, metal oxides, and conducting polymers — materials associated with fossil-derived precursors, energy-intensive processing, and poorly characterised end-of-life pathways. Biomass waste — from agricultural residues, forestry by-products, food processing streams, and marine algae — offers a globally abundant, renewable alternative for producing high-surface-area porous carbons with competitive electrochemical performance. Despite thousands of laboratory demonstrations, the translation of biomass-derived carbon electrodes into scalable, commercially viable, and circularly designed supercapacitor systems remains limited. Key gaps persist in green synthesis reproducibility, sustainability quantification (LCA, TEA), and end-of-life material recovery. This Research Topic addresses the full chain from feedstock valorisation to circular device design.This Research Topic advances biomass-derived porous carbon as the material foundation for sustainable supercapacitors, with three specific goals:1) Establishing the performance envelope of biomass-derived carbons across EDLC and pseudocapacitive devices, linking feedstock chemistry to electrochemical output2) Evaluating green synthesis routes — including molten-salt carbonisation, deep eutectic solvents, and solvent-free activation — that reduce energy, solvent use, and waste without compromising material quality3) integrating circular economy principles and quantified sustainability assessment (LCA, TEA, carbon footprint) into supercapacitor materials research to identify viable pathways to pilot and commercial scale. By uniting materials science, green chemistry, and sustainability engineering, this collection provides a reproducible, impact-oriented framework for the next generation of bio-based electrochemical energy storage.We welcome Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Perspectives addressing:- Biomass feedstock valorisation: agricultural waste, lignocellulosic residues, food by-products, marine biomass, biochar, and activated carbon as supercapacitor electrode precursors- Green synthesis and processing: solvent-free activation, molten-salt carbonisation, deep eutectic solvent routes, and sustainable heteroatom doping- Sustainable electrolytes: bio-derived, aqueous, gel polymer, and solid-state electrolytes with reduced environmental footprint — including biomass-derived polymer electrolytes- Circular economy and end-of-life: electrode regeneration, recycling, critical material recovery, and closed-loop manufacturing- Sustainability assessment: LCA, TEA, carbon footprint, and scalability analysis of biomass-derived supercapacitor systems- Scale-up and manufacturing: pilot-scale synthesis, process intensification, and commercialisation pathways Topic editors: Shreeganesh Subraya Hegde, Madhav Prabhakar Chavhan, Gil Nonato Santos, TAPAS DAS, Subrahmanyam Challapalli Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82610/sustainable-and-circular-supercapacitors-biomass-derived-carbon-electrodes-green-processing-and-scalable-manufacturing