A lignosulfonate-based negolyte for aqueous redox flow batteries
Chakraborty, Monalisa ; Chu, Xiaoman ; Vives, Mariona Battestini LU
; Hulteberg, Christian P.
LU
; Henriksson, Gunnar
; Lindström, Rakel Wreland
and Khataee, Amirreza
(2025)
In Chemical Engineering Journal
524.
- Abstract
Aqueous redox flow batteries (RFBs) as grid-scale energy storage devices hold great potential to accomodate the rising demand for intermittent renewable energy sources. A significant parameter that enhances the sustainability of RFBs is selecting the appropriate redox species. In this study, we investigated the application of lignosulfonate as a redox species for the negolyte of aqueous RFBs because lignosulfonate is a low-cost, abundant, highly water-soluble material with a high phenol content. To overcome the intrinsic electrochemically irreversible nature of lignosulfonate, herein, oxidative depolymerization was employed to modify the chemical structure in a weakly alkaline media. The modified lignosulfonate exhibited improved... (More)
Aqueous redox flow batteries (RFBs) as grid-scale energy storage devices hold great potential to accomodate the rising demand for intermittent renewable energy sources. A significant parameter that enhances the sustainability of RFBs is selecting the appropriate redox species. In this study, we investigated the application of lignosulfonate as a redox species for the negolyte of aqueous RFBs because lignosulfonate is a low-cost, abundant, highly water-soluble material with a high phenol content. To overcome the intrinsic electrochemically irreversible nature of lignosulfonate, herein, oxidative depolymerization was employed to modify the chemical structure in a weakly alkaline media. The modified lignosulfonate exhibited improved electrochemical activity, as indicated by cyclic voltammetry, with distinct redox peaks that correspond to lignin-derived monomers, such as vanillin and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde. The modified lignosulfonate, as negolyte, paired with ferrocyanide in the counterpart in a lab-based single RFB cell. The RFB utilizing 50 g L−1 modified lignosulfonate showed 80.6 % capacity retention over 50 cycles and nearly 1.5 times higher discharge capacity than the RFB using non-modified lignosulfonate. By increasing the concentration of modified lignosulfonate up to 200 g L−1, the discharge capacity increased threefold; however, the capacity retention dropped to 60 %. This study presents an opportunity to utilize bio-based electrolytes in building novel, cost-effective, and sustainable RFBs.
(Less)
- author
- Chakraborty, Monalisa
; Chu, Xiaoman
; Vives, Mariona Battestini
LU
; Hulteberg, Christian P.
LU
; Henriksson, Gunnar
; Lindström, Rakel Wreland
and Khataee, Amirreza
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-11-15
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Ammonium hydroxide, Aqueous redox flow battery, Capacity retention, Lignosulfonate, Oxidative depolymerization
- in
- Chemical Engineering Journal
- volume
- 524
- article number
- 169560
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105018464223
- ISSN
- 1385-8947
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.cej.2025.169560
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors
- id
- 8d91601f-91ce-45cd-8258-9906e345fb23
- date added to LUP
- 2025-12-11 10:03:55
- date last changed
- 2025-12-11 10:04:38
@article{8d91601f-91ce-45cd-8258-9906e345fb23,
abstract = {{<p>Aqueous redox flow batteries (RFBs) as grid-scale energy storage devices hold great potential to accomodate the rising demand for intermittent renewable energy sources. A significant parameter that enhances the sustainability of RFBs is selecting the appropriate redox species. In this study, we investigated the application of lignosulfonate as a redox species for the negolyte of aqueous RFBs because lignosulfonate is a low-cost, abundant, highly water-soluble material with a high phenol content. To overcome the intrinsic electrochemically irreversible nature of lignosulfonate, herein, oxidative depolymerization was employed to modify the chemical structure in a weakly alkaline media. The modified lignosulfonate exhibited improved electrochemical activity, as indicated by cyclic voltammetry, with distinct redox peaks that correspond to lignin-derived monomers, such as vanillin and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde. The modified lignosulfonate, as negolyte, paired with ferrocyanide in the counterpart in a lab-based single RFB cell. The RFB utilizing 50 g L<sup>−1</sup> modified lignosulfonate showed 80.6 % capacity retention over 50 cycles and nearly 1.5 times higher discharge capacity than the RFB using non-modified lignosulfonate. By increasing the concentration of modified lignosulfonate up to 200 g L<sup>−1</sup>, the discharge capacity increased threefold; however, the capacity retention dropped to 60 %. This study presents an opportunity to utilize bio-based electrolytes in building novel, cost-effective, and sustainable RFBs.</p>}},
author = {{Chakraborty, Monalisa and Chu, Xiaoman and Vives, Mariona Battestini and Hulteberg, Christian P. and Henriksson, Gunnar and Lindström, Rakel Wreland and Khataee, Amirreza}},
issn = {{1385-8947}},
keywords = {{Ammonium hydroxide; Aqueous redox flow battery; Capacity retention; Lignosulfonate; Oxidative depolymerization}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Chemical Engineering Journal}},
title = {{A lignosulfonate-based negolyte for aqueous redox flow batteries}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.169560}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.cej.2025.169560}},
volume = {{524}},
year = {{2025}},
}