This research demonstrates biochar derived from Ganoderma lucidum enhances catalyst performance for urea electro-oxidation in fuel cells, suggesting a waste-to-wealth approach.
The commercialization of direct urea fuel cells (DUFCs) is hampered by the scarcity of low-cost, high-performance electrocatalysts for the urea oxidation reaction (UOR), while water treatment processes generate spent adsorbents as a secondary waste. This study presents a circular economy solution by transforming a waste product—spent progesterone-loaded Reishi mushroom biosorbents—into high-performance anodes for DUFCs. We demonstrate that the thermal conversion of Ganoderma lucidum into biochar (Biochar/RM), followed by its “activation” through progesterone (PG) adsorption, creates a superior electrocatalytic composite (Biochar/RM/PG). Electrochemical evaluation revealed that this spent adsorbent delivers an exceptional UOR activity, achieving a peak current density of 225.52 mA cm−2, which is 79% higher than its pristine counterpart. This enhancement is driven by a unique synergy: the biochar provides a conductive, porous framework, while the thermally transformed PG acts as an in situ dopant, creating nitrogen-rich active sites and optimizing the surface architecture for urea electro-oxidation. The catalyst further demonstrated remarkable operational stability over 3600 s. This work establishes a pioneering “waste-to-wealth” strategy, simultaneously addressing the challenges of pharmaceutical wastewater management and the need for sustainable energy materials.
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Mohamed et al. (2025) studied this question.
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