Trends in Li/Na-Ion Battery Applications of Carbon-Based Anode Materials Derived from Biomass Recycling

Biomass-derived carbons are promising sustainable anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) because biomass is renewable, abundant, low-cost, and naturally diverse in composition and morphology. Lignocellulosic frameworks, intrinsic heteroatoms, and biomass-derived inorganic species can be converted through carbonization, activation, graphitization, and doping into carbon architectures with tunable porosity, carbon ordering, and surface chemistry. This review first summarizes the compositional and structural features of biomass precursors and explains how processing conditions convert them into carbon frameworks. Recent advances in biomass-derived carbon anodes are then discussed by comparing the distinct design requirements for LIBs and SIBs. For LIBs, accessible surface area, hierarchical porosity, heteroatom-derived active sites, and improved electronic conductivity are generally beneficial for enhancing Li+ storage and rate capability. In contrast, SIB hard carbons require controlled surface exposure, expanded turbostratic spacing, and closed or latent pores to improve Na+ storage reversibility and initial Coulombic efficiency. These comparisons emphasize that biomass-derived carbon anodes should be designed according to system-specific storage mechanisms rather than a universal carbon design strategy.