Electrochemically Modified Walnut Shell-Derived Activated Carbon: A Sustainable Alternative to Commercial Coconut-Based Sorbents for Cobalt Recovery from Battery Recycling Solutions
Abdimomyn S. Zhumadil K. Grigoryev A. Simonov M. Tokpayev R. Akhmetov T. Malchik F.
5 March 2026John Wiley and Sons Inc
ChemistrySelect
2026#11Issue 9
The sorption process of Co2+, a strategic metal from spent lithium-ion batteries was investigated using modified activated carbons derived from walnut shell and coconut shell. Electrochemical modification was performed using cyclic voltammetry in 0.5 mol·L−1 HNO3 electrolyte across two distinct potential windows, where intensive functionalization (0.8–1.5 V) increased the concentration of oxygen-containing functional groups by 7.5 times. In static mode, the modified sorbents ACM-C2 and ACM-W2 demonstrated exceptional adsorption capacities of 48.92 and 44.90 mg·g−1, respectively, achieving equilibrium within 4 min following pseudo-second-order kinetics. The study extended to dynamic column sorption using real polymetallic leach solutions containing competing ions (Ni, Mn, Li). Despite the complex matrix, the walnut-based sorbent exhibited high mass transfer rates and a concentration factor of ∼3.0, allowing for significant volume reduction of productive solutions. Desorption studies using 0.1 M H2SO4 showed high recovery efficiencies (>95%) and stable performance over five adsorption-desorption cycles. Economic analysis confirms that electrochemically modified walnut shell-derived carbon is a cost-effective, sustainable alternative to commercial coconut-based sorbents.
activated carbon , battery recycling , cobalt adsorption , cyclic electrochemical modification , surface functionalization
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Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Kazakhstan
Center of Physical-Chemical Methods of Research and Analysis, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology
Center of Physical-Chemical Methods of Research and Analysis
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Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026