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Shochu is a major distilled liquor in Japan, and significant shochu waste (approximately one million metric tons) is discharged every year. Wheat shochu waste was precarbonized at 600 or 700 °C and then processed by KOH chemical activation, producing shochu waste-derived activated carbon (SWAC). The material properties and electrochemical performance of SWAC were investigated to verify its potential use as the electrode active material of electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs), in comparison with two types of commercially available benchmark activated carbons. The precarbonization temperature had a significant influence on not only the development of pores but also the energy and power densities of the SWACs. Among all the samples, the SWAC precarbonized at 700 °C, with a specific surface area of 2434 m2 g−1, exhibited the highest gravimetric specific capacitance of 152 F g−1 and the highest gravimetric energy density of 44 Wh kg−1. The SWAC precarbonized at 600 °C achieved the highest volumetric specific capacitance of 75 F cm−3 and a volumetric energy density of 18 Wh L−1 but displayed low power performance. The performance of EDLC electrodes using this distilled liquor-originated biowaste was highly promising. Image 10980 • Activated carbons from distilled liquor waste was produced using KOH activation. • The activated carbon was tested as an electric double-layer capacitor electrode. • The precarbonization temperature was important for the electrode's performance. • A relation between the textural property and electrode performance was studied. • The superior performance was attributed to a well-balanced micropore distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A flexible smart electrode array is used as an in vivo neural stimulator in work from Japan. Intended for neural interfaces, the multi-chip CMOS design can pack electrodes in a small area whilst being flexible enough to conform to body tissues over larger areas for applications including retinal prostheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]