Ceramics made from tangerine and pomelo peels will soon be made in Russia.

To create ceramics from plant carbon, scientists Tomsk Polytechnic University They took various food waste materials—tangerine and pomelo zest, coconut and walnut shells, dried banana peels, birch leaves, and lawn grass. They processed all the raw materials using pyrolysis (thermal treatment of waste without oxygen).

"Carbon obtained from plant materials has unique properties due to the unique structure of each plant. In our case, the morphology of the obtained carbon mimics that of the plants, meaning it has pores and other structural features." — the university’s press service quotes the associate professor Kirill Larionov. 

Research has shown that carbon from pomelo peel has excellent properties for producing ceramics. Scientists mixed it with titanium powder, synthesized it, and produced titanium carbide.

"The properties of [plant-based] carbide are comparable to, and in some cases even superior to, those of titanium carbide powder produced using carbon black. Its main advantage is its low cost." — explained an engineer from the laboratory of advanced materials for the energy industry Arina Svinukhova.

Scientists have produced a ceramic sample from plant-based titanium carbide. It has excellent mechanical properties and can even be used to make filters that capture carbon dioxide.

Now Tomsk residents plan to synthesize titanium carbide from other food waste and compare different types of ceramics obtained from them.