Green Carbonization Pathways for EMI Shielding: Evaluating Heating Technologies for Enhanced Textile Waste Valorization

This study investigates innovative pathways for sustainable carbonization by comparing the performance and environmental impacts of microwave and muffle furnace heating technologies in the production of activated carbon from textile waste. The muffle furnace process demonstrated superior material properties, achieving a higher surface area (538.42 m2/g) and exceptional electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (47.56 dB at 2 GHz). It also exhibited better electrical conductivity, making it highly suitable for EMI shielding applications. Conversely, the microwave method, while yielding a lower surface area (383.92 m2/g) and EMI shielding (38.60 dB at 1 GHz), showed promising electrical conductivity and remarkable advantages in time and energy efficiency. A novel Green Performance Efficiency (GPE) metric was developed to evaluate the sustainability of these processes holistically, integrating performance parameters such as EMI shielding with energy consumption and process duration. The GPE analysis revealed that the microwave method outperformed the muffle furnace in terms of energy and time efficiency, achieving a significantly higher GPE score. However, the muffle furnace method excelled in material performance metrics, highlighting the trade-offs between sustainability and functionality. The findings not only provide a standardized framework for evaluating and optimizing carbonization technologies but also offer actionable insights into balancing efficiency and performance in sustainable activated carbon production. This research paves the way for advanced applications in EMI shielding, energy storage, and sustainable material development, demonstrating the potential of GPE as a benchmark for green technology innovation.