AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD WASTES ARE RENEWABLE ORGANIC MATERIALS GENERATED AS THE BYPRODUCT OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD PRODUCTION. AS THE LARGEST RENEWABLE CARBON SOURCE, AN ESTIMATED 30 BILLION TONNES IS GLOBALLY PRODUCED EACH YEAR AND IS PROJECTED TO INCREASE DUE TO THE ACCUMULATION OF AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES. AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD WASTES CAN GENERALLY BE CATEGORIZED INTO CROP RESIDUES (E.G., CORN STOVER, WHEAT STRAW), WOODY RESIDUES (E.G., WOOD SAWMILL RESIDUES), AND FOOD PROCESSING WASTES (E.G., ORANGE PEELS, GRAPE POMACE). THE VOLUMES OF THESE AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD WASTES ARE VAST AND DISPLAY A PATTERN OF EXCESS FOUND IN MANY COUNTRIES. FOR EXAMPLE, THE AMOUNT OF CORN STOVER THAT CAN BE SUSTAINABLY COLLECTED IS 80-100 MILLION DRY TONNES PER YEAR IN THE US AND MORE THAN 200 MILLION DRY TONNES WORLDWIDE, AND ONLY A SMALL PORTION OF IT IS CURRENTLY USED AS ANIMAL FEED OR BEDDING MATERIALS. IN TERMS OF FOOD PROCESSING WASTES, CITRUS PEELS, PULP AND SEEDS GENERATED POST-PROCESSING ARE AS HIGH AS 15.6 MILLION TONNES EACH YEAR, AND MOST OF THESE CITRUS WASTE ARE USED AS LOW-VALUE ANIMAL FEED OR LANDFILLED. AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD WASTES ROTTING IN LANDFILLS CONTRIBUTES SIGNIFICANTLY TO METHANE EMISSION, A GREENHOUSE GAS THAT IS AT LEAST THREE TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN CARBON DIOXIDE. IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, MEANWHILE, AGRICULTURAL RESIDUES, E.G., CORN STOVER AND RICE STRAW, ARE INCINERATED TO REDUCE WASTE VOLUME; HOWEVER, THIS INCINERATION IS INCREASINGLY RESTRICTED DUE TO THE POTENTIAL AIR POLLUTIONS. WITH THE WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND POPULATION GROWTH, THE ASSOCIATED AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD WASTE ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS ARE BECOMING MORE CHALLENGING. THEREFORE, APPROPRIATE MANAGEMENT AND VALORIZATION OF AGRICULTURE WASTE ARE URGENTLY NEEDED.THE EFFICIENT UTILIZATION OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD WASTES NOT ONLY ENHANCES THE VALUE CHAIN OF AGRICULTURE BUT ALSO REDUCES THE POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTIONS CAUSED BY WASTE DISPOSAL. IN THIS STUDY, WE PROPOSE TO APPLY ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES, COUPLED WITH FUNDAMENTAL MATERIALS RESEARCH, TO PROCESS AGRICULTURAL WASTES TO CARBON MATERIALS FOR USE IN NEXT-GENERATION SOLID-STATE SODIUM METAL BATTERIES. THE OBJECTIVES ARE: 1) CREATING CARBON MATERIALS WITH CONTROLLABLE MICROSTRUCTURE AND SURFACE CHEMISTRY FROM AGRICULTURAL WASTES, 2) INVESTIGATING THE INTERACTION BETWEEN AGRICULTURAL WASTE-DERIVED CARBON MATERIALS AND SODIUM METAL IN THE NA-C COMPOSITE ANODES CREATED BY MOLTEN SODIUM INFILTRATION AND ELECTROCHEMICAL PLATING, 3) ESTABLISHING THE SOLID-STATE FULL CELL CHEMISTRY TO INVESTIGATE THE PERFORMANCE OF NA-C COMPOSITE ANODES UNDER VARIOUS BATTERY OPERATING CONDITIONS, AND 4) CORRELATION ANALYSIS OF THE COMPOSITION-PROPERTY-PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIP AND TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS (TEA). ONCE COMPLETED, WE WILL BE ABLE TO 1) DEVELOP A METHODOLOGY FOR TARGETED SELECTING AND PROCESSING AGRICULTURAL WASTES, WHICH ENABLES SPECIFIC TAILORING MICROSTRUCTURE AND SURFACE CHEMISTRY OF THE DERIVED CARBON MATERIALS, AND 2) DEVELOP A KNOWLEDGE BASE TO CREATE A NA-C COMPOSITE ANODE SYSTEM, COUPLED WITH OUR INTERNALLY DEVELOPED HIGH-PERFORMANCE SOLID-STATE ELECTROLYTES AND CATHODES, TO DELIVER A HIGH-ENERGY AND SAFE SOLID-STATE BATTERY. THIS PROJECT WILL APPLY ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES AND TOOLS TO AGRICULTURAL WASTES TO PRODUCE FUNCTIONAL CARBON MATERIALS. SPECIFICALLY, IT WILL ADVANCE THE UTILIZATION OF WASTES GENERATED IN AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SYSTEMS.