Biomass-Depolarized Electrolysis

NaderiNasrabadi, Mahtab; Bateni, Fazel; Chen, Zewei; Harrington, Peter de B.

doi:10.1149/2.1471910jes

Cited by 20 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The main reason to work in such drastic energy-demanding conditions is most likely attributed to the challenge to cleave the C-C bonds of organic molecules in at low electrochemical potentials at temperatures below 90 o C. Analogous reports pertain to, for instance, for the electro-oxidation of ethanol [23][24][25] and glycerol solutions [4,5]. Nevertheless, several studies focused on H2 as the main product of interest [6][7][8][14][15][16][17][18][19]. This process is potentially less energy-intensive, considering that the depolarizing effect of lignin allows producing H2 from electrical cell potentials as low as 0.2 V. However, the valorization of the lignin electro-oxidation products and the yield of H2 might be limiting, considering that the depolymerization (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Understanding Lignin Electrolysis: Electro-Oxidation of a β-O-4 Linkage Model on PtRu Electrodes

Beliaeva

Elsheref

Walden

et al. 2020

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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The reaction mechanism for lignin electrolysis has been rarely studied. In a previous work, we reported the electrolysis of lignin on a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) alkaline electrolyzer with PtRu-based anodes. Even though the performance of this technology was proven in a low range of applied potentials (< 1.2 V) and reaction temperatures (< 90 o C), the activity of the system was strongly hindered, leading to low H2 production rates. The aim of this work is to study the main limitations of PtRu electrodes for lignin electro-oxidation. 2-Phenoxyethanol, 2-PE, has been chosen as a model molecule of the b-O-4 linkage, which represents ≈ 60 % of the lignin bio-polymer. The performed electrochemical experiments, together with the HPLC analysis of the anodic products and the thermodynamic DFT computations, suggest that the electro-oxidation of the 2-PE organic molecule is very limited and leads to the production of the carboxylic acid as the final reaction product. In addition, the electro-catalytic system was severely poisoned, probably owing to the presence of some reaction by-products. All in all, this study allows advancing one step-forward towards understanding the reaction mechanism and the main limitations of the lignin electrolysis technology in the above described system.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Understanding Lignin Electrolysis: Electro-Oxidation of a β-O-4 Linkage Model on PtRu Electrodes

Beliaeva

Elsheref

Walden

et al. 2020

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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“…NaderiNasrabadi et al. developed a electrolyzer for biomass depolarization that can electrooxidize lignin‐rich biorefinery waste to produce high‐purity (97.6 %) hydrogen gas at mild conditions (room temperature and atmospheric pressure) using Ni‐Co/TiO 2 on carbon paper anode . At a potential lower than 1.5 V, regardless of the temperature, lignin oxidation was thermodynamically favored over the OER while above 1.5 V OER was kinetically easier to achieve than lignin oxidation.…”

Section: Electrocatalytic Treatment Of Ligninmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greener Routes to Biomass Waste Valorization: Lignin Transformation Through Electrocatalysis for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels Production

et al. 2020

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Lignin valorization is essential for biorefineries to produce fuels and chemicals for a sustainable future. Today's biorefineries pursue profitable value propositions for cellulose and hemicellulose; however, lignin is typically used mainly for its thermal energy value. To enhance the profit potential for biorefineries, lignin valorization would be a necessary practice. Lignin valorization is greatly advantaged when biomass carbon is retained in the fuel and chemical products and when energy quality is enhanced by electrochemical upgrading. Though lignin upgrading and valorization are very desirable in principle, many barriers involved in lignin pretreatment, extraction, and depolymerization must be overcome to unlock its full potential. This Review addresses the electrochemical transformation of various lignins with the aim of gaining a better understanding of many of the barriers that currently exist in such technologies. These studies give insight into electrochemical lignin depolymerization and upgrading to value‐added commodities with the end goal of achieving a global low‐carbon circular economy.

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“…[42] NiCo/TiO 2 as the anode electrocatalyst exhibited a similar effect. [43] Caravaca et al used polymer electrolyte membrane-based (PEM) reactors to perform the electrolysis of lignin-containing alkaline solutions in continuousflow mode for H 2 production with low electrical potentials (starting at ca. 0.45 V).…”

Section: The Reactions In Direct Electrooxidation Of Ligninmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the complex structure of lignin makes it very difficult to dissolve in common organic solvents. [82] Alkaline solutions (e. g., NaOH, KOH) have been widely used as the electrolyte in many lignin electrooxidation studies [10,31,44,48,59,[83][84][85][86][87][32][33][34]37,[40][41][42][43] due to increased solubility for lignin and high electron/ion conductivity. However, electrolysis in aqueous solution is limited by the water splitting reaction at 1.23 V, severely restricting the potential window for electrochemical reactions.…”

Section: Lignin Dissolution In Electrolytementioning

confidence: 99%

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Electrochemical Lignin Conversion

et al. 2020

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Lignin is the largest source of renewable aromatic compounds, making the recovery of aromatic compounds from this material a significant scientific goal. Recently, many studies have reported on lignin depolymerization and upgrading strategies. Electrochemical approaches are considered to be low cost, reagent free, and environmentally friendly, and can be carried out under mild reaction conditions. In this Review, different electrochemical lignin conversion strategies, including electrooxidation, electroreduction, hybrid electro‐oxidation and reduction, and combinations of electrochemical and other processes (e. g., biological, solar) for lignin depolymerization and upgrading are discussed in detail. In addition to lignin conversion, electrochemical lignin fractionation from biomass and black liquor is also briefly discussed. Finally, the outlook and challenges for electrochemical lignin conversion are presented.

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Biomass-Depolarized Electrolysis

Cited by 20 publications

References 26 publications

Towards Understanding Lignin Electrolysis: Electro-Oxidation of a β-O-4 Linkage Model on PtRu Electrodes

Towards Understanding Lignin Electrolysis: Electro-Oxidation of a β-O-4 Linkage Model on PtRu Electrodes

Greener Routes to Biomass Waste Valorization: Lignin Transformation Through Electrocatalysis for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels Production

Electrochemical Lignin Conversion

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