Continuous-flow electroreduction of carbon dioxide

Endrődi, Balázs; Bencsik, Gábor; Darvas, Ferenç; Jones, Richard V.; Rajeshwar, Krishnan; Janáky, Csaba

doi:10.1016/j.pecs.2017.05.005

Cited by 330 publications

(351 citation statements)

References 138 publications

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“…In fact, during the past decades, efforts have focused on the development of metal catalyst. Pb, Hg, In, Sn, Cd, and Tl are metals generally used to produce FA [33]. N-doped porous carbon materials insulating with polymer binders, such as Nafion or PVDF, are commonly used.…”

Section: Remaining Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formic Acid Manufacture: Carbon Dioxide Utilization Alternatives

2018

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Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) utilization alternatives for manufacturing formic acid (FA) such as electrochemical reduction (ER) or homogeneous catalysis of CO 2 and H 2 could be efficient options for developing more environmentally-friendly production alternatives to FA fossil-dependant production. However, these alternatives are currently found at different technological readiness levels (TRLs), and some remaining technical challenges need to be overcome to achieve at least carbon-even FA compared to the commercial process, especially ER of CO 2 , which is still farther from its industrial application. The main technical limitations inherited by FA production by ER are the low FA concentration achieved and the high overpotentials required, which involve high consumptions of energy (ER cell) and steam (distillation). In this study, a comparison in terms of carbon footprints (CF) using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool was done to evaluate the potential technological challenges assuring the environmental competitiveness of the FA production by ER of CO 2 . The CF of the FA conventional production were used as a benchmark, as well as the CF of a simulated plant based on homogeneous catalysts of CO 2 and H 2 (found closer to be commercial). Renewable energy utilization as PV solar for the reaction is essential to achieve a carbon-even product; however, the CF benefits are still negligible due to the enormous contribution of the steam produced by natural gas (purification stage). Some ER reactor configurations, plus a recirculation mode, could achieve an even CF versus commercial process. It was demonstrated that the ER alternatives could lead to lower natural resources consumption (mainly, natural gas and heavy fuel oil) compared to the commercial process, which is a noticeable advantage in environmental sustainability terms.

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Section: Remaining Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formic Acid Manufacture: Carbon Dioxide Utilization Alternatives

2018

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“…These include the development of structurally complex gas-diffusion electrodes for use in flow cells, [26,27] polymer electrolytes, [28,29] and ionicl iquids [30] that leverage tailorede lectrode-contacting phases to favor high CO 2 availability.I ns ome cases, these approaches rely on interfacial phenomena [31] or involve preparation of membraneelectrode assemblies. These include the development of structurally complex gas-diffusion electrodes for use in flow cells, [26,27] polymer electrolytes, [28,29] and ionicl iquids [30] that leverage tailorede lectrode-contacting phases to favor high CO 2 availability.I ns ome cases, these approaches rely on interfacial phenomena [31] or involve preparation of membraneelectrode assemblies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intensified Electrocatalytic CO₂ Conversion in Pressure‐Tunable CO₂‐Expanded Electrolytes

et al. 2019

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Multimolar CO2 concentrations are achieved in acetonitrile solutions containing supporting electrolyte at relatively mild CO2 pressures (<5 MPa) and ambient temperature. Such CO2‐rich, electrolyte‐containing solutions are termed as CO2‐eXpanded Electrolytes (CXEs) because significant volumetric expansion of the liquid phase accompanies CO2 dissolution. Cathodic polarization of a model polycrystalline gold electrode‐catalyst in CXE media enhances CO2 to CO conversion rates by up to an order of magnitude compared with those attainable at near‐ambient pressures, without loss of selectivity. The observed catalytic process intensification stems primarily from markedly increased CO2 availability. However, a non‐monotonic correlation between the dissolved CO2 concentration and catalytic activity is observed, with an optimum occurring at approximately 5 m CO2 concentration. At the highest applied CO2 pressures, catalysis is significantly attenuated despite higher CO2 concentrations and improved mass‐transport characteristics, attributed in part to increased solution resistance. These results reveal that pressure‐tunable CXE media can significantly intensify CO2 reduction rates over known electrocatalysts by alleviating substrate starvation, with CO2 pressure as a crucial variable for optimizing the efficiency of electrocatalytic CO2 conversion.

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“…[3] The combination of CCUS with a renewable energy production model makes the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 (CO 2 RR) a plausible technological alternative, by simultaneously confronting the energy storage from renewable sources and the CO 2 transformation into added value products. [6,7] In this regard, many researchers focus on the catalyst composition, being copper one of the most studied metals. One of the main issues is the fabrication of electrodes that provide productive and efficient transformation of CO 2 at low overpotentials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, there is an urgent need for understanding the mechanisms involved in order to design more effective electrodes. [7,19,20] Apart from the electrodes and catalysts, other important factors that may play a significant role in the electrolytic cell are the ion exchange membrane (IEM) [21,22] and the electrochemical environment. [8][9][10][11] Besides composition, surface structure and morphology also plays a relevant role in electrode performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effect of surface morphology on the CO 2 RR to alcohols or hydrocarbons has been studied in the form of Cucoated nanospikes, [12] nanowire [13] or metal-organic frameworks (MOFs, [14,15] among others. [7,19,20] The development of alkaline anion-exchange membranes (AAEMs), bipolar membranes and mosaic membranes in opposition to most conventionally employed cation exchange membranes (CEMs), Nafion 117 (DuPont), [24][25][26] is an example of the increasing relevance that the role of the IEM in the electrochemical reaction is gaining in research literature. Steady-state conditions are the most commonly investigated in CO 2 /HCO 3 À electrolytes because their slow equilibration kinetics leads to the mass transfer limited region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainable Membrane‐Coated Electrodes for CO₂ Electroreduction to Methanol in Alkaline Media

2019

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CO 2 electroreduction has high potential to combine carbon capture utilization and energy storage from renewable sources. The key challenge is the construction of highly efficient electrodes giving optimal CO 2 conversion to high-value products. In this regard, research on electrode structures remains as an important task to face. Despite the advancements in gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) to facilitate CO 2 transfer and electrode efficiency, the catalyst is still vulnerable to be swept by the gas and liquid electrolyte, reducing the stability. We report the fabrication of novel membrane-coated electrodes (MCEs), by coating an anion exchange membrane over a copper (Cu) : chitosan (CS) catalyst layer onto the carbon paper. CS and poly(vinyl) alcohol (PVA) were chosen for membrane preparation and catalyst binder, where Cu was embedded in the polymer matrix as nanoparticles or ion-exchanged in a layered stannosilicate or zeolite Y, to improve their hydrophilic, conductive, mechanical, and environmentally-friendly properties considered relevant to the sustainability of the electrode fabrication and performance. The intimate connection between the CS : PVA polymer membrane over-layer and the CS/Cu catalytic layer protects the MCEs from material losses, enhancing the CO 2 conversion to methanol, even in high alkaline medium. A maximum Faraday Efficiency to methanol of 68.05 % was achieved for the 10CuY/CS : PVA membrane over-layer.

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Continuous-flow electroreduction of carbon dioxide

Cited by 330 publications

References 138 publications

Formic Acid Manufacture: Carbon Dioxide Utilization Alternatives

Formic Acid Manufacture: Carbon Dioxide Utilization Alternatives

Intensified Electrocatalytic CO₂ Conversion in Pressure‐Tunable CO₂‐Expanded Electrolytes

Sustainable Membrane‐Coated Electrodes for CO₂ Electroreduction to Methanol in Alkaline Media

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Continuous-flow electroreduction of carbon dioxide

Cited by 330 publications

References 138 publications

Formic Acid Manufacture: Carbon Dioxide Utilization Alternatives

Formic Acid Manufacture: Carbon Dioxide Utilization Alternatives

Intensified Electrocatalytic CO2 Conversion in Pressure‐Tunable CO2‐Expanded Electrolytes

Sustainable Membrane‐Coated Electrodes for CO2 Electroreduction to Methanol in Alkaline Media

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Intensified Electrocatalytic CO₂ Conversion in Pressure‐Tunable CO₂‐Expanded Electrolytes

Sustainable Membrane‐Coated Electrodes for CO₂ Electroreduction to Methanol in Alkaline Media