Paired electrochemical synthesis of formate via oxidation of glycerol and reduction of CO2 in a flow cell reactor
The conventional anodic oxygen evolution (OER) in electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2R) needs to be replaced as it accounts for a major share in energy consumption while being a product of little to no value. In this work, we replace OER by glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR) to synthesize products suc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Electrochemistry Communications |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388248123000711 |
| _version_ | 1797825586633113600 |
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| author | Jan Vehrenberg Jonas Baessler Alexandra Decker Robert Keller Matthias Wessling |
| author_facet | Jan Vehrenberg Jonas Baessler Alexandra Decker Robert Keller Matthias Wessling |
| author_sort | Jan Vehrenberg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The conventional anodic oxygen evolution (OER) in electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2R) needs to be replaced as it accounts for a major share in energy consumption while being a product of little to no value. In this work, we replace OER by glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR) to synthesize products such as formate, lactate and glycolate. Hereby, for the first time, GOR was successfully paired with cathodic CO2R to formate in a flow reactor at a significant current density of 50 mA/cm2 producing value added anode products with a simultaneously reduced cell voltage. Using a porous platinum anode, GOR reduced the anode potential as well as cell potential by ∼1 V compared to OER. We report an anodic Faraday efficiency (FE) of 30% to ∼53% for liquid products, of which lactate dominates. The structure of the electrode has a significant impact on the dominant product as mainly formate is synthesized on a planar electrode, where the cummulated FE for all liquid products is up to 76%. The concurrent FE to formate at cathode and anode reached a values of up to 74% and 30% respectively and 66% and 76%, respectively, considering all value-added products. By successfully pairing GOR with CO2R in a flow cell reactor, this work marks an important step towards energy-efficient and economically viable processes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:56:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3b6468bb92414d858bba0ac02b8e58a5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1388-2481 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:56:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Electrochemistry Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-3b6468bb92414d858bba0ac02b8e58a52023-05-17T04:22:36ZengElsevierElectrochemistry Communications1388-24812023-06-01151107497Paired electrochemical synthesis of formate via oxidation of glycerol and reduction of CO2 in a flow cell reactorJan Vehrenberg0Jonas Baessler1Alexandra Decker2Robert Keller3Matthias Wessling4RWTH Aachen University, Chemical Process Engineering, Forckenbeckstr. 51, Aachen 52074, GermanyRWTH Aachen University, Chemical Process Engineering, Forckenbeckstr. 51, Aachen 52074, GermanyRWTH Aachen University, Chemical Process Engineering, Forckenbeckstr. 51, Aachen 52074, GermanyRWTH Aachen University, Chemical Process Engineering, Forckenbeckstr. 51, Aachen 52074, GermanyRWTH Aachen University, Chemical Process Engineering, Forckenbeckstr. 51, Aachen 52074, Germany; DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstr. 50, Aachen 52074, Germany; Corresponding author at: RWTH Aachen University, Aachener Verfahrenstechnik - Chemical Process Engineering, Forckenbeckstr. 51, 52074 Aachen, Germany.The conventional anodic oxygen evolution (OER) in electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2R) needs to be replaced as it accounts for a major share in energy consumption while being a product of little to no value. In this work, we replace OER by glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR) to synthesize products such as formate, lactate and glycolate. Hereby, for the first time, GOR was successfully paired with cathodic CO2R to formate in a flow reactor at a significant current density of 50 mA/cm2 producing value added anode products with a simultaneously reduced cell voltage. Using a porous platinum anode, GOR reduced the anode potential as well as cell potential by ∼1 V compared to OER. We report an anodic Faraday efficiency (FE) of 30% to ∼53% for liquid products, of which lactate dominates. The structure of the electrode has a significant impact on the dominant product as mainly formate is synthesized on a planar electrode, where the cummulated FE for all liquid products is up to 76%. The concurrent FE to formate at cathode and anode reached a values of up to 74% and 30% respectively and 66% and 76%, respectively, considering all value-added products. By successfully pairing GOR with CO2R in a flow cell reactor, this work marks an important step towards energy-efficient and economically viable processes.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388248123000711Paired synthesisGlycerol oxidationElectrochemical CO2 reductionFormateLactate |
| spellingShingle | Jan Vehrenberg Jonas Baessler Alexandra Decker Robert Keller Matthias Wessling Paired electrochemical synthesis of formate via oxidation of glycerol and reduction of CO2 in a flow cell reactor Electrochemistry Communications Paired synthesis Glycerol oxidation Electrochemical CO2 reduction Formate Lactate |
| title | Paired electrochemical synthesis of formate via oxidation of glycerol and reduction of CO2 in a flow cell reactor |
| title_full | Paired electrochemical synthesis of formate via oxidation of glycerol and reduction of CO2 in a flow cell reactor |
| title_fullStr | Paired electrochemical synthesis of formate via oxidation of glycerol and reduction of CO2 in a flow cell reactor |
| title_full_unstemmed | Paired electrochemical synthesis of formate via oxidation of glycerol and reduction of CO2 in a flow cell reactor |
| title_short | Paired electrochemical synthesis of formate via oxidation of glycerol and reduction of CO2 in a flow cell reactor |
| title_sort | paired electrochemical synthesis of formate via oxidation of glycerol and reduction of co2 in a flow cell reactor |
| topic | Paired synthesis Glycerol oxidation Electrochemical CO2 reduction Formate Lactate |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388248123000711 |
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