Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.1039/D5IM00056D |
Licence  |
|
| Title (Primary) | Scaling up electrochemical CO2 reduction to formate through comparative reactor analysis |
| Author | Izadi, P.
; Varhade, S.; Schneider, C.; Haus, P.; Singh, C.; Guruj, A.; Pant, D.; Harnisch, F.
|
| Source Titel | Industrial Chemistry & Materials |
| Year | 2025 |
| Department | MIBITECH |
| Language | englisch |
| Topic | T7 Bioeconomy |
| Keywords | eCO2RR; Scale up; Formate; Gas diffusion electrodes; Flow cells; Stacked reactors |
| Abstract | This study presents scalable reactor designs at a lab-scale pilot level for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR)
to formate, utilizing formate-selective catalysts such as tin (Sn) and
bismuth (Bi) at the electrodes in different sizes. Furthermore, it
evaluates multiple scaled-up reactor configurations, providing critical
insights into their performance, efficiency, and potential for
industrial deployment. Electrochemical cells comprising VITO CORE® gas
diffusion electrodes (GDEs) of 100 cm2 single electrode, 300 cm2 stack (3 electrodes of 100 cm2) and 400 cm2 single electrode were evaluated for eCO2RR at 100 mA cm−2 at two different laboratories (UFZ and VITO). The 100 cm2 Sn-GDEs showed an average formate production rate (rHC00-) and coulombic efficiency (CE) of 29 mM h−1 and 80%, respectively. However, stacking three 100 cm2 GDEs, hence stacked 300 cm2 Sn-GDEs, showed lower performance (average (rHC00-) and CE of 19 mM h−1 and 50%, respectively),
with a variation among the replicates. Operational efficiency and
stability were regained by further scaling up using a single Sn-GDE to
400 cm2 (average (rHC00-) and CE of 35 mM h−1 and 73%, respectively). The Bi-GDE in the similar setup of 400 cm2 showed lower performance (average (rHC00-) and CE of 19 mM h−1 and 50%, respectively),
with a variation among the replicates. Operational efficiency and
stability were regained by further scaling up using a single Sn-GDE to
400 cm2 (average (rHC00-) and CE of 23 mM h−1 and 63%, respectively),
which we related to electrode structural degradation as revealed by
SEM-EDX analyses. With its notable durability, stable performance, and
relatively low overpotential for eCO2RR, the 400 cm2 Sn-GDE setup demonstrated strong potential for long-term eCO2RR
to formate. The corresponding power consumptions at the largest scale
for formate production using both Sn- and Bi-GDEs were determined to be
190.8 and 501.8 Wh mol−1, respectively. This
situates the technology at the upper boundary of laboratory-scale and
the early stages of pilot-scale operation. Although the system has not
yet achieved kilowatt-level performance, the results underscore a
promising and scalable approach toward the development of industrially
relevant eCO2RR platforms. |
| Persistent UFZ Identifier | https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=31039 |
| Izadi, P., Varhade, S., Schneider, C., Haus, P., Singh, C., Guruj, A., Pant, D., Harnisch, F. (2025): Scaling up electrochemical CO2 reduction to formate through comparative reactor analysis Ind. Chem. Mater. 10.1039/D5IM00056D |
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