Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1016/j.cattod.2026.115911
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Demonstration of electrochemical CO2 conversion from industrial off-gas to formate and its extraction
Author Izadi, P. ORCID logo ; Antonopoulou, I.; Rova, U.; Christakopoulos, P.; de Oliveira Maciel, A.; Pant, D.; Rawls, B.; Harnisch, F. ORCID logo
Source Titel Catalysis Today
Year 2026
Department MIBITECH
Volume 477
Page From art. 115911
Language englisch
Topic T7 Bioeconomy
Supplements Supplement 1
Keywords Industrial flue gas; Carbon capture; Electrochemical CO2reduction reaction; Gas diffusion electrode; Product extraction
Abstract

We present a complete laboratory-scale demonstration of industrial off-gas valorisation that is achieved by integrating enzyme-promoted CO2 capture and purification, electrochemical conversion and downstream processing. Mixed off-gas was sampled on-site before and after an industrial scrubber, subsequently purified and enriched in methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) using a carbonic anhydrase-enhanced sorption achieving an average CO2 absorption efficiency of 62.6 ± 2.2% and a desorption efficiency of 81 ± 5%. The 300 L gained gas containing approximately 90% CO2 was subsequently employed as feedstock for electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction using tin gas diffusion electrodes (Sn-GDE). After 4 h of operation, 6.9 ± 0.3 L−1 of formate with a coulombic efficiency of 57.8 ± 5.0% was produced in ca. 1.9 L being the combined catholyte solutions of 4 independent replicates. Downstream processing thereof enabled formate extraction and concentration to 189 L−1 formic acid in 10 mL. The overall workflow, from raw off-gas to a purified product, highlights the feasibility of coupling biocatalyst-assisted CO2 capture with electrochemical conversion for sustainable carbon utilisation. This study provides an important step toward scalable, integrated CO2 capture and conversion technologies directly applicable to industrial emission sources, by demonstrating the operational challenges that arise only upon process integration.

Izadi, P., Antonopoulou, I., Rova, U., Christakopoulos, P., de Oliveira Maciel, A., Pant, D., Rawls, B., Harnisch, F. (2026):
Demonstration of electrochemical CO2 conversion from industrial off-gas to formate and its extraction
Catal.Today 477 , art. 115911
10.1016/j.cattod.2026.115911