Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide

This article is about the electrochemical system. For related systems, see Photoelectrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide and Photochemical reduction of carbon dioxide.

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide, also known as CO2RR, is the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to more reduced chemical species using electrical energy. It represents one potential step in the broad scheme of carbon capture and utilization.[1]

CO2RR can produce diverse compounds including formate (HCOO-), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), ethylene (C2H4), and ethanol (C2H5OH).[2] The main challenges are the relatively high cost of electricity (vs petroleum) and that CO2 is often contaminated with O2 and must be purified before reduction.

The first examples of CO2RR are from the 19th century, when carbon dioxide was reduced to carbon monoxide using a zinc cathode. Research in this field intensified in the 1980s following the oil embargoes of the 1970s. As of 2021, pilot-scale carbon dioxide electrochemical reduction is being developed by several companies, including Siemens,[3] Dioxide Materials,[4][5] Twelve and GIGKarasek. The techno-economic analysis was recently conducted to assess the key technical gaps and commercial potentials of the carbon dioxide electrolysis technology at near ambient conditions.[6][7]

  1. ^ "Dream or Reality? Electrification of the Chemical Process Industries". www.aiche-cep.com. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
  2. ^ Appel AM, Bercaw JE, Bocarsly AB, Dobbek H, DuBois DL, Dupuis M, et al. (August 2013). "Frontiers, opportunities, and challenges in biochemical and chemical catalysis of CO2 fixation". Chemical Reviews. 113 (8): 6621–58. doi:10.1021/cr300463y. PMC 3895110. PMID 23767781.
  3. ^ "CO2 is turned into feedstock". siemens-energy.com Global Website. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  4. ^ "CO2 Electrolyzers With Record Performance". Dioxide Materials. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  5. ^ Masel, Richard I.; Liu, Zengcai; Yang, Hongzhou; Kaczur, Jerry J.; Carrillo, Daniel; Ren, Shaoxuan; Salvatore, Danielle; Berlinguette, Curtis P. (2021). "An industrial perspective on catalysts for low-temperature CO 2 electrolysis". Nature Nanotechnology. 16 (2): 118–128. Bibcode:2021NatNa..16..118M. doi:10.1038/s41565-020-00823-x. ISSN 1748-3395. OSTI 1756565. PMID 33432206. S2CID 231580446.
  6. ^ Jouny, Matthew; Luc, Wesley; Jiao, Feng (2018-02-14). "General Techno-Economic Analysis of CO2 Electrolysis Systems". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. 57 (6): 2165–2177. doi:10.1021/acs.iecr.7b03514. ISSN 0888-5885. OSTI 1712664.
  7. ^ Shin, Haeun; Hansen, Kentaro U.; Jiao, Feng (October 2021). "Techno-economic assessment of low-temperature carbon dioxide electrolysis". Nature Sustainability. 4 (10): 911–919. Bibcode:2021NatSu...4..911S. doi:10.1038/s41893-021-00739-x. ISSN 2398-9629. S2CID 235801320.