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Continuous electroreduction of CO 2 to formate using Sn gas diffusion electrodes
Author(s) -
Del Castillo Andrés,
AlvarezGuerra Manuel,
Irabien Angel
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.14544
Subject(s) - formate , electrolyte , electrode , diffusion , electrochemistry , gaseous diffusion , chemistry , gas diffusion electrode , factorial experiment , volumetric flow rate , analytical chemistry (journal) , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , materials science , thermodynamics , chromatography , organic chemistry , mathematics , engineering , catalysis , statistics , physics
Electrochemical valorization may be a strategy for mitigating climate change, as the process allows for CO 2 to be converted into industrially useful chemicals. The aim of this work is to study the influence of key variables on the performance of an experimental system for continuous electroreduction of CO 2 to formate with a gas diffusion electrode (GDE) loaded with Sn. A 2 3 factorial design of experiments at different levels of current density (j), electrolyte flow rate/electrode area ratio (Q/A ratio) and GDE Sn load was followed. Higher rates and concentrations (i.e., 1.4·10 −3 mol m −2 s −1 and 1348 mg L −1 with efficiencies of approximately 70%) were obtained with GDEs than with plate electrodes. The statistical design of experiments demonstrated that the Sn load had the most significant effect on rate and efficiency. However, despite these promising results, further research is required to optimize the process. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J , 60: 3557–3564, 2014