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Energy Savings in the Conversion of CO 2 to Fuels using an Electrolytic Device
Author(s) -
Bevilacqua Manuela,
Filippi Jonathan,
Lavacchi Alessandro,
Marchionni Andrea,
Miller Hamish A.,
Oberhauser Werner,
Vesselli Erik,
Vizza Francesco
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201402014
Subject(s) - anode , electrolyte , cathode , electrolysis , hydrocarbon , copper , chemical engineering , inorganic chemistry , materials science , chemistry , electrode , organic chemistry , engineering
We describe the realization of an electrolyzer for the electroreduction of CO 2 to useful hydrocarbons and carboxylates such as CH 4 , C 2 H 4 , and HCOO ‐ . The device uses a molecular copper phthalocyanine‐based cathode, an anion exchange membrane, and a nanostructured Pd@Ti anode. The key advantage of this device is the exploitation of anodic alcohol oxidation instead of water oxidation. The lower operating cell potential due to the presence of ethanol leads to a net reduction in energy consumption, from 130 kWh to 77 kWh (per kg of hydrocarbon product mixture), in comparison to the cell operating with oxygen evolution.