{"id":412,"date":"2021-07-01T07:30:45","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T07:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pscsolaruk.com\/blog\/?p=412"},"modified":"2021-07-01T07:30:45","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T07:30:45","slug":"scientists-intensify-electrolysis-utilize-carbon-dioxide-more-efficiently-with-magnets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pscsolaruk.com\/blog\/scientists-intensify-electrolysis-utilize-carbon-dioxide-more-efficiently-with-magnets\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists intensify electrolysis, utilize carbon dioxide more efficiently with magnets"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chemical and biomolecular engineering professor and department head Paul Kenis (right) and graduate student Saket Bhargava (left) report reducing the energy<\/a> required for CO2 electrolysis by more than 60% in a flow electrolyzer using magnetism. Credit: University of Illinois\/Claire Benjamin<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For decades, researchers have been working toward mitigating excess atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2<\/sub>) emissions. One promising approach captures atmospheric CO2<\/sub>\u00a0and then, through CO2<\/sub>\u00a0electrolysis, converts it into value-added chemicals and intermediates\u2014like ethanol, ethylene, and other useful chemicals. While significant research has been devoted to improving the rate and selectivity of CO2<\/sub>\u00a0electrolysis, reducing the energy consumption of this high-power process has been underexplored.<\/p>

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In\u00a0ACS Energy Letters<\/i>, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign report a new opportunity to use magnetism to reduce the\u00a0energy<\/a>\u00a0required for CO2<\/sub>\u00a0electrolysis by up to 60% in a flow electrolyzer.<\/p>\n

In a typical CO2<\/sub>\u00a0flow electrolyzer, electricity is supplied to drive the reactions at the cathode (where\u00a0carbon dioxide<\/a>\u00a0is reduced into useful byproducts) and the anode (where water is oxidized, producing oxygen).<\/p>

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Most studies have focused on making the reduction reaction at the cathode more efficient at higher rates; however, this process requires little energy compared to the oxidation reaction on the anode\u2014which often accounts for more than 80% of the energy required for CO2<\/sub>\u00a0electrolysis, and therefore, offers the most room for improvement.<\/p>\n

“The answer was staring us right in the face\u2014of course, the trick is to reduce the energy consumption at the anode,” said first-author Saket S. Bhargava, a graduate student in chemical and biomolecular engineering at Illinois. “We decided that if oxygen evolution is the problem, why not use a magnetic field at the oxygen evolving electrode and see what happens to the entire system.”<\/p>

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Chemical and biomolecular engineering graduate student Saket Bhargava holds a flow electrolysis cell. Credit: University of Illinois\/Claire Benjamin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

They used a\u00a0magnetic field<\/a>\u00a0at the anode to achieve energy savings ranging from 7% to 64% by enhancing mass transport to\/from the electrode. They also swapped the traditional iridium catalyst\u2014a precious metal\u2014with a nickel-iron catalyst comprised of abundant elements.<\/p>\n

“Our ultimate goal is to transform carbon dioxide back into carbon-based chemicals,” said lead author Paul Kenis, a chemical and biomolecular engineering professor and department head at Illinois. “With this study, we have demonstrated how further to reduce the significant energy requirements for CO2<\/sub>\u00a0electrolysis<\/a>, hopefully making this process more viable for adoption by industry.”<\/p>

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