A Holistic Approach to Develop Novel Processes for the Sustainable Electrochemical Synthesis of Fuels and Chemicals

Abstract

Electrochemical synthesis can become a sustainable solution for the production of fuels and fine chemicals, because (i) it can enable a revolutionary transition in chemical production away from fossil fuels if the required electricity is provided by renewables (ii) it can address the mismatch between intermittent supply and demand of energy, and (iii) it can enable the decentralized, onsite production of chemicals [1, 2]. The various promising electrochemical synthesis processes are at different levels of technological maturity, therefore, to accelerate developments in the field we need to follow holistic approaches that address all material, system or time scales.Here, we describe a systematic methodology for the development of electrochemical process. We first screen various electrodes and potentials, utilizing an own-developed, internationally unique method for the real-time characterization of reaction products [3]. This method is based on coupling of electrochemical flow cells with delicate mass spectrometry techniques. At a second stage, promising materials are examined at selected constant potentials to quantify activity, selectivity, and durability over time. In this case, the electrochemical cell is coupled with online or offline analytical techniques for the quantification of production rates, selectivities, or faradaic efficiencies. Finally, we transfer the gained understanding from the previous two steps to design an applied electrochemical reactor that can carry out the desired process under industrially relevant conditions. The approach will be exemplified for a model oxidative electrosynthesis reaction and the individual elements of the platform will be discussed.