Abstract
In this study, we report development of a compact continuous-flow electrochemical cell for an energy-efficient splitting of brine (aqueous NaCl) to yield alkali (NaOH) that would be used for sequestration of carbon dioxide into carbonate minerals at a subsequent stage. Herein, at the first step of process development, cell design and electrode structures are optimized for producing NaOH with minimum input energy. Two cell designs representing a primitive version (design 1) and an advanced version (design 2) are evaluated. The advanced structure of electrochemical cell with a thinner middle compartment exhibits up to 300% improvement in output current density as compared to the primitive version due to shorter ionic diffusion paths. Structural modifications of the anode lead to a successful reduction of Pt loadings by an appreciable amount of 75% without compromising the cell performance. Pt black as a cathode catalyst shows a significantly better performance stability as compared to Pt/C, which experiences a sharp performance decline in a 50h steady-state operation. It has been demonstrated that the compact structure of electrochemical cell allows use of a highly diluted NaOH solution (0.1M) as catholyte without deteriorating the cell performance and stability. Finally, caustic efficiency and different figures of merit are calculated.
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