Electrochemical production of formic acid from carbon dioxide: A life cycle assessment study

Abstract

Even though lab-scale experimental studies have shown the technological potential of the electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to formic acid (FA), there are few studies that have evaluated the environmental feasibility of such a conversion. This study develops an integrated process consisting of a three-compartment cell reaction system and a pressure-swing distillation separation system to produce commercial-grade FA from CO2. A total of 18 environment impact categories, including climate change and fossil depletion, are estimated for the process configurations on a system level. The electrochemical process has a 12.4–99.7% reduced environmental impact except for terrestrial ecotoxicity, compared to the conventional FA production process using carbon monoxide obtained from fossil fuels. In 17 categories, except that of ionizing radiation, electricity was identified as a major factor (17–97%) affecting the environment. A reduction in the electricity requirements or supply of renewable electricity, such as hydropower, will enable more environment friendly FA production from CO2.