Enhanced carbon dioxide electrolysis at redox manipulated interfaces

Carbon dioxide obtained from industrial waste streams can be reduced to deliver significant reductions in global CO2 emissions. This can be achieved sustainably by utilising renewable electricity to drive the electrolysis. Solid Oxide Electrolysis (SOE) is an efficient, high temperature approach that reduces polarisation losses and best utilises process heat; however, at present, the technology is relatively unrefined for CO2 electrolysis. Approaches are based upon solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology. There is an important need to develop new materials optimally tuned and better suited to the very different requirements of SOE. As in most electrochemical systems, the interfaces between active components are usually of great importance in determining the performance and lifetime of any application. Here, we report a generic approach of interface engineering to achieve active interfaces at nanoscale by a synergistic control of materials function and interface architecture. We show that the redox-engineered interfaces facilitate the atomic oxygen transfer from adsorbed CO2 molecules to the cathode lattice that determines CO2 electrolysis rate at elevated temperatures. Composite cathodes with in situ grown interfaces demonstrate significantly enhanced CO2 electrolysis and improved durability.

Economic, environmental, and technical gains from the Kyoto Protocol: Evidence from cement manufacturing

Chromate cathode decorated with in-situ growth of copper nanocatalyst for high temperature carbon dioxide electrolysis

The effects from the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in the largest annual decrease in global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions based on countries with the highest industrial output, including China, the United States, India, and the European Union, as well as the global oil sector . With lockdowns and stay-at-home orders being implemented in the vast majority of the world, the overall production decreased by 8.8% in the first half of 2020 alone .

Carbon-neutral methanol synthesis as carbon dioxide utilization at different scales: Economic and environmental perspectives

Carbon Dioxide as Chemical Feedstock

Splitting CO2 into CO and pure O2 at high temperature through solid oxide electrolyzers (SOEs) could provide an efficient way for energy storage and CO2 utilization. Tubular solid oxide electrolysis cells, with yttrium-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) as electrolyte, strontium-doped lanthanate (LSM) as anode, cermet of Ag-GDC (gadolinium-doped-ceria) as cathode, is fabricated and operated as SOEs for electrolysis of pure CO2. Such an SOE shows a minimum electrolyzing voltage of 0.70 V and a current density of 1359 mA cm−2 at 2 V. Its CO production rates are 3.1, 6.6 and 10.0 mL min−1 at electrical currents of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 A, respectively, at 800°C. The corresponding Faraday efficiencies are 88.6%, 94.3%, and 95.2%, and the electrical energy conversion efficiencies are 75.4%, 65.2%, and 56.5%, respectively. An SOE with Ag-GDC electrode is steadily operated at 1.59 V for pure CO2 electrolysis at 800°C for 18 h, suggesting that Ag-GDC is a promising cathode material for SOEs of CO2 electrolysis.

Carbon emissions threaten marine species

Fluorite-type heterogeneous catalyst ceria is a mixed conductor and widely used as a hydrocarbon-fueled solid oxide fuel cell anode because of its advantage of anti-carbon deposition, redox stability, and thermal compatibility. However, the electrocatalytic activity of a ceria cathode is limited for the catalysis of electrochemical oxidation or reduction reactions. In this work, catalytic-active iron and nickel catalysts are loaded onto a ceria cathode via an infiltration method to enhance electrode performance. Direct electrolysis of carbon dioxide is performed on ceria cathodes loaded with iron and nickel catalysts in solid oxide electrolyzers, respectively. The polarization resistance of symmetrical cells and electrolysis cells loaded with nickel and iron catalysts is largely improved in comparison with the bare ceria. The current efficiencies for carbon dioxide electrolysis for the iron- and nickel-loaded cathodes are 76 and 80 % at 2.0 V and 800 °C, respectively, approximately 25 % higher than that for the bare ceria cathode.

The term “smog”—a combination of smoke and fog—was invented by a British doctor a century ago. In 21st century Europe, air pollution has greatly improved by most measures but is...

Ceramic materials with perovskite structure have attracted attention as possible redox stable, sulfur- and carbon tolerant cathode materials for solid oxide electrolysis cells 1,2. For example, composite cathode based on La0.8Sr0.2Cr0.5Mn0.5O3-δ (LSCM) are used for high temperature electrolysis of steam and co-electrolysis of steam and carbon dioxide 3,4. However, the limitation of electrochemical performance of electrolysis cell due to insufficient electrocatalytic activity can be a serious challenge 5. In this study, catalytically active nickel and copper nanoparticles were grown on the surface of A-site deficient LSCM via redox exsolution. Influence of water-gas shift reaction activity conditions of electrolysis and nanocatalyst properties on the outlet gas composition were evaluated. Electrolysis cells were prepared by sandwiching dense Zr0.89Sc0.10Ce0.01O2-δ (ScCeSZ) electrolyte layer between porous ScCeSZ layers and followed by wet impregnating of electrocatalytically active electrodes into the porous matrix. Impregnated salt mixture is decomposed at 400 °C, calcined and then sintered at 1400°C for 5 h. The thicknesses of the dense electrolyte and the porous scaffold were approximately 100 μm and 40 μm, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, FIB-TOF-SIMS and ICP-MS methods were used to characterize materials. Electrochemical characterization and analysis of outlet gas composition using gas chromatography was carried out at temperature range from 650 to 850 °C in various H2O, CO2, H2 and Ar inlet concentrations. As expected, the activity of composite cathode was greatly enhanced by the exsolved nickel and copper nanoparticles. For gas compositions the influence of water-gas shift (WGS) for nickel was greater than for copper. Thus, it has been demonstrated that both nickel and copper nanoparticles can enhance the electrolytic activity of the cathode for steam electrolysis and co-electrolysis of steam and carbon dioxide. Influence of water-gas shift reaction at co-electrolysis conditions and properties of nanocatalysts on the outlet gas composition were evaluated.

This special issue contains peer-reviewed manuscripts presented at the 10th International Conference on CO2 Utilization (ICCDU-X), Tianijn, China, May 17-21, 2009. The guest editor is grateful to Tianjin University, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Catalysis Science & Technology, Agilent, Quantachrome, Frontier of Chemical Engineering in China and Energy & Environmental Science for their sponsorship. Carbon dioxide is the largest man-made greenhouse gas. The emission of carbon dioxide has led to a more and more serious global warming. How to deal with carbon dioxide is a significant challenge to governments, industries and societies worldwide. On the other hand, it has been well known that carbon dioxide is the largest carbon resource for various syntheses. The utilization or chemical fixation of carbon dioxide would be a final solution to the global carbon dioxide problem. This special issue focuses on the utilization of carbon dioxide with other related important aspects, like capture, separation and low-carbon emission options. Especially, several authors presented their new ideas for the first time in papers in this special issue. The guest editor believes that the papers presented here will be helpful for the future development of this truly international field. The guest editor thanks all the authors for their excellent contributions and also for their understanding and collaborations. The guest editor also acknowledges all the referees for their reviews that make this quality issue possible.

Power consumption by the UK water industry has increased as a result of the introduction of new quality standards; the annual (2008/2009) carbon dioxide output was reported at 5·1 Mt. Biogenic output of carbon dioxide for the sector was calculated to be about 2 Mt. The strategies available to the water industry for reducing carbon footprint are increased use of renewable energy, principally anaerobic digestion, using less power and methods for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. This paper reports on work sponsored by UK Water Industry Research to examine methods for capturing and utilising carbon dioxide from wastewater treatment. The review has concluded that bioconversion and biofixation using algae and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis are the most promising methods for utilising carbon dioxide. These technologies would readily integrate into existing industry flow sheets and both increase biogas production and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Climate smart technologies are part and parcel of the low-carbon technological climate change package, which have entered the arena for climate policy discussions since the 1980s. Past efforts at tackling climate change have been around since 1980 and the need to create a low carbon economy has been at the forefront of climate change global discussions. Against this background, this paper provides an econometric analysis of the impact of climate smart technologies on global carbon dioxide emissions. It quantitatively traces the progress that has been made globally in reducing carbon dioxide emissions considering that the 2050 net-zero emissions deadline is only two and a half decades away. The paper considers carbon dioxide due to the observation that it is the most significant greenhouse gas whose emissions currently stand at 37 gigatons per annum. Making use of graphite, zinc, silver global production annual trends, global land use changes and the changing trends of global forest area cover of global data running from 1990 to 2023 to generate the formula, Log(co2) = β0 + β1Logforest + β2Log(graphite) + β3Log(landuse) + β4log(silver) + β5dlog(zinc) +ε, in EViews 7, the study found that a 1% increase in forest, graphite, landuse, silver and zinc technologies yields a 95% reduction in carbon dioxide emission. There is positive progress in attempts at reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The study therefore recommends nation-states to increase and gear-up their climate smart efforts to achieve net-zero GHGs emissions by 2050.

A composite cathode based on redox-stable La0.2Sr0.8TiO(3+δ) (LSTO) can perform direct carbon dioxide electrolysis; however, the insufficient electro-catalytic activity limits the electrode performances and current efficiencies. In this work, catalytically active scandium is doped into LSTO to enhance the electro-catalytic activity for CO2 electrolysis. The structures, electronic conductivities and ionic conductivities of La0.2Sr0.8Ti(1-x)Sc(x)O (LSTS(x)O) (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2) are systematically studied and further correlated with electrode performances. The ionic conductivities of single-phase LSTS(x)O (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15) remarkably improve versus the scandium doping contents though the electrical conductivities gradually change in an adverse trend. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate promising electrode polarisation of LSTS(x)O electrodes and increasing scandium doping contents accordingly improve electrode performances. The Faradic efficiencies of carbon dioxide electrolysis are enhanced by 20% with LSTS0.15O in contrast to bare LSTO electrodes in a solid oxide electrolyser at 800 °C.