Reactors for electro-upgrading carbon dioxide into value-added chemicals

Abstract

Renewable-powered carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) has recently been recognized as a carbon-neutral chemical production approach with great promise. In the past few years, reactor engineering has demonstrated the efficacy of drastically enhancing the performance of CO2 electroreduction, particularly for the feasibility-determining metrics, including current density, energy efficiency, stability, and product concentrations. This mini-review outlines the efforts of reactor engineering spurring the improvements of the above performance metrics and the implementation of CO2RR in the real fuel and chemical industry. The working principle of each reactor architecture and the resulting state-of-the-art CO2 reduction performance were briefly introduced. Provides perspectives regarding the future of reactor engineering for industrially relevant CO2 electroreduction. Overcoming carbon formation, extending operating stability, and developing efficient solid oxide and non-aqueous reactors would contribute to developing CO2 electroreduction, a benchtop science, into a practical carbon utilization technology.