Electrolyzer for gaseous carbon dioxide

Abstract

An electrochemical device and method can include techniques involving bipolar membrane electrolysis to transform an input product into an output product. Some embodiments can include a gas-diffusion electrode as a cathode, a bipolar membrane configured to facilitate autodissociation, and an anode that can be configured as a liquid-electrolyte style electrode or a gas-diffusion electrode. In some embodiments the electrochemical device can be configured as a CO2 electrolyzer that is designed to utilize input product including carbon dioxide gas and water to generate output products that can include gaseous carbon monoxide or other reduction products of carbon dioxide and gaseous oxygen or the oxidation products of a depolarizer such as hydrogen, methane, or methanol. Embodiments can be utilized in the production of fuels or feedstocks for fuels and carbon-containing chemicals, in air purification systems, flue gas treatment devices, and other machines and facilities.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This patent application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 132,914, filed on Sep. 17, 2018, which is related to and claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62 / 577,357 filed on Oct. 26, 2017, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.[0002]The present application also claims priority to International Application No. PCT / CA2018 / 051147, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 558,505 filed on Sep. 14, 2017. The entirety of PCT / CA2018 / 051147, which published as WO 2019 / 051609, is incorporated by reference herein.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT[0003]This invention was made with government support under Grant No. DE-FG02-07ER15911 awarded by the Department of Energy. The Government has certain rights in the invention.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0004]Embodiments can relate to an electrochemical d...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]With some embodiments, introduction of input product as a gas can allow for reaction products to be generated in the gas phase. This may also allow for collection of output product in the gas phase. These gas phase products can eliminate the need to provide product separation techniques, as no product is being dissolved in a liquid electrolyte solution. As no reactant is being dissolved in a liquid electrolyte solution, the reactants are not caused to transport through a liquid, which can improve upon the transport rate of chemical species within the electrochemical device.

[0009]Some embodiments can include use of a bipolar membrane. Embodiments of the bipolar membrane can be used to separate the cathode and the anode, as well as isolate the reactants associated with the cathode and isolate the reactants associated with the anode. Embodiments of the bipolar membrane can also be configured to manage flux of chemical species from the bipolar membrane to the cathode and / or to the anode. For example, the bipolar membrane can be used to provide a flux of protons to the cathode and a flux of hydroxide ions to the anode. This may generate an electrochemical device that can eliminate or reduce undesired crossover of chemical product between the cathode and anode. This can also allow the electrochemical device to operate with a stable electrolyte pH, even under long-term operation.

[0021]A method of reducing product crossover in an electrochemical cell of an electrochemical device can include various steps. These steps can include, for example, configuring a bipolar membrane of an electrochemical cell that is positioned between an anode and a cathode to cause ions to travel towards an anode electrode and a cathode electrode of the electrochemical cell when the electrochemical cell is under an applied current condition and operating the electrochemical cell so that the bipolar membrane facilitates a supply of protons (H+) to the cathode, to cause water (H2O) to self-ionize via autodissociation to generate hydroxide ions (OH−) and protons H+ to supply a flux of the OH− to the anode and supply a flux of the H+ to the cathode.

Problems solved by technology

Conventional systems may be inefficient, have poor stability, and / or have difficulty in separating reaction products from the electrolytes.

These and other disadvantages may limit the use of conventional electrochemical reduction systems.

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