Electrochemical conversion of CO2 to value-added products at near ambient temperatures.

在接近环境温度下将二氧化碳电化学转化为增值产品。

• 批准号: 502827-2016
• 负责人: Luo, Jingli
• 金额: $ 6.41万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=692359
• 关键词: Electrochemical; conversion; CO2; value; added

The increasing consumption of fossil fuels in the form of oil and gas has resulted in the record breaking emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) into earth's atmosphere. The excessive atmosphric CO2 contributes the largest portion of greenhouse gases and causes severe climate changes such as global warming and other natural disasters, adversely affecting the living environment of human being. Hence, reducing CO2 emission and/or re-utilizing CO2 are imperative and have drawn research efforts worldwide. This proposed research project is our response to the above challenge. The best way to eliminate CO2 is to convert it to useful products, rather than simple storage or burying it deep in the ground through injection. However, CO2 molecule is very stable and does not usually participate in the chemical reactions. Therefore, large amount of energy and high temperature are usually required to break CO2 molecules to chemically convert it to other products, which makes large scale industrial operation not practical.Our proposed project, on the other hand, aims to electrochemically convert CO2 to CO (carbon monoxide) at room temperature with the merits of less energy required and easier operation handling. The product, CO, has broad range of applications in petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries. The proposed method has a number of additional advantages including easy process control by electrochemical potentials, the ability to recycle electrolyte and possible use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind powers for an even cleaner process that would otherwise be under-utilized or even wasted. The challenge this technology currently faces is its low efficiency, i.e., the existing catalysts are not catalytic enough to accelerate the CO2 conversion process on the electrodes. Our research project will not only develop an effective electrolytic cell for CO2 reduction, but also and more importantly, develop more efficient, low-priced and durable new electrocatalysts that have high current density, high selectivity and low electrochemical barrier for converting CO2. The success of this project will enhance the competitiveness of Alberta industry in world market and benefit Canadian economy.

石油和天然气形式的化石燃料的消耗不断增加，导致二氧化碳（CO2）破纪录地排放到地球大气中。大气中过量的CO2是温室气体的最大来源，它会引起严重的气候变化，如全球变暖和其他自然灾害，对人类的生存环境产生不利影响。因此，减少CO2排放和/或再利用CO2是势在必行的，并且已经吸引了世界范围内的研究努力。本研究项目是我们对上述挑战的回应。消除二氧化碳的最佳方法是将其转化为有用的产品，而不是简单的储存或通过注入将其深埋在地下。然而，CO2分子非常稳定，通常不参与化学反应。因此，需要大量的能量和高温来分解CO2分子，将其化学转化为其他产品，这使得大规模的工业化操作不切实际。另一方面，我们提出的项目旨在在室温下将CO2电化学转化为CO（一氧化碳），具有所需能量少，操作简单的优点。该产品CO在石油化工、医药等行业有着广泛的应用。所提出的方法具有许多额外的优点，包括通过电化学电势容易地进行工艺控制、回收电解质的能力以及可能使用可再生能源如太阳能、风能用于甚至更清洁的工艺，否则这些工艺将被利用不足或甚至浪费。该技术目前面临的挑战是其低效率，即，现有催化剂的催化性不足以加速电极上的CO2转化过程。我们的研究项目不仅将开发用于CO2还原的有效电解槽，而且更重要的是，开发更高效，廉价和耐用的新型电催化剂，这些催化剂具有高电流密度，高选择性和低电化学屏障，用于转化CO2。该项目的成功将提高阿尔伯塔省工业在世界市场上的竞争力，并有利于加拿大经济。