Journal of Energy Chemistry

Journal of Energy Chemistry ›› 2023, Vol. 79 ›› Issue (4): 398-409.DOI: 10.1016/j.jechem.2023.01.020

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Accelerating net-zero carbon emissions by electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide

Fan Hea, Sirui Tongb, Zhouyang Luoa, Haoran Dinga, Ziye Chenga, Chenxi Lia, Zhifu Qia,*   

  1. aZhejiang Baima Lake Laboratory Co., Ltd, Hangzhou 311121, Zhejiang, China;
    bSchool of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
  • Received:2022-12-21 Revised:2023-01-02 Accepted:2023-01-13 Online:2023-04-15 Published:2023-05-30
  • Contact: * E-mail address: qzf@zju.edu.cn (Z. Qi).
  • About author:Fan He received his Ph.D degree in 2021 from Univer-sity of Science and Technology of China under the guidance of Professor Yanxia Chen. He is now a post-doctoral scholar in Zhejiang Baima Lake Laboratory. His current research is focused on electrocatalysis, elec-trolyzer development and energy transformation.
    Sirui Tong received his BSc degree from the University of New South Wales in 2019. He is currently a Ph.D. student at Nanyang Technological University under the supervision of Professor Chan Siew Hwa. He mainly works on simulations of the catalytic decomposition of methane to produce high-purity hydrogen in various reactors.
    Zhouyang Luo received his PhD (2016) at Peking University under supervision of Prof. Dahui Zhao and pursued post-doctoral scholar at Shanghai Jiao Tong University under supervision of Prof. Hua Bao. He is currently a research fellow in Zhejiang Baima Lake Laboratory, and his current research interests are on energy-saving materials and devices.
    Haoran Ding received his Ph.D degree in 2020 from Huazhong University of Science and Technology under the guidance of Professor Liqi Zhang. He is now a postdoctoral scholar in Zhejiang Baima Lake Laboratory. His current research is focused on multi-phase flow, CFD simulation and electrocatalysis.
    Ziye Cheng obtained his M.Eng. degree from Beijing University of Chemical Technology in 2021. He is cur-rently a research fellow in Zhejiang Baima Lake Labo-ratory. His research interests involve the design and development of electrocatalysts for energy applications.
    Chenxi Li received her M.A.Sc.(2019) at The University of British Columbia under the supervision of Prof. Jon-gho Lee. She is currently a research fellow in Zhejiang Baima Lake Laboratory. Her current research interests are on industrial CO2 capture and utilization.
    Zhifu Qi received his PhD degree in Thermal Engineer-ing from Zhejiang University in 2014 under the men-torship of Professor Xiaodong Li. Then, He was a postdoctoral scholar with Professor Xiang Gao at Zhe-jiang University. He also conducted visiting research with Professor Thomas Jaramillo at Stanford University in 2018. His current research is focused on electrocat-alytic conversion of CO2 to fuels and chemicals.

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Abstract: Electroreduction of CO2 shows great potential for global CO2 utilization and uptake when collaborated with renewable electricity. Recent advances have been achieved in fundamental understanding and elec-trocatalyst development for CO2 electroreduction. We think this research area has progressed to the stage where significant efforts can focus on translating the obtained knowledge to the development of large-scale electrolyzers, which have the potential to accelerate the transition of the current energy system into a sustainable and zero-carbon emission energy structure. In this perspective paper, we first critically evaluate the advancement of vapor-feed devices that use CO2 as reactants, from the point of view of industry applications. Then, by carefully comparing their performance to the state-of-the-art water elec-trolyzers which are well-established technology providing realistic performance targets, we looped back and discussed the remaining challenges including electrode catalysts, reaction conditions, mass trans-porting, membrane, device durability, operation mode, and so on. Finally, we provide perspectives on the challenges and suggest opportunities for generating fundamental knowledge and achieving techno-logical progress toward the development of practical CO2 electrolyzers for the goal of building low-carbon or/and net carbon-free economies.

Key words: CO2 emission, Energy storage, CO2 electroreduction, CO2 electrolyzer, Scale up