Low-voltage syngas synthesis via BPM electrolysis of CO2 capture and aldehyde solution

Po-Wei Huang; Hyeonuk Choi; Anush Venkataraman; Olivia Vulpin; Claudio A. Ruiz Torres; Danae A. Chipoco Haro; Yaguang Zhu; Erika R. Yamazaki; Kelsey B. Hatzell; Shannon W. Boettcher; Sankar Nair; Jihun Oh; Hakhyeon Song; Marta C. Hatzell

doi:10.1039/D5EE07845H

Low-voltage syngas synthesis via BPM electrolysis of CO₂ capture and aldehyde solution

Po-Wei Huang,†^a Hyeonuk Choi,

†^b Anush Venkataraman,^a Olivia Vulpin,

^c Claudio A. Ruiz Torres,

^d Danae A. Chipoco Haro,

^e Yaguang Zhu,

^d Erika R. Yamazaki,^a Kelsey B. Hatzell,

^di Shannon W. Boettcher,

^cfg Sankar Nair,^a Jihun Oh,

*^b Hakhyeon Song

*^h and Marta C. Hatzell

*^ah

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
E-mail: marta.hatzell@me.gatech.edu

^b Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
E-mail: jihun.oh@kaist.ac.kr

^c Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Oregon Center for Electrochemistry, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA

^d Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA

^e School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA

^f Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

^g Energy Storage and Distributed Resources Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

^h George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
E-mail: hakhyeon.song@me.gatech.edu

ⁱ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA

Abstract

We demonstrate an electrochemical syngas production platform that couples bicarbonate electrolysis with formaldehyde oxidation in a bipolar membrane electrode assembly. This strategy doubles syngas (CO + H₂) throughput compared to conventional CO₂ electrolysis by generating CO at the cathode and H₂ at the anode. The system achieves a full-cell voltage of 1.7 V while operating at an industrially relevant current density of 200 mA cm⁻². The system maintained a combined Faradaic efficiency of 200% over 8 hours. The process produces syngas with a 1 : 1 H₂ : CO ratio, aligning with downstream requirements for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. We further investigated how Cu anode active sites and electrolyte composition affect formaldehyde oxidation activity. Our integrated electrolytic system reduces levelized energy by 45–61% relative to conventional electrochemical syngas production platforms.

Energy & Environmental Science

Low-voltage syngas synthesis via BPM electrolysis of CO₂ capture and aldehyde solution

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Low-voltage syngas synthesis via BPM electrolysis of CO₂ capture and aldehyde solution

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