Showing papers by "Niels J. Bjerrum published in 2023"
TL;DR: In this article , it was demonstrated that it is possible to produce methanol in one step in reasonable amounts by electrolysis of CO2 and H2O gasses dissolved under 28 bar and at 240°C in contact with an electrolyte consisting of solid CsH2PO4 with additions of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) acting as a binder.
Abstract:
It has been demonstrated that it is possible to produce methanol in one step in reasonable amounts by electrolysis of CO2 and H2O gasses dissolved under 28 bar and at 240°C in contact with an electrolyte consisting of solid CsH2PO4 with additions of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) acting as a binder. The cathode was designed as a sandwich with a layer of a copper methanol catalyst and a porous platinum electrode. The anode consisted of porous ruthenium metal covered by a layer of RuO2. The system was operated with current densities of up to ca. 100 mA/cm2 with a voltage of less than 2 Volts producing methanol with a Faradaic efficiency of up to ca. 7 %. There seems to be nothing against recirculating the rest of reactant gases to improve the conversion. The question is of course whether the present approach can compete with a more traditional conversion starting with electrochemical produced hydrogen.