Abstract
Amine scrubbing is currently the most robust technology for post-combustion CO2 capture. However, the energy-intensive regeneration process of the amine has an important effect on the operating costs, making the technology expensive, which hinders a wider industrial application. To avoid the regeneration step and thus decrease the cost, this PhD project proposal aims at the direct electrochemical CO2 reduction from the capture media, focusing on the catalyst preparation and the determination of the reduction mechanism. Formate is targeted as main reduction product due to the readiness of production from the CO2 reduction. Tin (Sn) catalysts will be synthesized, primarily by electrodeposition, for an optimized formate generation from the capture media. Spectroelectrochemical methods – mainly SEIRAS – will be used to investigate the electrode surface and thus unravel the reaction mechanism. With the determined mechanism and optimized CO2 conversion, the system will be tested for longer term electrolysis (> 50h) and will be validated by means of a different catalyst (Ag for the production of CO), enabling this technology to be one step further into the possible industrial application.
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