Electrochemical converting ethanol to hydrogen and acetic acid for large scale green hydrogen production
(
), Zhongbin Zhuang1,3 ()Graphical Abstract
Abstract
Electrochemical coupling hydrogen evolution with biomass reforming reaction (named electrochemical hydrogen and chemical cogeneration (EHCC)), which realizes green hydrogen production and chemical upgrading simultaneously, is a promising method to build a carbon-neutral society. Herein, we analyze the EHCC process by considering the market assessment. The ethanol to acetic acid and hydrogen approach is the most feasible for large-scale hydrogen production. We develop AuCu nanocatalysts, which can selectively oxidize ethanol to acetic acid (> 97%) with high long-term activity. The isotopic and in-situ infrared experiments reveal that the promoted water dissociation step by alloying contributes to the enhanced activity of the partial oxidation reaction path. A flow-cell electrolyzer equipped with the AuCu anodic catalyst achieves the steady production of hydrogen and acetic acid simultaneously in both high selectivity (> 90%), demonstrating the potential scalable application for green hydrogen production with low energy consumption and high profitability.
Keywords
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References
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