(730d) CO2 Electrolyzer to Produce Formic Acid at Industry Relevant Current Density

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) to produce as formic acid has attracted great interest recently since formic acid can be used as a feedstock for biorefineries. Over the past decade, much effort has been devoted to the prospects of electrochemical CO₂ conversion to formic acid. However, issues including low current density, low selectivity, low energy efficiency, poor long-term stability, and production of formate salts instead of formic acid remain as the great challenges for the development and commercialization of this technology. Recently, Dioxide Materials (DM) has developed an electrolyzer technology that can directly convert CO₂ to pure formic acid with a three-compartment CO₂ electrolyzer. In this work, DM will present our recent effort on improving the electrolyzer performance operating at industry relevant current density (200 mA/cm²). We have demonstrated 200 mA/cm² with 80% Faradaic efficiency for 1000 hours of operation The effects of CO₂ concentration and impurities in the flue gas on the electrolyzer performance will be discussed, as will ongoing efforts to test the device at a coal fired power plant. The long-term (1000 h) performance of the electrolyzer will also be presented.