Seawater electrolysis for fuels and chemicals production: fundamentals, achievements, and perspectives
Seawater electrolysis for the production of fuels and chemicals involved in onshore and offshore plants powered by renewable energies offers a promising avenue and unique advantages for energy and environmental sustainability. Nevertheless, seawater electrolysis presents long-term challenges and iss...
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| Published in | Chemical Society reviews Vol. 53; no. 14; pp. 7455 - 7488 |
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| Main Authors | , , , , , , , , |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
England
Royal Society of Chemistry
15.07.2024
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| Subjects | |
| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Seawater electrolysis for the production of fuels and chemicals involved in onshore and offshore plants powered by renewable energies offers a promising avenue and unique advantages for energy and environmental sustainability. Nevertheless, seawater electrolysis presents long-term challenges and issues, such as complex composition, potential side reactions, deposition of and poisoning by microorganisms and metal ions, as well as corrosion, thus hindering the rapid development of seawater electrolysis technology. This review focuses on the production of value-added fuels (hydrogen and beyond) and fine chemicals through seawater electrolysis, as a promising step towards sustainable energy development and carbon neutrality. The principle of seawater electrolysis and related challenges are first introduced, and the redox reaction mechanisms of fuels and chemicals are summarized. Strategies for operating anodes and cathodes including the development and application of chloride- and impurity-resistant electrocatalysts/membranes are reviewed. We comprehensively summarize the production of fuels and chemicals (hydrogen, carbon monoxide, sulfur, ammonia,
etc.
) at the cathode and anode
via
seawater electrolysis, and propose other potential strategies for co-producing fine chemicals, even sophisticated and electronic chemicals. Seawater electrolysis can drive the oxidation and upgrading of industrial pollutants or natural organics into value-added chemicals or degrade them into harmless substances, which would be meaningful for environmental protection. Finally, the perspective and prospects are outlined to address the challenges and expand the application of seawater electrolysis.
The production of value-added fuels and chemicals
via
seawater electrolysis is a promising step or support towards sustainable energy development and carbon neutrality. |
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| Bibliography: | Jieshan Qiu received his PhD degree in organic chemical engineering in 1990 from Dalian University of Technology, China. Currently, he is Cheung-Kong Distinguished Professor of Carbon Science and Chemical Engineering, and Deputy Director of the Academic Committee at Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China. Prof. Qiu is an internationally-recognized researcher and thought leader in carbon science and chemical engineering. His research encompasses both fundamental and applied aspects of carbon materials and science, with a focus on the methodologies for producing carbon materials and their applications in catalysis, energy storage and conversion. Lin Chen received his master's degree from China University of Petroleum (East China) in 2021. He is currently a PhD candidate in School of Chemical Engineering at Dalian University of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Jieshan Qiu and Prof. Chang Yu. His current research focuses on the design of nickel-based nanocatalysts towards fine chemicals electro-synthesis and seawater electrolysis. Chang Yu received her PhD degree from the School of Chemical Engineering at Dalian University of Technology (DUT) in 2008. She is currently a Cheung-Kong Distinguished Professor of Carbon Materials and Energy Chemical Engineering, a full professor at the School of Chemical Engineering at DUT, and the winner of the Outstanding Youth Fellowship supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Her research interests mainly focus on the preparation of value-added/functional carbon and the coupled two-dimensional inorganic layered materials, and their applications in supercapacitors, thermal/electrocatalytic conversion of small molecules and fine chemicals. ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 ObjectType-Review-3 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 0306-0012 1460-4744 1460-4744 |
| DOI: | 10.1039/d3cs00822c |