I-Corps: Chemical Manufacturing with a Solid Electrolyte Reactor

William Marsh Rice University, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of an electrified reactor used to produce high-purity chemicals using only air, water, and renewable electricity. Conventional methods for chemical production consume fossil fuels as an energy source and/or feedstock to generate desired products. Costly separation processes such as distillation are then used to purify those chemicals into usable commodities, which accounts for a large portion of energy consumption in the chemical industry. The proposed technology is designed to produce chemicals from air using renewable energy, not fossil fuels, without any downstream separation steps. The proposed applications of this technology are in the areas of carbon capture, direct air capture, and the production of syngas, formic acid, acetic acid, ethanol, and hydrogen peroxide. The proposed technology has the potential to decarbonize, electrify, and decentralize carbon capture and chemical manufacturing, while also reducing energy consumption and cost compared to existing methods. This I-Corps project is based on the development of electrochemical technology as a way to produce chemicals and capture carbon dioxide. In the traditional method of using electricity to produce chemicals, a liquid with impurities is used to conduct electricity and make the process more efficient. However, these impurities need to be removed from the final product, which is expensive and requires significant energy. This makes the electrochemical method more expensive compared to other methods that do not require this purification step. The proposed technology is based on a reactor that uses a solid material to conduct electricity instead of a liquid. This design reduces energy consumption and eliminates the need for the costly purification step. As a result, it is possible to produce high-quality fuels and chemicals directly, without impurities. Results using this system have demonstrated the production of pure hydrogen peroxide, effective capture of carbon dioxide, and conversion of carbon dioxide into chemicals and fuels such as formic acid and acetic acid. Additionally, the compactness and modularity of the reactor allows for the wide-scale local production of chemicals, which can avoid the costs and safety concerns of shipping chemicals over long distances. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.