(Invited) Virtual Analysis of Gas-Diffusion-Electrode CO2 Electrolyzers

Weng, Lien-Chun; Bui, Justin C.; Romiluyi, Oyinkansola; Bell, Alexis T.; Weber, Adam Z.

doi:10.1149/ma2020-01391751mtgabs

Title: (Invited) Virtual Analysis of Gas-Diffusion-Electrode CO₂ Electrolyzers

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Abstract

The electrochemical reduction of CO₂ (CO₂R) to value-added products is an attractive technology for tackling the rising atmospheric CO₂ levels and storing intermittent renewable energy into chemical bonds. Fundamental understanding of CO₂R has progressed significantly in recent years and is critical in the development of CO₂R to liquid-fuel electrolyzers, where gas-diffusion electrodes (GDEs) have been shown to be key enabling architectures. Various designs have been proposed and studied in the literature to enhance overall selectivity, rates, and maximize the conversion of CO₂, the latter of which is only now being recognized as a critical issue. In this respect, there is a need to explore the governing phenomena inherent in these architectures to enable optimization. Mathematical modeling is ideally suited to tackle and explore these multiphysics interactions and provide virtual design analysis. In this talk, we discuss modeling methodologies and physics inherent in these devices and present our recent modeling of GDEs for CO₂ reduction. We specifically examine the impacts of multiphase flow and related phenomena on overall cell performance. We then explore the performance and limitations of various cell designs guided by simulation results and examine potential methods for improving water management and tuning catalyst selectivity including the use ofmore »« less

Authors:

Weng, Lien-Chun ^[1];

^[1]; Romiluyi, Oyinkansola ^[2]; Bell, Alexis T. ^[3];

^[4]

Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP)
Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Publication Date:: Fri May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2020

Research Org.:: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

OSTI Identifier:: 1721642

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; SC0004993

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Meeting abstracts (Electrochemical Society. Online)

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Name: Meeting abstracts (Electrochemical Society. Online); Journal Volume: MA2020-01; Journal Issue: 39; Journal ID: ISSN 2151-2043

Publisher:: Electrochemical Society

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 42 ENGINEERING

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                    Weng, Lien-Chun, Bui, Justin C., Romiluyi, Oyinkansola, Bell, Alexis T., and Weber, Adam Z. (Invited) Virtual Analysis of Gas-Diffusion-Electrode CO2 Electrolyzers.  United States: N. p., 2020. 
Web.  doi:10.1149/ma2020-01391751mtgabs.

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                    Weng, Lien-Chun, Bui, Justin C., Romiluyi, Oyinkansola, Bell, Alexis T., & Weber, Adam Z. (Invited) Virtual Analysis of Gas-Diffusion-Electrode CO2 Electrolyzers.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1149/ma2020-01391751mtgabs

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                    Weng, Lien-Chun, Bui, Justin C., Romiluyi, Oyinkansola, Bell, Alexis T., and Weber, Adam Z. Fri .  
"(Invited) Virtual Analysis of Gas-Diffusion-Electrode CO2 Electrolyzers".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1149/ma2020-01391751mtgabs.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1721642.

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@article{osti_1721642,

  title        = {(Invited) Virtual Analysis of Gas-Diffusion-Electrode CO2 Electrolyzers},

  author       = {Weng, Lien-Chun and Bui, Justin C. and Romiluyi, Oyinkansola and Bell, Alexis T. and Weber, Adam Z.},

  abstractNote = {The electrochemical reduction of CO2 (CO2R) to value-added products is an attractive technology for tackling the rising atmospheric CO2 levels and storing intermittent renewable energy into chemical bonds. Fundamental understanding of CO2R has progressed significantly in recent years and is critical in the development of CO2R to liquid-fuel electrolyzers, where gas-diffusion electrodes (GDEs) have been shown to be key enabling architectures. Various designs have been proposed and studied in the literature to enhance overall selectivity, rates, and maximize the conversion of CO2, the latter of which is only now being recognized as a critical issue. In this respect, there is a need to explore the governing phenomena inherent in these architectures to enable optimization. Mathematical modeling is ideally suited to tackle and explore these multiphysics interactions and provide virtual design analysis. In this talk, we discuss modeling methodologies and physics inherent in these devices and present our recent modeling of GDEs for CO2 reduction. We specifically examine the impacts of multiphase flow and related phenomena on overall cell performance. We then explore the performance and limitations of various cell designs guided by simulation results and examine potential methods for improving water management and tuning catalyst selectivity including the use of different anion-exchange and bipolar membranes. Finally, we discuss the disparities in local environments between aqueous and GDE devices and propose strategies to reduce the gap in knowledge between the two systems.},

  doi          = {10.1149/ma2020-01391751mtgabs},

  journal      = {Meeting abstracts (Electrochemical Society. Online)},

  number       = 39,

  volume       = MA2020-01,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Fri May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2020},

  month        = {Fri May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2020}

}

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Title: (Invited) Virtual Analysis of Gas-Diffusion-Electrode CO2 Electrolyzers

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Title: (Invited) Virtual Analysis of Gas-Diffusion-Electrode CO₂ Electrolyzers