A Prospective Life Cycle Assessment of Electrochemical CO₂ Reduction to Selective Formic Acid and Ethylene

Abstract

Converting CO 2 into valuable C 1 -C 2 chemicals through electrochemical CO 2 reduction (ECR) has potential to remedy the everincreasing climate problems owing to the intensification of industrial activity. In this work, cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to quantify the environmental impacts of formic acid (FA) and ethylene production through ECR benchmarked with the conventional processes. At the midpoint level, global warming potential (GWP) effects of FA and ethylene production through ECR recorded 5.6 and 1.6times that of the conventional process, respectively. Although ECR currently has limited environmental benefits, the incorporation of hydropower has vast potential after evaluating four sustainable electricity sources, namely hydropower, wind, solar, and biomass. Notably, ECR to FA recorded a 24 % reduction in petrochemical usage. For ethylene production, human health damage, ecosystem damage, and petrochemical use were reduced by 67, 94, and 110 %, respectively. Sensitivity analysis indicated that a sustainable energy supply chain for ECR will accelerate the development of a circular economy.

Challenges and Opportunities in Electrocatalytic CO2Reduction to Chemicals and Fuels

“…Other detailed/representative LCAs, including for the different products (such as HCOOH and C 2 H 4 ), are referred to in Refs. [ 209 , 210 , 211 ].…”

Advancements in Environmentally Sustainable Technologies for Ethylene Production

“…Electrochemical conversion of CO 2 to ethylene holds potential for consideration in green ethylene technology. Various studies − have presented the LCA studies for assessing the electrochemical conversion of CO 2 . An LCA study conducted by Ai et al considered the cradle-to-gate analysis for modeling the electrochemical reactor producing ethylene (FE of 83.2% and a reduction current density of ∼59 mA/cm 2 ) and compared it with the conventional steam cracking process.…”

Challenges and Opportunities in Electrocatalytic CO2Reduction to Chemicals and Fuels

“…Other detailed/representative LCAs, including for the different products (such as HCOOH and C 2 H 4 ), are referred to in Refs. [209][210][211]. ) and added values per kWh electrical energy input ($ kWh À 1 ) under perfectly ideal conditions (the detailed calculation parameters can be obtained in Ref.…”

“…Other detailed/representative LCAs, including for the different products (such as HCOOH and C 2 H 4 ), are referred to in Refs. [209–211].…”