Electrochemical Hydrogenation of Acetone to Produce Isopropanol Using a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Reactor

Abstract

Electrochemical hydrogenation (ECH) of acetone is a relatively new method to produce isopropanol. It provides an alternative way of upgrading bio-fuels with less energy consumption and chemical waste as compared to conventional methods. In this paper, Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) hardware was used as an electrochemical reactor to hydrogenate acetone to produce isopropanol and diisopropyl ether as a byproduct. High current efficiency (59.7%) and selectivity (>90%) were achieved, while ECH was carried out in mild conditions (65 °C and atmospheric pressure). Various operating parameters were evaluated to determine their effects on the yield of acetone and the overall efficiency of ECH. The results show that an increase in humidity increased the yield of propanol and the efficiency of ECH. The operating temperature and power supply, however, have less effect. The degradation of membranes due to contamination of PEMFC and the mitigation methods were also investigated.

Design and Implementation of High Order Sliding Mode Control for PEMFC Power System

“…As shown in Figure 1, a PEM fuel cell consists of an anode and cathode supplied with hydrogen and oxygen, respectively. These two elements are separated by an electrolyte and two catalysts, that are usually made of platinum [29][30][31]. When the hydrogen enters the cell, the catalyst of the anode separates it into protons and electrons.…”

Real-Time Implementation of a Super Twisting Algorithm for PEM Fuel Cell Power System

“…A PEMFC uses air or pure oxygen (O 2 ) as the oxidant and hydrogen (H 2 ) as the fuel gas. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the PEMFC, which consists of an electrolyte membrane placed between two electrodes (anode and cathode) that are coated with the platinum catalyst [32][33][34]. The electrolyte membrane plays a key role; it allows only the appropriate ions (H + ) to flow between the anode and cathode.…”

Biofuel and Bioenergy Technology

“…This Special Issue of Energies on the subject of "Biofuel and Bioenergy Technology" contains the successful invited submissions . A total of twenty-seven technical papers which cover diversified biofuel and bioenergy technology related researches have shown critical results and contributed significant findings in biomass processing [1,2], bio-oil and biodiesel [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11], syngas [12][13][14], biogas/methane [15][16][17][18][19], bioethanol and alcohol-based fuels [20][21][22], solid fuel [23][24][25] and also microbial fuel cell [13,26,27] developments.…”

“…Dziekońska-Kubczak et al [20] report that nitric acid as a form of chemical pretreatment could enhance the bioethanol production up to 30%. A Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell was used to produce isopropanol from acetone for use as a biofuel [21]. The hydrogenation process consumes less energy and less chemical wastes compared to other techniques [21].…”

“…A Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell was used to produce isopropanol from acetone for use as a biofuel [21]. The hydrogenation process consumes less energy and less chemical wastes compared to other techniques [21]. Bio-hydrocarbons (alcohol and alkenes) produced from bacteria and their synthesis mechanisms are reviewed by Rahman et al [22], as well as future challenges and complexity.…”