Electrochemical Processing, Organic

Electrochem. Soc. Interface

Kenis

2023

R&D on electrochemical approaches for chemical manufacturing is experiencing a renaissance, the direct result of society’s desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of the chemical industry, aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050. Two such processes have been performed for decades at scale: the chlor-alkali process that produces chlorine from aqueous sodium chloride, and the production of adiponitrile, an intermediate in the production nylon-6,6. Water electrolysis for hydrogen production is also being deployed now at scale. This report summarizes some of the many efforts to electrify chemical conversions, often using renewable feeds like water, CO2, and biomass-derived adducts, or waste-streams from other processes. Beyond efforts to reduce emissions, a very active research community also pursues a broad range of electro-organic conversions, some of which have major advantages over conventional reaction chemistries. Overarching challenges of implementing electrochemical manufacturing approaches are also discussed (e.g., limited familiarity with electrochemical processes in chemical engineering practice, insufficient availability of electrical power, and the variability of various renewable feeds).

Section: Electrochemical Manufacturing At Scale Todaymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Electrochemical Manufacturing At Scale Todaymentioning

confidence: 99%

Current and Emerging Electrochemical Approaches for Chemical Manufacturing

Electrochem. Soc. Interface

Kenis

2023

“…23 One of the challenges associated with electrochemical systems is the separation of the product from the electrolyte. 2,24 This holds true with both traditional and IL electrolytes. A possible solution to this is to use a switchable electrolyte.…”

mentioning

confidence: 92%

“…While electrolytes are necessary for providing the conductivity to electrochemical systems, they are known to be contaminants in downstream processing. 1 Product separation from the electrolyte, and downstream electrolyte recycling is a challenge which must be addressed in order to promote the wide scale use of electrochemical processes 2 as alternatives to traditional chemical processes used today. In organic systems, electrolytes are often limited by poor solubility, thereby limiting the conductivity of the system.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ionicity Analysis of Silylamine-Type Reversible Ionic Liquids as a Model Switchable Electrolyte

Jiménez

Jung

2015

J. Electrochem. Soc.

Separation of the electrochemical product from an electrolyte can add challenges to the overall process. Use of a switchable electrolyte offers the possibility to reduce or eliminate these separation challenges while maintaining high conductivity. Reversible ionic liquids (RevILs) are a type of switchable solvent that could be used as a switchable electrolyte. Switchable solvents are solvents that can have dramatic step-changes in their properties with the introduction of an external stimulus, in this case CO 2 . In order to determine the feasibility of using TEtoxySA-RevIL, which behaves similarly to protic ionic liquids, as an electrolyte an ionicity analysis utilizing binary mixtures of the RevIL and organic solvents were studied to determine the ionic behavior of the system. Both protic and aprotic solvents with a broad range of dielectric constants were used in order to elucidate the ionicity of the RevIL mixtures. When in the pure RevIL state, the conductivity is prohibitively low due to a heightened viscosity and poor ion mobility due to hydrogen bonding and coulometric attraction. We found that in the presence of protic solvents with high dielectric constants the conductivity of the RevIL increased by up to four orders of magnitude and achieved ideal ionicity.

“…One of the challenges associated with electrochemical systems is the separation of the product from the electrolyte (19,20). This holds true with both traditional and IL electrolytes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

(3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane as a Model Silylamine Reversible Ionic Liquid Used as a Reversible Electrolyte

Jiménez

2014

ECS Trans.

Separation of the electrochemical product from an electrolyte can add challenges to the overall process. Use of a switchable electrolyte offers the possibility to reduce or eliminate these separation challenges while maintaining high conductivity. Reversible ionic liquids (RevILs) are a type of switchable solvent that could be used as a switchable electrolyte. Switchable solvents are solvents that can have dramatic step-changes in their properties with the introduction of an external stimulus. RevIL systems can be switched from a molecular liquid state to an ionic liquid (IL)-like state. (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (TEtoxySA) has been investigated as a reversible electrolyte. When in the pure RevIL state, the conductivity is prohibitively low to be used as a combined solvent and electrolyte, but in the presence of methanol the conductivity increases by three orders of magnitude. The impact of methanol content, degree of conversion to RevIL and viscosity are shown here.