From biomass to pure hydrogen: Electrochemical reforming of bio-ethanol in a PEM electrolyser

Nanotechnology makes biomass electrolysis more energy efficient than water electrolysis

“…Indeed the current densities obtained are comparable to the best state-of-the-art PEM water electrolysers ( Table 1). Analysis of anode exhausts (HPLC, 13 C NMR) confirmed that sodium acetate was the sole product of ethanol oxidation as expected from a Pd-based electrocatalyst in alkaline media 23 . As expected, at the cell working potentials (o1 V) no oxygen evolution was detected.…”

“…Replacing anodic oxygen evolution with the oxidation of much more readily oxidizable species leads to a significant reduction of the potential required to produce hydrogen. Following this strategy, compounds such as ammonia 7,8 , methanol 9 , ethanol [10][11][12][13] , glycerol 14,15 and urea 16 have been recently tested. These electrolytic processes that lead to the concomitant generation of chemicals at the anode and hydrogen at the cathode are often indicated as 'electrochemical reforming'.…”

Electrochemical reforming of alcohols on nanostructured platinum-tin catalyst-electrodes

“…Catalytic steam reforming Advantages • Lower reaction temperatures (<100 • C) making possible a rapid startup • Low toxicity • Direct pure hydrogen production, separated from other reaction products • Easier and fast control of hydrogen production rate • Compact unit combining both reaction and hydrogen purification with a consequent capital costs reduction • High renewable energy integration • Reduced environmental impact • Seasonal energy storage without energy losses • Capability to handle power fluctuations by H2 production • Lower power demands than water electrolysis, since part of the energy required is provided by the organic molecule this context, recent studies have shown that the electrochemical reforming of water-alcohol mixtures, i.e., methanol [5][6][7][8], glycerol [9,10], ethanol [11,12], bioethanol [13,14] and ethylene glycol [15] has a great potential for H 2 production at atmospheric pressure. The use of such compounds allows electrolysis at potentials lower than 1.2 V, leading to electrical power savings if compared to conventional electrolytic water splitting.…”

Nanosized IrOx and IrRuOx electrocatalysts for the O2 evolution reaction in PEM water electrolysers

“…Only 4% of the global hydrogen production comes from electrolysis, although originally hydrogen was produced almost exclusively by this way. Recently, interest in water electrolysis has increased again with the increasing diffusion of renewable energy sources and the perspective to produce hydrogen with a very low environmental impact [5][6][7].…”