IONIC LIQUIDS FOR CAPTURE AND ELECTROCHEMICAL CONVERSION OF CO2 - CIS 2021

The exponential increase in the concentration of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere is considered one of the most important reasons for climate change. Carbon Dioxide is the most significant anthropogenic gas that contributes to global warming. CO2 capture and storage (CCS) has been proposed as one of the most important inventions to mitigate CO2 emissions. The most common techniques to remove CO2 from gas streams are the chemical and physical adsorption by liquid solvents. Traditionally, aqueous amine solutions have been used as chemical solvents because of their high selectivity, high reactivity and low price. Unfortunately, they present also many disadvantages associated with the high energy demand required for the solvent regeneration and corrosion. Hence, in the need to find more efficient solvents for CO2 capture and conversion, Ionic Liquids (ILs) have been highlighted as very good alternatives to common amine solution. (1) Within this field lies this research, which in turn is part of a much broader European project called SunCoChem. For this project we are testing the stability and performance of various ionic liquids, provided by Iolitec, Ionic Liquids Technologies GmbH, and in particular their ability to capture and electrochemically convert a pure CO2 stream to CO with high efficiencies. The ionic liquids were tested in a two-compartment H-type electrochemical cell. In the anodic chamber a nickel mesh electrode was immersed in a solution of potassium hydroxide and in the cathodic one a silver foil cathode was employed in a solution of CH3CN and ionic liquid. The eight Ionic Liquids (ILs) used as electrolytes have a cationic part based on imidazole, which is expected to stabilize and lower the activation energy for the reduction of CO2. Our results evidence relevant current density values, a good stability during chronopotentiometry (CP) tests and a high selectivity towards the target product: CO, which however change depending on the used IL. AKCNOWLEDGMENT: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Action programme under the SunCoChem project (Grant Agreement No 862192). References: [1] Shokat Sarmad et al2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201600987