Nanotechnology makes biomass electrolysis more energy efficient than water electrolysis

Nature Communications

Volumn 5, Issue , 2014, Pages

  Chen, Y X ^a,b   Lavacchi, A ^a   Miller, H A ^a   Bevilacqua, M ^a   Filippi, J ^a   Innocenti, M ^a,c   Marchionni, A ^a   Oberhauser, W ^a   Wang, L ^a,b   Vizza, F ^a  

^a ICCOM CNR   (Italy)

^b UNIVERSITY OF TRIESTE   (Italy)

^c UNIVERSITY OF FLORENCE   (Italy)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ALCOHOL; ELECTROLYTE; HYDROGEN; NANOPARTICLE; NANOTUBE; PALLADIUM; PROTON; TITANIUM DIOXIDE; WATER;

BIOMASS; ELECTROCHEMICAL METHOD; ELECTROKINESIS; ENERGY EFFICIENCY; MEMBRANE; NANOTECHNOLOGY; OXIDATION; PARTICLE SIZE; THERMODYNAMICS;

ARTICLE; BIOMASS PRODUCTION; CHEMICAL STRUCTURE; ELECTROCHEMICAL ANALYSIS; ELECTROLYSIS; ENERGY BALANCE; ENERGY CONSERVATION; ENERGY CONSUMPTION; NANOTECHNOLOGY; OXIDATION; OXYGEN EVOLUTION; THERMODYNAMICS;

EID: 84901914942     PISSN: None     EISSN: 20411723     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5036     Document Type: Article

References (29)

1. Hwang, J. J. Sustainability study of hydrogen pathways for fuel cell vehicle applications. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 19, 220-229 (2013).
2. Grube, T. & Stolten, D. Electromobility with fuel cells and batteries: Advantages for the use of hydrogen. BWK-Energie-Fachmagazin 62, S16-S17 (2010).
3. Turner, J. A. Sustainable hydrogen production. Science 305, 972-974 (2004). (Pubitemid 39071763)
4. Fuel Cell Technologies Office. Fuel cells, Fuel Cell Technologies Office Multi-year Research, Development and Demonstration Plan of the US Department of Energy (2011).
5. Marini, S. et al. Advanced alkaline water electrolysis. Electrochim. Acta 82, 384-391 (2012).
6. Carmo, M., Fritz, D. L., Mergel, J. & Stolten, D. A comprehensive review on PEM water electrolysis. Int. J. Hydrogen Energ. 38, 4901-4934 (2013).
7. Schalenbach, M., Carmo, M., Fritz, D. L., Mergel, J. & Stolten, D. Pressurized PEM water electrolysis: efficiency and gas crossover. Int. J. Hydrogen Energ. 38, 14921-14933 (2013).
8. Vitse, F., Cooper, M. & Botte, G. G. On the use of ammonia electrolysis for hydrogen production. J. Power Sources 142, 18-26 (2005).
9. Take, T., Tsurutani, K. & Umeda, M. Hydrogen production by methanol-water solution electrolysis. J. Power Sources 164, 9-16 (2007). (Pubitemid 44959650)
10. Lamy, C., Jaubert, T., Baranton, S. & Coutanceau, C. Clean hydrogen generation through the electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol in a proton exchange membrane electrolysis cell (PEMEC): effect of the nature and structure of the catalytic anode. J. Power Sources 245, 927-936 (2014).
11. Bambagioni, V. et al. Self-sustainable production of hydrogen, chemicals, and energy from renewable alcohols by electrocatalysis. ChemSusChem 3, 851-855 (2010).
12. Caravaca, A. et al. Electrochemical reforming of ethanol-water solutions for pure H-2 production in a PEM electrolysis cell. Int. J. Hydrogen Energ. 37, 9504-9513 (2012).
13. Caravaca, A. et al. From biomass to pure hydrogen: Electrochemical reforming of bio-ethanol in a PEM electrolyser. Appl. Catal. B-Environ. 134, 302-309 (2013).
14. Marshall, A. T. & Haverkamp, R. G. Production of hydrogen by the electrochemical reforming of glycerol-water solutions in a PEM electrolysis cell. Int. J. Hydrogen Energ. 33, 4649-4654 (2008).
15. Kongjao, S., Damronglerd, S. & Hunsom, M. Electrochemical reforming of an acidic aqueous glycerol solution on Pt electrodes. J. Appl. Electrochem. 41, 215-222 (2011).
16. Yan, W., Wang, D. & Botte, G. G. Electrochemical decomposition of urea with Ni-based catalysts. Appl. Catal. B-Environ. 127, 221-226 (2012).
17. Chen, Y. X. et al. Electrochemical milling and faceting: Size reduction and catalytic activation of palladium nanoparticles. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 51, 8500-8504 (2012).
18. Wang, M., Guo, D. J. & Li, H. I. High Activity of novel Pd/TiO2 nanotube catalysts for methanol electro-oxidation. J. Solid State Chem. 178, 1996-2000 (2005). (Pubitemid 40718249)
19. Murphy, D. J. & Hall, C. A. S. Year in review-EROI or energy return on (energy) invested. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1185, 102-118 (2010).
20. Mor, G. K., Varghese, O. K., Paulose, M., Shankar, K. & Grimes, C. A. A review on highly ordered, vertically oriented TiO 2 nanotube arrays: fabrication, material properties, and solar energy applications. Sol. Energ. Mat. Sol. C. 90, 2011-2075 (2006). (Pubitemid 43868076)
21. Grdeń, M., ?ukaszewski, M., Jerkiewicz, G. & Czerwiński, A. Electrochemical behaviour of palladium electrode: oxidation, electrodissolution and ionic adsorption. Electrochim. Acta 53, 7583-7598 (2008).
22. Wang, L. et al. Sodium borohydride as an additive to enhance the performance of direct ethanol fuel cells. J. Power Sources 195, 8036-8043 (2010).
23. Fang, X., Wang, L., Shen, P. K., Cui, G. & Bianchini, C. An in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroelectrochemical study on ethanol electrooxidation on Pd in alkaline solution. J. Power Sources 195, 1375-1378 (2010).
24. Thannimalay, L., Yusoff, S. & Zawawi, N. Z. Life cycle assessment of sodium hydroxide. Aust. J. Basic Appl. Sci. 7, 421-431 (2013).
25. Shapouri, H. et al. Energy Balance for the Corn-Ethanol Industry (USDA, 2008).
26. Seabra, J. E. A., Macedo, I. C., Chum, H. L., Faroni, C. E. & Sarto, C. A. Life cycle assessment of Brazilian sugarcane products: GHG emissions and energy use. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 5, 519-532 (2011).
27. Goldemberg, J. Ethanol for a sustainable energy future. Science 315, 808-810 (2007).
28. Hall, C. A. S., Dale, B. E. & Pimentel, D. Seeking to understand the reasons for different energy return on investment (EROI) estimates for biofuels. Sustainability 3, 2413-2432 (2011).
29. Satyapal, S., Petrovic, J., Read, C., Thomas, G. & Ordaz, G. The U. S. Department of Energy's National Hydrogen Storage Project: progress towards meeting hydrogen-powered vehicle requirements. Catal. Today 120, 246-256 (2007). (Pubitemid 46135909)