Study of the electrooxidation of small organic molecules in saline solutions for the simultaneous valorization of biomass and CO2 mittigation

• Grant number: 21/13002-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2022
• Status: Discontinued
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Hamilton Brandão Varela de Albuquerque
• Grantee: Thiago Vasconcelos de Barros Ferraz
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química de São Carlos (IQSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Company: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Politécnica (EP)
• Associated research grant: 20/15230-5 - Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Innovation - RCG2I, AP.PCPE
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/12366-4 - SFG Evaluation of Emerging Interfacial Features During Electro-Oxidation of Ethanol in Seawater-Like Electrolytes, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The escalation of the negative effects associated with the global warming has been stimulating the search for active ways to remove billions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere which, otherwise, will not be absorbed by Earth's natural cycles within the human time scale. Among the main approaches to such aim there is the use of the desalinization plants infrastructure to induce an enhancement in the CO2 uptake by the oceans through their alkalinisation by the addition of OH- ions electrochemically generated. In practice, the global efficiency of this process is limited by the rate with which the anodic semi-reaction can supply the cathodic one with electrons. A possible solution, explored with some success in the field of fuel cells, is the oxidation of small organic molecules. Some of the major kinetic barriers displayed by these systems, generally related to the blocking of the catalyst surface due to the formation of poisoning intermediates, have being satisfactorily circumvented through the exploitation of nonlinear phenomena, such as periodic oscillations. Despite that, little is known about the influence of the support electrolyte ions over the kinetic instabilities, the energetic efficiency of the process, and the selectivity of the products attained. Considering the exposed, this project proposes to couple electrochemical methods with analytical, vibrational and computational ones in order to evaluate the viability of applying the oxidation of ethanol and/or glycerol in seawater to capture atmospheric CO2 and, simultaneously, produce chemicals with high added value.