Transition to a carbon neutral economy will necessitate, among others, a wide availability of methods for decarbonized chemicals production. Electroconversion of biogenic CO<sub>2</sub> to ethanol, powered by renewable energy, is a promising pathway for a sustainable production of a molecule being both a convenient chemical building block and a fuel. However, the scale-up this technology is challenging due to the low concentration of ethanol streams obtained currently from electrocatalytic reactors. Here we report experimental insights, process modelling and carbon footprint assessment for a new method for production of concentrated ethanol streams by means of tandem electrocatalytic reactors, including copper-based gas diffusion electrodes and membrane separators. Proposed approach allows for conversion of CO<sub>2</sub> feed to concentrated ethanol stream (up to 40 vol%) with a minimum energy input to the separation process, opening pathways to a large scale deployment of electrified manufacturing.

Towards the scale-up of carbon neutral ethanol production by CO2 electrolysis

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ACS Fall 2022

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