Pairing of CO Reduction and 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Oxidation for Techno-Economic Viability and Low-Carbon Chemical Production

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🔬研究者:Provides a practical paired electrolysis system design and techno-economic analysis for CO2-to-chemicals, highlighting system-level optimization beyond electrochemistry.

🏢実務担当者:For chemical companies exploring low-carbon production: CORR-HMFOR pairing shows potential for cost-competitive bio-based chemical production using renewable electricity.

🏛政策担当者:Demonstrates a viable pathway for CCUS and green chemicals, supporting policy incentives for electrochemical CO2 reduction and biobased integration.

Electrochemical CO 2 reduction (CO 2 RR) offers a sustainable pathway to mitigate carbon emissions that cause global warming and provides an alternative to fossil fuel–based chemical production. However, the commercial deployment of CO 2 RR is challenged by the sluggish anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which lowers overall energy efficiency and produces low-value O 2 gas. Replacing OER with biomass-derived alcohol oxidation reaction (AOR) has emerged as an attractive strategy to reduce cell voltage while co-producing value-added chemicals at both side of electrodes. Nevertheless, paired electrolysis of CO 2 RR and AORs still faces challenges related to reaction compatibility and economic feasibility. AORs generally require strongly alkaline electrolytes, posing intrinsic limitations to practical implementation. Under alkaline conditions, coupling AOR with CO 2 RR leads to rapid CO 2 consumption through bicarbonate formation, which lowers the electrolyte pH and induces salt precipitation at the cathode. These effects reduce the single-pass carbon efficiency and severely compromise both reaction performance and long-term operational stability. To overcome the inherent limitations of CO 2 RR for pairing with AORs, we employed the CO reduction reaction (CORR). CORR is inherently stable under alkaline conditions and promotes efficient production of multi-carbon products. As the primary product of CO 2 RR and a key C2+ intermediate, CO makes CORR a practical and chemically stable platform for paired electrolysis. Among various AORs, the glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR) and the 5-hydroxymethylfurfural oxidation reaction (HMFOR) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) were selected as representative candidates. Herein, we utilized a Cu electrode for CORR/CO 2 RR, alongside a V-doped Ni electrode for OER, GOR and HMFOR in a MEA-based flow cell system. CORR-AORs pairing systems reduced the overall cell voltage by 0.3 V compared to CORR–OER. In particular, CORR–HMFOR achieved the highest ethylene partial current density of −176 mA cm -2 , with an FDCA production rate of 1.7 mmol cm -2 at −3.7 V. Techno-economic and life-cycle assessments identify CORR–HMFOR as a cost-effective and climate-conscious pathway driven by high CO utilization, low crossover losses, and the high market value of FDCA. In contrast, GOR pairing remains constrained by low product value and liquid separation penalties. These findings highlight that practical paired electrolysis must be designed at the system level, accounting for reaction compatibility, stability, and downstream processing rather than electrochemical performance alone.

• openalex https://doi.org/10.1149/ma2026-01472297mtgabsfirst seen 2026-07-18 05:37:09