Study of Electrochemical Reduction of CO₂ for Future Use in Secondary Microbial Electrochemical Technologies

Abstract

The fluctuation and decentralization of renewable energy have triggered the search for respective energy storage and utilization. At the same time, a sustainable bioeconomy calls for the exploitation of CO₂ as feedstock. Secondary microbial electrochemical technologies (METs) allow both challenges to be tackled because the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ can be coupled with microbial synthesis. Because this combination creates special challenges, the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ was investigated under conditions allowing microbial conversions, that is, for their future use in secondary METs. A reproducible electrodeposition procedure of In on a graphite backbone allowed a systematic study of formate production from CO₂ with a high number of replicates. Coulomb efficiencies and formate production rates of up to 64.6±6.8 % and 0.013±0.002 mmol_formate h^-1 cm^-2 , respectively, were achieved. Electrode redeposition, reusability, and long-term performance were investigated. Furthermore, the effect of components used in microbial media, that is, yeast extract, trace elements, and phosphate salts, on the electrode performance was addressed. The results demonstrate that the integration of electrochemical reduction of CO₂ in secondary METs can become technologically relevant.