A State‐of‐the‐Art Update on Integrated CO₂ Capture and Electrochemical Conversion Systems

Abstract

Abstract To valorize waste CO 2 , capturing and utilizing it to produce chemical building blocks is currently receiving a lot of attention. In this respect, amine and alkali base solutions have shown to be efficient CO 2 capturing solutions and electrochemical CO 2 conversion is a promising technology to convert CO 2 and, as such, reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, to date, CO 2 capture and utilization (CCU) technologies have been investigated almost exclusively as separate processes. This has the disadvantage that CO 2 has to be desorbed and compressed from the capture solution before sending it to the CO 2 electrolyzer, seriously increasing the capital and operational costs of the overall technology. To improve the valorization potential of the CCU technologies, integrating both technologies by directly utilizing the capture solution as an electrolyte for the electrochemical CO 2 reduction (eCO 2 R) is a highly promising approach. This technology is however limited by low Faradaic efficiencies (FE) and partial current densities that can be achieved with these solutions. The main reason for this is the slow CO 2 release rate at the catalytic interphase. Nevertheless, in recent years, in light of tackling these challenges, several studies successfully managed to decrease the costs of the CO 2 capturing step and to electrochemically convert more efficiently the CO 2 capture solutions. Herein, we review the status of the integrated CO 2 capture and electrochemical conversion technology, discussing the recent developments and advances both in the field of CO 2 capture and eCO 2 R.