Project kick-off CO2SimO

Project funding "CO2SimO" for photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction

The aim of this joint project is the photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction with simultaneous oxidative recovery of valuable materials, here the valuable product hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Hydrogen peroxide is required in many chemical and industrial processes and can therefore be used directly locally if the appropriate site is chosen. This is particularly interesting due to the poor transport and storage properties of peroxides. In addition, the hydrogen peroxide produced can be converted into percarbonate, which is used, for example, in detergents (annual production in the EU >500,000 t).

The plant to be designed should be able to be operated economically in the medium term if the general conditions develop favourably. The primary objective is the development of a solar-powered photoelectrochemical reaction cell in which water is oxidized to form usable H2O2 or other technically usable peroxides and at the same time CO2 is reduced to CO and methane with the aid of suitable photocatalysts. For this purpose, a gas diffusion photoelectrode is developed, which realizes the reaction at the three-phase boundary photocatalyst/water/CO2 gas.

Project partners are the University of Bayreuth (UBT), H.C.Starck Tantalum & Niobium GmbH (HCST), the DECHEMA Research Institute (DFI), Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). We are looking forward to a successful cooperation.