(Invited) Electrosynthesis of Carbon Dioxide to Ethylene

Electrochemical production of hydrocarbons provides a pathway for connecting renewable energy generation with chemical production. In this work, we present research on the targeted electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to ethylene, which has a global production volume of over 200 metric tonnes per year. The selectivity of carbon dioxide to ethylene is heavily dependent on cell architecture, surface interfaces, and operating conditions. We explore the tradeoffs of using a zero-gap cell design, and demonstrate the production of ethylene with greater than 30% selectivity at 200 mA/cm2 with an uncompensated full cell voltage of 2.7 V. We also present modifications to a copper catalyst cathode, and the effects of conditioning and variable operation on the electrochemical cell performance including selectivity and durability. Leveraging technoeconomic analyses, we will present the projected costs of this pathway for producing ethylene and conclude with a discussion on long-term operation failure modes which greatly impact the future feasibility of this technology. Figure 1