Abstract
The CO2 concentration difference between ambient air and exhaust gases created by combusting fossil fuels is an untapped energy source for producing electricity. One method of capturing this energy is dissolving CO2 gas into water and then converting the produced chemical potential energy into electrical power using an electrochemical system. Previous efforts using this method found that electricity can be generated; however, electrical power densities were low, and expensive ion-exchange membranes were needed. Here, we overcame these challenges by developing a new approach to capture electrical power from CO2 dissolved in water, the pH-gradient flow cell. In this approach, two identical supercapacitive manganese oxide electrodes were separated by a nonselective membrane and exposed to an aqueous buffer solution sparged with either CO2 gas or air. This pH-gradient flow cell produced an average power density of 0.82 W/m2, which was nearly 200 times higher than values reported using previous approaches.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 49-53 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Environmental Science and Technology Letters |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 14 2017 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Environmental Chemistry
- Ecology
- Water Science and Technology
- Waste Management and Disposal
- Pollution
- Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Cite this
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A pH-Gradient Flow Cell for Converting Waste CO2 into Electricity. / Kim, Taeyoung; Logan, Bruce E.; Gorski, Christopher A.
In: Environmental Science and Technology Letters, Vol. 4, No. 2, 14.02.2017, p. 49-53.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - A pH-Gradient Flow Cell for Converting Waste CO2 into Electricity
AU - Kim, Taeyoung
AU - Logan, Bruce E.
AU - Gorski, Christopher A.
PY - 2017/2/14
Y1 - 2017/2/14
N2 - The CO2 concentration difference between ambient air and exhaust gases created by combusting fossil fuels is an untapped energy source for producing electricity. One method of capturing this energy is dissolving CO2 gas into water and then converting the produced chemical potential energy into electrical power using an electrochemical system. Previous efforts using this method found that electricity can be generated; however, electrical power densities were low, and expensive ion-exchange membranes were needed. Here, we overcame these challenges by developing a new approach to capture electrical power from CO2 dissolved in water, the pH-gradient flow cell. In this approach, two identical supercapacitive manganese oxide electrodes were separated by a nonselective membrane and exposed to an aqueous buffer solution sparged with either CO2 gas or air. This pH-gradient flow cell produced an average power density of 0.82 W/m2, which was nearly 200 times higher than values reported using previous approaches.
AB - The CO2 concentration difference between ambient air and exhaust gases created by combusting fossil fuels is an untapped energy source for producing electricity. One method of capturing this energy is dissolving CO2 gas into water and then converting the produced chemical potential energy into electrical power using an electrochemical system. Previous efforts using this method found that electricity can be generated; however, electrical power densities were low, and expensive ion-exchange membranes were needed. Here, we overcame these challenges by developing a new approach to capture electrical power from CO2 dissolved in water, the pH-gradient flow cell. In this approach, two identical supercapacitive manganese oxide electrodes were separated by a nonselective membrane and exposed to an aqueous buffer solution sparged with either CO2 gas or air. This pH-gradient flow cell produced an average power density of 0.82 W/m2, which was nearly 200 times higher than values reported using previous approaches.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85012920135&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85012920135&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.estlett.6b00467
DO - 10.1021/acs.estlett.6b00467
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85012920135
VL - 4
SP - 49
EP - 53
JO - Environmental Science and Technology Letters
JF - Environmental Science and Technology Letters
SN - 2328-8930
IS - 2
ER -