Skip to main content

Illinois IGB

Paul Kenis

Magnets intensify electrolysis, utilize carbon dioxide more efficiently

June 30, 2021

For decades, researchers have been working toward mitigating excess atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. One promising approach captures atmospheric CO2 and then, through CO2 electrolysis, converts it into value-added chemicals and intermediates—like ethanol, ethylene, and other useful chemicals. While significant research has been devoted to improving the rate and selectivity of CO2 electrolysis, reducing the energy consumption of this high-power process has been underexplored.


June 30, 2021


Related Articles

Reducing energy required to convert CO2 waste into valuable resources

April 22, 2019

Surplus industrial carbon dioxide creates an opportunity to convert waste into a valuable commodity. Excess CO2 can be a feedstock for chemicals typically derived from fossil fuels, but the process is energy-intensive and expensive. University of Illinois chemical engineers have assessed the technical and economic feasibility of a new electrolysis technology that uses a cheap biofuel byproduct to reduce the energy consumption of the waste-to-value process by 53 percent.

The new findings are published in the journal Nature Energy.


April 22, 2019


Related Articles

Subscribe to Paul Kenis