Lawrence Livermore scientists find cleaner chemical production method

A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and collaborators have developed a new electrochemical method to make production cleaner and more energy-efficient.

The method uses thin film nickel anodes clean up the chemical production. The films are important, the team said, because they give a consistent surface to work with.

“Thin films eliminate complications from porous/rough structures or varying thicknesses, allowing us to focus on the true properties of the catalyst material,” Aditya Prajapati, author of a paper appearing in the journal ACS Catalysis.

Electrolyzers convert electrical energy into molecules with high potential-energy densities. The current ones struggle with energy efficiency due to the oxygen evolution at the anode. The LLNL team found that replacing the oxygen evolution reaction with biomass oxidation could cut energy use by more than 50 percent.

The new process cleans up chemical production by converting chemicals derived from biomass into 2,5-Furandicarboxylic (FDCA), a valuable building block for sustainable plastics like PEF (a bio-based polymer). The team found that the process reduces petroleum dependency and carbon emissions.

“This helps us better understand the chemical reactions and how to improve them, leading to more efficient processes,” Christopher Hahn, one of the other authors of the project, said.

By using biomass as the starting material, the new process utilizes renewable feedstock, promoting a circular economy and reducing reliance on finite fossil fuel reserves, the team said.

“Unlike traditional methods that require high temperatures and produce toxic waste, our electrochemical method is cleaner and more energy-efficient,” said Nitish Govindarajan, one of the corresponding authors of this work.

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