Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (ERC) is the conversion of carbon dioxide to more reduced chemical species using electrical energy. The first examples of electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide are from the 19th century, when carbon dioxide was reduced to carbon monoxide using a zinc cathode. Research in this field intensified in the 1980s following the oil embargoes of the 1970s. Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide represents a possible means of producing chemicals or fuels, converting carbon dioxide (CO2) to organic feedstocks such as formic acid (HCOOH), methanol (CH3OH), ethylene (C2H4), methane (CH4), and carbon monoxide (CO). In 2018, researchers from the University of Delaware reported a general techno-economic analysis of CO2 electrolysis technology. The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (ERC) is the conversion of carbon dioxide to more reduced chemical species using electrical energy. The first examples of electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide are from the 19th century, when carbon dioxide was reduced to carbon monoxide using a zinc cathode. Research in this field intensified in the 1980s following the oil embargoes of the 1970s. Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide represents a possible means of producing chemicals or fuels, converting carbon dioxide (CO2) to organic feedstocks such as formic acid (HCOOH), methanol (CH3OH), ethylene (C2H4), methane (CH4), and carbon monoxide (CO). In 2018, researchers from the University of Delaware reported a general techno-economic analysis of CO2 electrolysis technology. In carbon fixation, plants convert carbon dioxide into sugars, from which many biosynthetic pathways originate. The catalyst responsible for this conversion, RuBisCo, is the most common protein on earth. Some anaerobic organisms employ enzymes to convert CO2 to carbon monoxide, from which fatty acids can be made. In industry, a few products are made from CO2, including urea, salicylic acid, methanol, and certain inorganic and organic carbonates. In the laboratory, carbon dioxide is sometimes used to prepare carboxylic acids. No electrochemical process involving CO2 has been commercialized.