US 11,814,738 B2
Electrochemical production of formate
Bart Van Den Bosch, Amsterdam (NL); Marta Catarina Costa Figueiredo, Amsterdam (NL); Klaas Jan Pieter Schouten, Amsterdam (NL); Marie Brands, Amsterdam (NL); Brian James Rawls, Amsterdam (NL); and Matthew Francis Philips, Amsterdam (NL)
Assigned to Avantium Knowledge Centre B.V., Amsterdam (NL)
Appl. No. 17/795,148
Filed by Avantium Knowledge Centre B.V., Amsterdam (NL)
PCT Filed Jan. 28, 2021, PCT No. PCT/EP2021/052044
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jul. 25, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/152054, PCT Pub. Date Aug. 5, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 20154474 (EP), filed on Jan. 30, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0057465 A1, Feb. 23, 2023
Int. Cl. C25B 3/07 (2021.01); C25B 3/23 (2021.01); C25B 3/26 (2021.01); C25B 11/032 (2021.01); C25B 9/19 (2021.01); C25B 11/075 (2021.01)
CPC C25B 3/07 (2021.01) [C25B 3/23 (2021.01); C25B 3/26 (2021.01); C25B 9/19 (2021.01); C25B 11/032 (2021.01); C25B 11/075 (2021.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A process for the electrochemical formation of formate, wherein the process is performed in an electrochemical cell comprising a cathode compartment containing a cathode, an anode compartment containing a nickel-based anode and an ion exchange membrane separating the anode compartment from the cathode compartment, and wherein the process comprises:
(a) feeding an anolyte comprising at least one polyol to the anode compartment at an excess polyol substrate feed from 5 to 200, wherein the excess polyol substrate feed is defined as the ratio between a molar polyol substrate feed at the anode and a maximum rate of polyol substrate conversion at the anode, which excess polyol substrate feed is expressed by the equation:

OG Complex Work Unit Math
wherein, [polyol] is the steady state polyol concentration in the anolyte (M), V is the anolyte flow rate (L s−1), I is the current (A), n is the number of electrons involved in the oxidation of one polyol molecule and F is the Faraday constant;
(b) feeding a catholyte comprising carbon dioxide to the cathode compartment; and
(c) applying a voltage difference between the cathode and the anode, wherein, at the cathode, carbon dioxide is reduced to formate and at the anode the at least one polyol is oxidized to formate.