Reactor with advanced architecture for the electrochemical reaction of co2, co and other chemical compounds
AssigneeOpus 12 Incorporated
InventorsKendra P. Kuhl, Etosha R. Cave, George Leonard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A platform technology that uses a novel membrane electrode assembly, including a cathode layer, an anode layer, a membrane layer arranged between the cathode layer and the anode layer, the membrane conductively connecting the cathode layer and the anode layer, in a COx reduction reactor has been developed. The reactor can be used to synthesize a broad range of carbon-based compounds from carbon dioxide and other gases containing carbon.
Claims22
A membrane electrode assembly comprising:
- a cathode layer comprising a reduction catalyst and a first anion-conducting polymer;
- an anode layer comprising an oxidation catalyst and a first cation-conducting polymer;
- a membrane layer comprising a second cation-conducting polymer, the membrane layer arranged between the cathode layer and the anode layer, the membrane conductively connecting the cathode layer and the anode layer;
- and
- a cathode buffer layer having a first porosity between about 0.01 and 95 percent by volume, the cathode buffer layer comprising a second anion-conducting polymer, wherein the cathode buffer layer is arranged between the cathode layer and the membrane layer and conductively connects the cathode layer and the membrane layer.
A membrane electrode assembly comprising:
- a cathode layer comprising a reduction catalyst and a first anion-conducting polymer;
- an anode layer comprising an oxidation catalyst and a first cation-conducting polymer;
- a membrane layer comprising a second anion-conducting polymer, the membrane layer arranged between the cathode layer and the anode layer, the membrane conductively connecting the cathode layer and the anode layer;
- and
- an anode buffer layer, comprising a second cation-conducting polymer, wherein the anode buffer layer is arranged between the anode layer and the membrane layer and conductively connects the anode layer and the membrane layer.
membrane electrode assembly of claim 10, wherein the second anion-conducting polymer is selected from a group consisting of Sustainion, FumaSep FAA-3, and Tokuyama anion exchange polymer.
A COx reduction reactor comprising:
- a membrane electrode assembly comprising:
- a cathode layer comprising a reduction catalyst and a first anion-conducting polymer;
- an anode layer comprising an oxidation catalyst and a first cation-conducting polymer;
- and
- a membrane layer comprising a second cation-conducting polymer, the membrane layer arranged between the cathode layer and the anode layer and conductively connecting the cathode layer and the anode layer;
- a cathode manifold coupled to the cathode layer;
- and
- an anode manifold coupled to the anode layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.