Integrated electrochemical energy and water generation system with closed-loop carbon conversion

A modular electrochemical system housed within an enclosure, the system comprising:

• a shared electrolyte storage tank configured to store an aqueous electrolyte containing dissolved carbon species;
• a shared reduced-carbon fuel storage tank configured to store a reduced carbon liquid fuel;
• a plurality of electrochemical modules, each electrochemical module comprising:
• an electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reactor configured to receive carbon dioxide and the aqueous electrolyte from the shared electrolyte storage tank and to electrochemically convert the carbon dioxide into the reduced carbon liquid fuel for delivery to the shared reduced-carbon fuel storage tank;
• and
• an electrochemical fuel cell subsystem configured to receive the reduced carbon liquid fuel from the shared reduced-carbon fuel storage tank and to electrochemically convert the reduced carbon liquid fuel into electrical energy, wherein water is generated as a byproduct;
• a fluid circulation system connecting each electrochemical module to the shared electrolyte storage tank and the shared reduced-carbon fuel storage tank;
• and
• a carbon recirculation pathway configured to return liquid effluent containing carbon-containing species from each electrochemical fuel cell subsystem to the shared electrolyte storage tank,
• wherein the system is configured such that carbon-containing species are internally recirculated and are not discharged during normal operation, and
• wherein the modular electrochemical system is scalable by addition or removal of electrochemical modules while maintaining the shared electrolyte storage tank and the shared reduced-carbon fuel storage tank.

A method for generating electrical energy and recovering water using a closed-loop carbon conversion process, the method comprising:

• electrochemically reducing carbon dioxide in an electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reactor in the presence of an aqueous electrolyte to produce a reduced carbon liquid fuel;
• storing the reduced carbon liquid fuel in a shared fuel storage tank;
• electrochemically converting the reduced carbon liquid fuel in an electrochemical fuel cell subsystem to generate electrical energy and water as a byproduct;
• returning carbon-containing species generated during the electrochemical converting step from the electrochemical fuel cell subsystem to a shared electrolyte storage tank fluidly connected to the electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reactor, thereby enabling internal recirculation of carbon-containing species without carbon discharge during normal operation;
• recovering the water generated during the electrochemical converting step as a useful output;
• and
• following an initial startup phase, sustaining operation of the electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reactor and internal system components using the electrical energy generated by the electrochemical fuel cell subsystem while providing net surplus electrical energy for external use.