A Hybrid Reactor for Solar CO2 and N2 Conversion Coupled to WasteWater Treatment

HYSOLCHEM focuses on the successful validation, at industrial level (TRL 5), of a new concept of low-cost flow photo-reactor prototype for the reduction of CO2 and N2 to produce fuels and chemicals (CH4, C2H4, C3H6 and NH3) coupled to the oxidation of microplastics and organic pollutants from wastewater treatment plants. To achieve this ground-breaking goal, an interdisciplinary consortium has been gathered to tackle the multiple involved challenges in a holistic manner: (i) Design and synthesis of highly efficient and stable photocathodes for CO2 and N2 reduction (ii) Development of low-cost and long-duration anodes for the electro-oxidation of microplastics and other organic pollutants in wastewater (iii) Design and fabrication of cost-effective, selective and photo-stable ion-exchange membranes (iv) Advanced characterisation of materials at different levels with state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques (v) Integration of developed CO2/N2 reduction photocathodes, waste/microplastic oxidation anodes and ion-exchange membranes in a solar-powered flow reactor for simultaneous water detoxification and CO2/N2 valorisation (vi) Validation of the prototype in a wastewater treatment plant and (vii) study of the developed materials and devices from an environmental, economic and social point of view.

Significant advances in wastewater treatment, as well as CO2 and N2 reduction have been performed in the last years. However, they mainly focus on TRL ≤ 3 developments. Thus, it is necessary to tackle these technologies with a holistic approach to achieve progress in innovative CO2 valorisation and N2 fixation technologies. The key technological advancements of the project are focused on the development of novel materials with improved electro-oxidation properties (anodes) and light harvesting together with enhanced charge separation and transport (photocathodes), and highly selective and stable ion exchange membranes. Advanced characterisation and modelling tools have been been crucial to understand the reaction mechanisms and develop optimized materials. In this sense during the first RP of the project a new in situ XPS and NEXFFS devices was designed , manufactured and tested. Regarding scalability, scarce examples of pilot-plant solar reactors have been assayed in real conditions to oxidize microplastics and other organic waste and to reduce CO2 or N2 to produce fuels and chemicals. At the end of the project a TRL 5 PV-EC hybrid full cell has been manufacture and tested showing good result in the CO2RR with high removal of phenols at the same time.

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - HYSOLCHEM (A Hybrid Reactor for Solar CO2 and N2 Conversion Coupled to WasteWater Treatment)

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