Periodic Reporting for period 2 - WaterProof (urban WAste and water Treatment Emission Reduction by utilizing CO2 for the PROduction Of Formate derived chemicals)
Berichtszeitraum: 2023-12-01 bis 2025-05-31
The WaterProof project aims at developing an electrochemical process that converts CO2 emission captured from consumer waste incineration and wastewater treatment facilities into formic acid to be used in valuable green consumer products such as cleaning detergents and the tanning of fish leather apparel. Additional products of the electrochemical process are peroxides that can be applied to remove pharmaceuticals and pesticides from wastewater. Furthermore, formic acid is used for the generation of acidic deep eutectic solvents (ADES), that can be applied to recover precious metals from wastewater sludge and incineration ashes. As the electrochemical process uses renewable energy, it contributes to a clean water cycle with zero-emission.
WaterProof enables the closing of the waste(water) carbon loop and the shift from fossil to renewable carbon sources. It hereby supports the transition towards a climate-neutral Europe and an effective and truly circular economy.
WaterProof enables the closing of the waste(water) carbon loop and the shift from fossil to renewable carbon sources. It hereby supports the transition towards a climate-neutral Europe and an effective and truly circular economy.
During the second reporting period, the WaterProof project concentrated on three key technical areas: the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to formic acid, the development of a gas diffusion electrode, and the optimization of the electrochemical salt-splitting process. Notable achievements include the successful lab-scale demonstration of high-efficiency formic acid production, the development of a stable electrocatalyst, and the refinement of the gas diffusion electrode for industrial-scale application. Additionally, we successfully replaced our engineering partner and received the finalized engineering design. A new partner has also joined the Consortium and will soon begin work on the construction of the demonstration unit.
Further research and development is needed to improve and scale the WaterProof technology. We have another 1/3 of the project to prove the principle and to reach the objectives.