Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PEEC (Enhancing the conversion of 'power to ethylene' through developing surface oriented catalysts)
Reporting period: 2023-03-01 to 2025-02-28
CO2 emissions from human activities are the primary drivers of global warming. By 2019, the global average temperature had risen by 1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels, with a continuing upward trend of 0.2 °C per decade. According to numerous reports, an escalation of 2 °C is associated with serious negative impacts on the natural environment and human health and well-being. As a key building block in the chemical industry, ethylene is widely used to produce chemical intermediates and polymers, such as ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, and polyethylene. The global annual ethylene production reached about 180 million tons in 2018, exceeding any other organic chemical. It consumes about 20 GJ of process energy and emits 1-2 tons of CO2 per ton of ethylene, accounting for >0.6% of anthropogenic emissions. Because of the shale gas revolution, ethane, as the main component of natural gas liquids (NGL, contained in shale gas deposits), became much cheaper, stimulating the drastic growth of ethane utilization. Compared with the traditional Steam cracking of ethylene method for preparing ethylene, proton ceramic electrochemical cell (PCEC) is one of the most promising energy conversion and storage technologies, enabling direct electrochemical conversion of surplus electricity from renewable energy into valuable chemicals. In this project, the improved PCECs equipped with high-performance anode catalysts will be used as an environmentally friendly, efficient, and reliable way to co-produce ethylene and hydrogen from ethane at low temperature (400-550 °C), demonstrating ethane conversion of not less than 50% and ethylene selectivity of not less than 80%.
The technical and scientific part was divided into 4 work packages. In WP1, we used hydrothermal synthesis to prepare nanocatalysts with specific surface orientation and in-situ growth of metal nanoparticles from the pre-doped matrix crystal lattice to form a special anchored interface structure, improving the stability and efficiency of the catalysts. In WP2, we integrated the well-defined catalysts into the halfcells with the BaCe0.7Zr0.1Y0.1Yb0.1O3 anode backbone through infiltration. In WP3, the ethane conversion and ethylene selectivity of the PCEC will be characterized by gas chromatography supported with electrochemical characterizations. In WP4, DFT calculations in combination with surface characterization were conducted to explore the reaction mechanism of ethane dehydrogenation at the anode.
Our project achieved breakthroughs in electrocatalytic ethane dehydrogenation to ethylene by developing:
Novel Catalysts: A high-performance, non-precious metal catalyst surpassing conventional steam cracking with >80% ethylene selectivity.
Energy Efficiency: An integrated electrochemical process reducing reaction temperatures to <500°C (vs. 800–900°C in steam cracking), with zero CO2 emissions. These advancements offer a scalable, low-carbon alternative.
Novel Catalysts: A high-performance, non-precious metal catalyst surpassing conventional steam cracking with >80% ethylene selectivity.
Energy Efficiency: An integrated electrochemical process reducing reaction temperatures to <500°C (vs. 800–900°C in steam cracking), with zero CO2 emissions. These advancements offer a scalable, low-carbon alternative.