Carbon Dioxide Decomposition and Oxygen Generation Via SOEC

Abstract

Oxygen-Deficient Ferrite (ODF) or nickelate-based materials are mixed with YSZ powder via Mechano-Chemical Bonding (MCB) process. The Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell (SOEC) with ODF/YSZ or nickelate/YSZ electrodes and YSZ electrolyte is utilized to decompose carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into solid carbon (C) or carbon monoxide (CO) and generate oxygen (O 2 ) in a continuous process. The cells are tested in a NexTech Probostate TM apparatus combined with EIS/potentiostate and gas chromatography (GC). In our preliminary tests, CO or solid carbon at cathode side and O 2 at anode side were detected, when CO 2 was fed to the cathode side and a small potential bias applied across the electrode. Depending on the applied potential, the system is capable of decomposing CO 2 into CO or C. Through in-situ EIS and exhaust gas analyses as well as post mortem microstructural analyses using SEM, XRD, and XPS , the capability and efficiency of CO 2 decomposition are evaluated. An energy assessment shows that the net energy input in this process is smaller compared to CCS (carbon capture and sequestration).