skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Electrochemical Manufacturing Routes for Organic Chemical Commodities
Electrochemical synthesis of organic chemical commodities provides an alternative to conventional thermochemical manufacturing and enables the direct use of renewable electricity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the chemical industry. We discuss electrochemical synthesis approaches that use abundant carbon feedstocks for the production of the largest petrochemical precursors and basic organic chemical products: light olefins, olefin oxidation derivatives, aromatics, and methanol. First, we identify feasible routes for the electrochemical production of each commodity while considering the reaction thermodynamics, available feedstocks, and competing thermochemical processes. Next, we summarize successful catalysis and reaction engineering approaches to overcome technological challenges that prevent electrochemical routes from operating at high production rates, selectivity, stability, and energy conversion efficiency. Finally, we provide an outlook on the strategies that must be implemented to achieve large-scale electrochemical manufacturing of major organic chemical commodities. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Volume 14 is June 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1943972
PAR ID:
10403979
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Volume:
14
Issue:
1
ISSN:
1947-5438
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; (, CRC Press/ Taylor and Francis Group)
    null (Ed.)
    Ammonia holds great promise as a carbon-neutral liquid fuel for storing intermittent renewable energy sources and power generation due to its high energy density and hydrogen content. Photo-Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis: Nanocatalyst Discovery, Reactor Design, and Advanced Spectroscopy covers the synthesis of novel hybrid plasmonic nanomaterials and their application in photo-electrochemical systems to convert low energy molecules to high value-added molecules and looks specifically at photo-electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) for ammonia synthesis as an attractive alternative to the long-lasting thermochemical process. - Provides an integrated scientific framework, combining materials chemistry, photo-electrochemistry, and spectroscopy to overcome the challenges associated with renewable energy storage and transport - Reviews materials chemistry for the synthesis of a range of heterogeneous (photo) electrocatalysts including plasmonic and hybrid plasmonic-semiconductor nanostructures for selective and efficient conversion of N2 to NH3 - Covers novel reactor design to study the redox processes in the photo-electrochemical energy conversion system and to benchmark nanocatalysts’ selectivity and activity toward NRR - Discusses the use of advanced spectroscopic techniques to probe the reaction mechanism for ammonia synthesis - Offers techno-economic analysis and presents performance targets for the scale-up and commercialization of electrochemical ammonia synthesis This book is of value to researchers, advanced students, and industry professionals working in sustainable energy storage and conversion across the disciplines of Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and related areas. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; (, Current Opinion in Chemical Biology)
    Cornish, Virginia; Billerbeck, Sonja (Ed.)
    Biocatalysis has the potential to address the need for more sustainable organic synthesis routes. Protein engineering can tune enzymes to perform in cascade reactions and for efficient synthesis of enantiomerically enriched compounds, using both natural and new-to-nature reaction pathways. This review highlights recent achievements in biocatalysis, especially the development of novel enzymatic syntheses to access versatile small molecule intermediates and complex biomolecules. Biocatalytic strategies for the degradation of persistent pollutants and approaches for biomass valorization are also discussed. The transition of chemical synthesis to a greener future will be accelerated by implementing enzymes and engineering them for high performance and new activities. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; (, Environmental science and technology)
    The sustainable manufacturing of nanoparticles (NPs) has become critical to reduce life cycle energy use and the associated environmental impact. With the ever-growing production volume, titanium dioxide (TiO2) NPs have been produced through various synthesis routes with differing input materials and reactions, which result in differential reactivity, crystallinity, surface areas, and size distributions. In this study, life cycle assessment is used to analyze and compare the environmental impact of TiO2 NPs produced via seven routes covering physical, chemical, and biological syntheses. The synthesis routes are chosen to represent mainstream NP manufacturing and future trends. Mass-, surface area-, and photocatalytic reactivity-based functional units are selected to evaluate the environmental impact and reflect the corresponding changes. The results show that impact associated with the upstream production of different precursors are dominant for the chemical route. Compared to the chemical route, the physical route requires substantial quantities of supporting gas and high-energy inputs to maintain high temperature; therefore, a higher environmental burden is generated. A high environmental burden is also modeled for the biological route due to the required bacterial culture media. This present study aims to identify the most efficient synthesis route for TiO2 NP production, lower the potential environmental impact, and improve green synthesis and sustainability. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; (, Science Advances)
    High-entropy materials (HEMs) show inspiring structural and functional properties due to their multi-elemental compositions. However, most HEMs are burdened by cost-, energy-, and carbon-intensive extraction, synthesis, and manufacturing protocols. Recycling and reusing HEMs are challenging because their design relies on high fractions of expensive and limited-supply elements in massive solid solutions. Therefore, we review the basic sustainability aspects of HEMs. Solutions include using feedstock with lower carbon and energy footprints, sustainable primary synthesis routes from minerals, attenuation of the equimolar alloying rule, and a preference for scrap and dumped waste for secondary and tertiary synthesis. The high solubility, compositional flexibility, and chemical robustness of HEMs offer pathways for using higher fractions of mixed and contaminated scrap and waste feedstocks, which are not admissible for synthesizing conventional materials. We also discuss thermodynamic and kinetic design strategies to reconcile good material properties with high impurity tolerance and variable compositions. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Experimental Botany)
    Abstract Biochar is a promising soil additive for use in support of sustainable crop production. However, the high level of heterogeneity in biochar properties and the variations in soil composition present significant challenges to the successful uptake of biochar technologies in diverse agricultural soils. An improved understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to biochar–soil interactions is required to address issues related to climate change and cultivation practices. This review summarizes biochar modification approaches (physical, chemical, and biochar-based organic composites) and discusses the potential role of biochar in sustainable crop production and soil resiliency, including the degradation of soil organic matter, the improvement of soil quality, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Biochar design is crucial to successful soil remediation, particularly with regard to issues arising from soil structure and composition related to crop production. Given the wide variety of feedstocks for biochar production and the resultant high surface heterogeneity, greater efforts are required to optimize biochar surface functionality and porosity through appropriate modifications. The design and establishment of these approaches and methods are essential for the future utilization of biochar as an effective soil additive to promote sustainable crop production. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email