Publications related to Techno-economic evaluation of biomass-to-fuels with solid-oxide electrolyzer

Design and assessment of an evaporating water-cooled methanation reactor for a SOE-based power-to-methane system

The transition towards clean renewable energy sources, where wind and solar are prone to variation, requires adequate energy storage. Power-to-methane (PtM) systems can be part of the solution. Specifically, solid-oxide-electrolyser (SOE) based PtM systems ...

EPFL2024

Renewable energy integration and waste heat valorization in aluminum remelting for co-producing kerosene and methanol

François Maréchal, Daniel Alexander Florez Orrego, Meire Ellen Gorete Ribeiro Domingos, Réginald Germanier

The aluminium sector relies on natural gas for the conversion of recycled scrap into new feedstock, which results in substantial atmospheric emissions. Hydric resources are also impacted, as they serve as heat sinks for the waste heat generated during the ...

Associazione Italiana Di Ingegneria Chimica2024

Tailoring nanocatalysts and reaction interfaces for water- and CO2-electrolysis

Thi Ha My Pham

Renewable energy sources offer a promising solution for mitigating sustainability and CO2 emissions-related issues due to their vast energy generation capacity. They enable hydrogen production via water electrolysis, as well as carbon capture and utilizati ...

EPFL2024

Perspective Alkaline electrolyzers: Powering industries and overcoming fundamental challenges

Hubert Girault

For the sustainable development of the renewable hydrogen sector, alkaline electrolysis appears to be a technology of choice. Nevertheless, despite its long history that showed its reliability in the industrial field and despite the traditional belief from ...

Cell Press2024

Phase-stable indium sulfide achieves an energy conversion efficiency of 14.3% for solar-assisted carbon dioxide reduction to formate

Michael Graetzel, Jingshan Luo, Xiaoyu Zhang, Jing Gao, Qixing Zhang, Jun Li

Tremendous efforts have been made in developing highly selective catalysts for electrochemical CO 2 conversion to formate. However, the rapid deactivation resulting from structural reconstruction and phase transition poses considerable challenges to the sy ...

Cell Press2024

In Situ Synthesis of CuxO/N Doped Graphdiyne with Pyridine N Configuration for Ammonia Production via Nitrate Reduction

Sophia Haussener, Roberto Valenza, Jian Li

Electroreduction of nitrate to ammonia provides an interesting pathway for wastewater treatment and valorization. Cu-based catalysts are active for the conversion of NO3− to NO2− but suffer from an inefficient hydrogenation process of NO2−. Herein, CuxO/N- ...

2024

Stability and degradation of (oxy)nitride photocatalysts for solar water splitting

Sophia Haussener, Franky Esteban Bedoya Lora

Advancing towards alternative technologies for the sustainable production of hydrogen is a necessity for the successful integration of this potentially green fuel in the future. Photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting are promising concepts ...

2024

Design and Synthesis of Bio-based Amphiphiles from Lignocellulosic Biomass

Songlan Sun

In the pursuit of a carbon-neutral chemical industry, minimizing fossil feedstock consumption while integrating renewable carbon sources is imperative. Surfactants, inherently amphiphilic, pose challenges in separation and recovery processes. Given their e ...

EPFL2024

Green hydrogen production using Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 bioanode and cuprous oxide-based photocathode

Michele Morgante

In recent years, many efforts have been made to find alternative renewable energy sources that can ideally replace the use of fossil fuels in all aspects. One of the new emerging energy technologies is the bioelectrochemical system, of which two types are ...

EPFL2024

Biomass screening for syngas production by flash photopyrolysis

Hubert Girault, Mathieu Soutrenon, Wanderson Oliveira Da Silva

A few seconds flash photopyrolysis is used as efficient screening tool for the investigation of selected biomass in producing syngas, hydrogen and biochar. This innovative approach allowed rapid pyrolysis of the biomass, which was followed by a precise gas ...

Royal Soc Chemistry2024

Membrane electrode assembly simulation of anion exchange membrane water electrolysis

Jan Van Herle, Zoé Mury, Suhas Nuggehalli Sampathkumar, Khaled Lawand

Anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) offers a green hydrogen production method that eliminates the need for platinum group metals (PGM) as electrocatalysts. This study employs a COMSOL (R) 6.0 model to simulate a 1x1 cm(2) Ni fibre - Raney (R ...

Elsevier2024

Development of Sustainable Carbohydrate-Based Solvents by Acetal Functionalisation of Biomass

Anastasiia Komarova

Organic solvents are ubiquitous in industrial and domestic applications from the production of pharmaceuticals to household consumer products. The negative impact of most traditional solvents, especially aprotic types, on the environment, health, and safet ...

EPFL2024

Reversible photo-electrochemical device for solar hydrogen and power generation

Sophia Haussener, Alexandre Dominique M. Cattry, Saurabh Yuvraj Tembhurne, Matthieu Jonin, Mahendra Patel

A reversible photo-electrochemical device operating under concentrated irradiation could offer a stand-alone solution for producing solar fuel (in photo-driven electrolysis mode) and power (in fuel cell mode). This strategy would present the advantage of h ...

2024

Solar-assisted clean steam generator, a cleaner production approach for sustainable healthcare facilities

Fernando Porté Agel, Ahmad Arabkoohsar, Mohammad Jamshidmofid

Healthcare sector buildings, particularly hospitals, significantly contribute to global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Hospitals require a substantial amount of steam, including the essential hygienic or " clean steam, " that is currently ...

Elsevier Sci Ltd2024

Microbial hydrogen sinks in the sand-bentonite backfill material for the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste

Rizlan Bernier-Latmani, Manon Frutschi, Niels Burzan, Aislinn Ann Boylan, Nicolas Louis Maurice Jacquemin, Simiao Wang, Camille Aude Rolland

The activity of subsurface microorganisms can be harnessed for engineering projects. For instance, the Swiss radioactive waste repository design can take advantage of indigenous microorganisms to tackle the issue of a hydrogen gas (H2) phase pressure build ...

Frontiers Media SA2024

Quantifying mass transport limitations in a microfluidic CO2 electrolyzer with a gas diffusion cathode

Sophia Haussener, Venu Gopal Agarwal

A gas diffusion electrode (GDE) based CO2 electrolyzer shows enhanced CO2 transport to the catalyst surface, significantly increasing current density compared to traditional planar immersed electrodes. A two-dimensional model for the cathode side of a micr ...

2024

Modeling, design and economics of PEC devices

Alexandre Dominique M. Cattry

Photo-electrochemical (PEC) devices allow for converting solar energy into chemical energy and for the production of energetically dense solar fuels. Light absorption, charge separation and transport, electrochemical reactions, and ionic transport are requ ...

EPFL2024

High-throughput parallel testing of ten photoelectrochemical cells for water splitting: case study on the effects of temperature in hematite photoanodes

Sophia Haussener, Isaac Thomas Holmes-Gentle, Roberto Valenza, Franky Esteban Bedoya Lora

High-throughput testing of photoelectrochemical cells and materials under well-defined operating conditions can accelerate the discovery of new semiconducting materials, the characterization of the phenomena occurring at the semiconductor-electrolyte inter ...

Royal Soc Chemistry2024

'Fraternal-twin' ferroelectricity: competing polar states in hydrogen-doped samarium nickelate from first principles

Michele Kotiuga

In ferroelectric switching, an applied electric field switches the system between two polar symmetry-equivalent states. In this work, we use first-principles calculations to explore the polar states of hydrogen-doped samarium nickelate (SNO) at a concentra ...

Iop Publishing Ltd2024

Large impact of phonon lineshapes on the superconductivity of solid hydrogen

Lorenzo Monacelli

Phonon anharmonicity plays a crucial role in determining the stability and vibrational properties of high-pressure hydrides. Furthermore, strong anharmonicity can render phonon quasiparticle picture obsolete questioning standard approaches for modeling sup ...

Nature Portfolio2024