Publication date: 6th November 2020
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) or photovoltaic-driven electrochemical (PV-E) water splitting is considered a promising, renewable technique for the production of the green fuel hydrogen (H2). Nevertheless, a major bottleneck is that H2 production through (photo)electrochemical water splitting is financially not as attractive as H2 generation through steam methane reforming [1].
In this work, we discuss the partial oxidation of water to the commodity chemical hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) (E0 (H2O2/H2O) = +1.78 V vs RHE) as a financially promising substitute for anodic water oxidation to O2 [2,3]. Particularly, we will consider two scenarios: PEC and PV-E H2O2 production.
First, we demonstrate that the H2 price can be lowered significantly compared to ‘classic’ water splitting for a PEC system using a techno-economic analysis. Here we consider (i) a near-optimal scenario and (ii) a literature-based state-of-the-art scenario. It will be shown that H2 production through steam methane reforming is even financially outcompeted.
Second, we will focus on PV-E systems and discuss on an experimental basis the suitability of various electrode materials for anodic H2O2 production. We demonstrate that boron-doped diamond yields promising results, reaching Faradaic efficiencies to H2O2 over 30% and H2O2 production rates slightly over 4.5 μmol min-1 cm-2. Finally, implementing the obtained experimental results in (a slightly altered version of) our techno-economic model, we will discuss the most important areas where research should be pursued in to make anodic H2O2 production even more attractive.
The authors would like to thank Mats Wildlock and Nina Simic from Nouryon (Bohus, Sweden) for helpful discussions. Wouter Kwak, Alexa Grimm and Gert Jan Kramer are acknowledged for their contributions regarding the techno-economic analysis. Furthermore, we are grateful to Dr. Monica Morales Masis and Yury Smirnov for their contributions in the production of SnOx-based anodes. This project was financially supported by the Topconsortium voor Kennis- en Innovatie Biobased Economy (TKI-BBE) (TKI-BBE 1803), the Topconsortium voor Kennis- en Innovatie Chemie (TKI Chemie) (Chemie.PGT.2019.007) and Nouryon.
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