Reduction of CO2 under high pressure and high temperature on Pb-granule electrodes in a fixed-bed reactor in aqueous medium Original Research Article

The electrochemical reduction of CO2 has been investigated on Pb granule electrodes at high-pressure conditions and high temperatures (electrode potentials between −1.6 and −2.1 V) by using aqueous 0.2 M K2CO3 as electrolyte in a fixed-bed reactor. Only formic acid was found as a reaction product. The maximum Faradaic efficiency of the product was found to be 94% at −1.8 V (SCE). The space–time yield of the reaction was found to be 1.3 × 10−3 kg L−1 h−1 with an Av value of 1.1 cm−1. Transfer coefficient, β, of the reaction was 0.11, and the exchange current density, jo, was found to be 4.1 × 10−4 A cm−2.