Process systems engineering, intensified separations, and techno-economic analyses.

Economically viable conversion of CO₂ into chemical building blocks will necessitate not only excellent catalysts and accurately controlled microenvironments, but as well the ability to separate CO₂ electrolysis products at a low cost and energy footprint. The conditions for the synthesis of CO₂ electrolysis products are significantly different than the synthesis conditions typically encountered in the chemical manufacturing, hence, we need to design and integrate novel separation techniques in the early stages of electrolysis development. An excellent example of a highly selective and energy efficient technique that Prof. Barecka previously developed is given in this paper: https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2301/2301.10324.pdf

Appreciating the importance of economic factors, we seek to integrate techno-economic analyses in the earliest stages of our research, to be sure that we guide our laboratory work towards the achievement of the metrics most relevant for the manufacturing industries. We deploy operation unit-level representation of the electrochemical rectors, which allows to identify the technology benchmarks that are critical for the cost and productivity of scaled reactors. In contrast to what is broadly assumed in the field, it is not only the Faradaic Efficiency that determines the economic viability of CO₂ electrolysis processes.