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Sunlight-driven CO2 Conversion: Producing Methane with Photovoltaics
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Due to greenhouse gas emissions, CO2 capture and utilization (CCU) technologies are being immensely researched. In these technologies, CO2 from gas emissions or directly from the atmosphere is converted into chemical products. One of these technologies is artificial photosynthesis, which uses solar energy, carbon dioxide and water to generate hydrocarbon fuels, being methane (CH4) a preferential target due to the already in place infrastructures for its storage, distribution and consumption. Based on electrochemical kinetic models, two different approaches to the production of CH4 via artificial photosynthesis were modelled. One approach was a 1-step transformation of CO2 and water into CH4 in a solar powered electrochemical cell (EC). The other was a more conventional 2-step production starting with the solar powered synthesis of an intermediate fuel - syngas (a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and molecular hydrogen (H2) - followed by the conversion of syngas to CH4 via a Fischer-Tropsch process. The results of the developed simulations reveal that the 1-step method could be applied to a domestic, small scale use, potentially providing energy for a single-family house, whilst the 2-step method can be used in small and large scales applications, from domestic to industrial applications. In terms of overall solar-to-CH4 energy efficiency, the 2-step method reaches a value of 13.63 % against the 9.18 % reached by the 1-step method.
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Artificial photosynthesis Photovoltaic-powered Electrochemical conversion CO2 electrolysis Fisher-Tropsch synthesis Analytical Modelling Carbon-based fuels as renewable energy vectors