Operation of a Pressurized System for Continuous Reduction of CO2

A pressurized electrochemical system equipped for continuous reduction of CO2 is presented. At elevated pressures, using a Ag-based cathode, the quantity of CO which can be generated is 5 times that observed at ambient pressure with faradaic efficiencies as high as 92% observed at 350 mA cm(-2). For operation at 225 mA cm(-2) and 60 degrees C the cell voltage at 18.5 atm was 0.4 V below that observed at ambient pressure. Increasing the temperature further to 90 degrees C led to a cell voltage below 3 V (18.5 atm and 90 degrees C), which equates to an electrical efficiency of 50%. (C) 2012 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/2.011209jes] All rights reserved.