CO2 Conversion to Formic Acid in a Three Compartment Cell with Sustainion™ Membranes

Formic acid generated from CO2 has been proposed both as a key intermediate renewable chemical feedstock as well as a potential energy storage chemical media for hydrogen. In this paper, we describe a novel three compartment electrochemical cell configuration with the capability of directly producing a pure formic acid product in the concentration range of 5-20 wt% at high current densities and Faradaic yields. The electrochemical cell employs a Dioxide Materials Sustainion (TM) anion membrane, allowing for the improved CO2 electrochemical reduction performance. Stable electrochemical cell performance for more than 500 hours has been experimentally demonstrated.