DIAMOND: Boron-doped diamond electrodes for paired electro-synthesis of sustainable platform chemicals

At a glance

• The production of platform chemicals in the chemical industry currently employs fossil fuels and is therefore partly responsible for the industry’s high CO₂ emissions.
• In the DIAMOND research project, the scientists are developing an economical alternative based on sustainable carbon raw materials and utilizing innovative boron-doped diamond electrodes.
• Fraunhofer IWES is responsible for the development and testing of zero-gap CO₂ electrolysis cells in a subproject.

The challenge

The chemical industry requires numerous basic materials that are currently predominantly produced using fossil-derived raw materials and fossil energy. In order to replace them, renewable energies and sustainable carbon raw materials such as CO₂ and biomass will need to be used in the future. Formaldehyde is an important platform chemical produced by the selective catalytic oxidation of methanol. However, it is still not possible to run the electrochemical conversion of CO₂ to formaldehyde economically and on an industrial scale, as there are no corresponding cathodes and anodes made of available raw materials and the product on the anode side is just inexpensive oxygen. 

The solution

The DIAMOND international research project is addressing this problem and developing durable electrodes and electrochemical processes for conversion of carbon dioxide to sustainable platform chemicals. The focus here is on boron-doped diamond electrodes. The aim is to validate the suitability of carbon-based electrodes, thereby eliminating the use of critical rare elements. At the same time, an innovative electrolysis procedure involving bio-acids should deliver a valuable by-product.

Fraunhofer IWES is responsible in a subproject for the development and testing of zero-gap CO₂ electrolysis cells under industry-relevant conditions on a test bench. This includes in particular the analysis and evaluation of the continuous operation as well as upscaling.

The added value

DIAMOND will provide the industry with a validated, economical, and climate-friendly electrolysis procedure for the production of a widely used platform chemical, thus making an important contribution to reducing the emissions of the chemical industry. At the same time, the electrodes developed in DIAMOND will reduce the use of rare-earth elements in electrolysis procedures.