Solar to Liquid Fuel for Future Sustainability (SoLFuel)

UK becomes first major economy to pass net zero emissions law. The target will require the UK to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2050. This new target cannot be achieved only by implementing alternative energy sources. Carbon capture and utilization technologies are also required to reduce emission level to achieve Net Zero by 2050.

In this context, we proposed liquid fuel (Formic Acid) production by electrolytic splitting of water and its reaction with carbon dioxide (CO2) through proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer. The proposed project will help to reduce CO2 concentration in the environment by capturing and reutilization to produce Formic Acid using solar energy. In addition to its wide applications in almost every industry, Formic Acid can be used as an important fuel for portable devices, vehicles, and other energy-related applications in the future. The produced formic acid can be stored for ease, which acts as a portable energy to readily convert it back to electricity using fuel cell. Oxygen (O2) can be used to produce a disinfectant Ozone (O3) for its oxidation/cleaning potential. Formic acid have many advantages such as (i) it has high energy density as it can have high concentration of hydrogen, (ii) It is environmentally friendly as it also naturally formed in nature, (iii) it has fast reaction kinetics which allows reactions to happen fast like in electrolysis, (iv) It can be stored in room temperature, and it is stable enough for transportation and (v) it has small orgonic molecule which helps in removing complicated catalytic reforming.

Through this studentship, we aim to design and develop a standalone device to convert solar energy and CO2 into formic acid, a carbon-neutral fuel, without requiring any additional components or electricity. The remote standalone device could be scaled up and used on energy farms similar to solar farms, producing clean fuel using sunlight and CO2.