High-Efficiency Low-Temperature Electrolytic Ironmaking in Acidic Environment Enabled by Novel Electrolyte Design

Le résumé fourni par la source

Iron and its alloy is the second most-produced material by human society and is a pillar of modern society. However, the current ironmaking process is not sustainable due to the heavy use of fossil fuel as the reductant and energy source for reducing iron ore. Two routes have emerged to address this challenge. One is direct hydrogen reduction, which uses hydrogen sourced from renewable energy to reduce iron ore. Another is direct electrolytic reduction using renewable electrons. Depending on the electrolytes, various electrolytic routes are possible. Molten-oxide electrolysis enables high current operation, but suffers from challenges such as low efficiency, corrosion, heat loss, etc. Low-temperature electrolysis can avoid some of these challenges. Alkaline electrolysis has been studied for over a decade and has been demonstrated in several projects in European Union and in US. However, acidic electrolysis has received much less attention. In this talk, we will discuss the opportunities and challenges of acidic electrolysis, and present our results in addressing one of the critical challenges of acidic electrolysis, the low faradaic efficiency due to the competing hydrogen evolution reactions. We will share our results in high-efficiency electrowinning of iron metal, discuss the fundamental science underlying the unprecedented efficiency, and opportunities and gaps of designing practical ironmaking process based on acidic electrolysis.

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