Electrolysis apparatus and method for producing useful compounds from co2

Abstract

Provided is an electrolysis apparatus. The electrolysis apparatus includes: an anode module configured to electrochemically oxidize water (H2O) to generate an oxide including oxygen (O2) and hydrogen ions (protons); a cathode module arranged opposite to the anode module, and configured to electrochemically reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) to generate a reduced material including ethanol and acetone; and a separation module configured to receive the reduced material from the cathode module, and separate the ethanol or the acetone from the reduced material.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electrolysis apparatus comprising:
 an anode module configured to electrochemically oxidize water (H 2 O) to generate an oxide including oxygen (O 2 ) and hydrogen ions (protons);   a cathode module arranged opposite to the anode module, and configured to electrochemically reduce carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to generate a reduced material including ethanol and acetone; and   a separation module configured to receive the reduced material from the cathode module, and separate the ethanol or the acetone from the reduced material.   
     
     
         2 . The electrolysis apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cathode module includes:
 a cathode compartment configured to accommodate the carbon dioxide; and   a cathode disposed on one side of the cathode compartment, and configured to receive the carbon dioxide from the cathode compartment,   the hydrogen ions generated from the anode module are moved from the anode module to the cathode, and   the cathode is configured to electrochemically reduce the carbon dioxide by using the hydrogen ions moved from the anode module to generate the reduced material.   
     
     
         3 . The electrolysis apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the cathode includes a catalyst in which nitrogen-doped porous carbon is coated with a single atom metal, which includes one kind of a single atom metal or a single atom dimer (SAD) in which two kinds of single atom metals are combined. 
     
     
         4 . The electrolysis apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the cathode module includes a gas diffusion layer (GDL) disposed between the cathode compartment and the cathode to diffuse the carbon dioxide from the cathode compartment to the cathode. 
     
     
         5 . The electrolysis apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the anode module includes:
 an anode compartment configured to accommodate an anode electrolyte; and   an anode disposed on one side of the anode compartment.   
     
     
         6 . The electrolysis apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a cation exchange membrane is disposed between the anode module and the cathode module. 
     
     
         7 . The electrolysis apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the separation module is configured to separate the ethanol or the acetone from the reduced material by using a difference in solubility for salt. 
     
     
         8 . The electrolysis apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the separation module is configured to separate the ethanol or the acetone from the reduced material by using a difference in boiling points. 
     
     
         9 . The electrolysis apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a monitoring system configured to identify a composition of the reduced material generated from the cathode module. 
     
     
         10 . An electrolysis method comprising:
 supplying an anode electrolyte and water (H 2 O) to an anode;   supplying carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to a cathode;   generating a potential difference between the anode and the cathode to electrochemically oxidize the water through the anode and electrochemically reduce the carbon dioxide through the cathode; and   separating ethanol or acetone from a reduced material of the carbon dioxide electrochemically reduced through the cathode.   
     
     
         11 . The electrolysis method of  claim 10 , wherein an oxide of the water electrochemically oxidized through the anode includes oxygen (O 2 ) and hydrogen ions (protons),
 the reduced material of the carbon dioxide electrochemically reduced through the cathode includes ethanol and acetone, and   the hydrogen ions are moved to the cathode and used to electrochemically reduce the carbon dioxide.   
     
     
         12 . The electrolysis method of  claim 10 , wherein the ethanol or the acetone is separated from the reduced material of the carbon dioxide by using a difference in solubility for salt, or
 the ethanol or the acetone is separated from the reduced material of the carbon dioxide by using a difference in boiling points.   
     
     
         13 . A membrane electrode assembly (MEA) comprising:
 an anode;   a cathode; and   an ion conductive polymer membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode,   wherein the ion conductive polymer membrane includes a first ion conductive polymer membrane adjacent to the anode, and a second ion conductive polymer membrane adjacent to the cathode, and   a discontinuous polymer interface is formed between the first ion conductive polymer membrane and the second ion conductive polymer membrane.   
     
     
         14 . The membrane electrode assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the cathode includes a catalyst in which nitrogen-doped porous carbon is coated with a single atom metal, which includes one kind of a single atom metal or a single atom dimer (SAD) in which two kinds of single atom metals are combined.