Electrosynthesis of ethylene glycol from biomass glycerol
Abstract Ethylene glycol, a widely used chemical, has a large global capacity exceeding 40 million tons per year. Nevertheless, its production is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, resulting in substantial CO2 emissions. Herein, we report an approach for electrochemically producing ethylene glycol fro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56104-5 |
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| author | Haoyuan Chi Zhanpeng Liang Siyu Kuang Yaxin Jin Minglu Li Tianxiang Yan Jianlong Lin Shuangyin Wang Sheng Zhang Xinbin Ma |
| author_facet | Haoyuan Chi Zhanpeng Liang Siyu Kuang Yaxin Jin Minglu Li Tianxiang Yan Jianlong Lin Shuangyin Wang Sheng Zhang Xinbin Ma |
| author_sort | Haoyuan Chi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Ethylene glycol, a widely used chemical, has a large global capacity exceeding 40 million tons per year. Nevertheless, its production is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, resulting in substantial CO2 emissions. Herein, we report an approach for electrochemically producing ethylene glycol from biomass glycerol. This process involves glycerol electrooxidation to glycolaldehyde at anode, which is subsequently electro-reduced to ethylene glycol at cathode. While the anode reaction has been reported, the cathode reaction remains a challenge. An electrodeposited electrode with metallic Cu catalyst enables us to achieve glycolaldehyde-to-ethylene glycol conversion with an exceptional faradaic efficiency of about 80%. Experimental and theoretical studies reveal that metallic Cu catalyst facilitates the C=O activation, promoting glycolaldehyde hydrogenation into ethylene glycol. We further assemble a zero-gap electrolyzer and demonstrate ethylene glycol electrosynthesis from glycerol to give a decent production rate of 1.32 mmol cm–2 h–1 under a 3.48 V cell voltage. The carbon intensity assessment based on a valid assumption reveals that our strategy may reduce CO2 emissions by over 80 million tons annually compared to conventional fossil fuel routes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-91681b3b60cf4873a42fc92b0abf6f26 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-91681b3b60cf4873a42fc92b0abf6f262025-01-26T12:42:39ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111110.1038/s41467-025-56104-5Electrosynthesis of ethylene glycol from biomass glycerolHaoyuan Chi0Zhanpeng Liang1Siyu Kuang2Yaxin Jin3Minglu Li4Tianxiang Yan5Jianlong Lin6Shuangyin Wang7Sheng Zhang8Xinbin Ma9Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin UniversityKey Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin UniversityKey Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin UniversityKey Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin UniversityKey Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin UniversityKey Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin UniversityKey Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin UniversityCollege of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan UniversityKey Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin UniversityKey Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin UniversityAbstract Ethylene glycol, a widely used chemical, has a large global capacity exceeding 40 million tons per year. Nevertheless, its production is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, resulting in substantial CO2 emissions. Herein, we report an approach for electrochemically producing ethylene glycol from biomass glycerol. This process involves glycerol electrooxidation to glycolaldehyde at anode, which is subsequently electro-reduced to ethylene glycol at cathode. While the anode reaction has been reported, the cathode reaction remains a challenge. An electrodeposited electrode with metallic Cu catalyst enables us to achieve glycolaldehyde-to-ethylene glycol conversion with an exceptional faradaic efficiency of about 80%. Experimental and theoretical studies reveal that metallic Cu catalyst facilitates the C=O activation, promoting glycolaldehyde hydrogenation into ethylene glycol. We further assemble a zero-gap electrolyzer and demonstrate ethylene glycol electrosynthesis from glycerol to give a decent production rate of 1.32 mmol cm–2 h–1 under a 3.48 V cell voltage. The carbon intensity assessment based on a valid assumption reveals that our strategy may reduce CO2 emissions by over 80 million tons annually compared to conventional fossil fuel routes.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56104-5 |
| spellingShingle | Haoyuan Chi Zhanpeng Liang Siyu Kuang Yaxin Jin Minglu Li Tianxiang Yan Jianlong Lin Shuangyin Wang Sheng Zhang Xinbin Ma Electrosynthesis of ethylene glycol from biomass glycerol Nature Communications |
| title | Electrosynthesis of ethylene glycol from biomass glycerol |
| title_full | Electrosynthesis of ethylene glycol from biomass glycerol |
| title_fullStr | Electrosynthesis of ethylene glycol from biomass glycerol |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electrosynthesis of ethylene glycol from biomass glycerol |
| title_short | Electrosynthesis of ethylene glycol from biomass glycerol |
| title_sort | electrosynthesis of ethylene glycol from biomass glycerol |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56104-5 |
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