| 1. |
- Diaz-Morales, Oscar, et al.
(författare)
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Catalytic effects of molybdate and chromate–molybdate films deposited on platinum for efficient hydrogen evolution
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of chemical technology and biotechnology (1986). - : Wiley. - 0268-2575 .- 1097-4660. ; 98:5, s. 1269-1278
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Sodium chlorate (NaClO3) is extensively used in the paper industry, but its production uses strictly regulated highly toxic Na2Cr2O7 to reach high hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) Faradaic efficiencies. It is therefore important to find alternatives either to replace Na2Cr2O7 or reduce its concentration.RESULTS: The Na2Cr2O7 concentration can be significantly reduced by using Na2MoO4 as an electrolyte co-additive. Na2MoO4 in the millimolar range shifts the platinum cathode potential to less negative values due to an activating effect of cathodically deposited Mo species. It also acts as a stabilizer of the electrodeposited chromium hydroxide but has a minor effect on the HER Faradaic efficiency. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results show cathodic deposition of molybdenum of different oxidation states, depending on deposition conditions. Once Na2Cr2O7 was present, molybdenum was not detected by XPS, as it is likely that only trace levels were deposited. Using electrochemical measurements and mass spectrometry we quantitatively monitored H2 and O2 production rates. The results indicate that 3 μmol L−1 Na2Cr2O7 (contrary to current industrial 10–30 mmol L−1) is sufficient to enhance the HER Faradaic efficiency on platinum by 15%, and by co-adding 10 mmol L−1 Na2MoO4 the cathode is activated while avoiding detrimental O2 generation from chemical and electrochemical reactions. Higher concentrations of Na2MoO4 led to increased oxygen production.CONCLUSION: Careful tuning of the molybdate concentration can enhance performance of the chlorate process using chromate in the micromolar range. These insights could be also exploited in the efficient hydrogen generation by photocatalytic water splitting and in the remediation of industrial wastewater.
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| 2. |
- Endrodi, Balazs, et al.
(författare)
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A review of chromium(VI) use in chlorate electrolysis : Functions, challenges and suggested alternatives
- 2017
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Ingår i: Electrochimica Acta. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0013-4686 .- 1873-3859. ; 234, s. 108-122
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sodium chlorate is industrially produced by electrolysis of an aqueous salt solution, in which chromium ( VI) constitutes an important excipient component. It is added to a concentration of a few grams Na2Cr2O7/ liter to the electrolyte and has several functions in the process, the most important being to increase the Faradaic efficiency for hydrogen evolution in the undivided electrochemical cells. A thin film of Cr(OH)(3) x nH(2)O formed by reductive deposition on the cathodes decreases the rate of unwanted side reactions, while still enabling hydrogen evolution to occur. In addition chromium(VI) buffers the electrolyte at the optimum pH for operation and promotes the desired homogeneous reactions in the electrolyte bulk. Chromium species also affect the rates of hydrogen and oxygen evolution at the electrodes and are said to protect the steel cathodes from corrosion. Although chromium(VI) stays in a closed loop during chlorate production, chromate is a highly toxic compound and new REACH legislation therefore intends to phase out its use in Europe from 2017. A production without chromium(VI), with no other process modifications is not possible, and today there are no commercially available alternatives to its addition. Thus, there is an urgent need for European chlorate producers to find solutions to this problem. It is expected that chromium-free production will be a requirement also in other parts of the world, following the European example. As the chromium(VI) addition affects the chlorate process in many ways its replacement might require a combination of solutions targeting each function separately. The aim of this paper is to explain the role and importance of chromium(VI) in the chlorate manufacturing process. Previous achievements in its replacement are summarized and critically evaluated to expose the current state of the field, and to highlight the most promising avenues to be followed. An attempt is also made to reveal connections with other research fields (e.g. photochemical water splitting, corrosion science) facing similar problems. Allied effort of these different communities is expected to open up research avenues to the mutual benefit of these fields.
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| 3. |
- Endrodi, Balazs, et al.
(författare)
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In situ formed vanadium-oxide cathode coatings for selective hydrogen production
- 2019
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Ingår i: Applied Catalysis B. - : Elsevier. - 0926-3373 .- 1873-3883. ; 244, s. 233-239
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electrode selectivity towards hydrogen production is essential in various conversion technologies for renewable energy, as well as in different industrial processes, such as the electrochemical production of sodium chlorate. In this study we present sodium metavanadate as a solution additive, inducing selective cathodic formation of hydrogen in the presence of various other reducible species such as hypochlorite, chlorate, oxygen, nitrate, hydrogen-peroxide and ferricyanide. During electrolysis a vanadium-oxide coating forms from the reduction of sodium metavanadate, explaining the observed enhanced selectivity. The hydrogen evolution reaction proceeds without significantly altered kinetics on such in situ modified electrode surfaces. This suggests that the reaction takes place at the interface between the electrode surface and the protective film, which acts as a diffusion barrier preventing the unwanted species to reach the electrode surface.
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| 4. |
- Endrodi, Balazs, et al.
(författare)
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Selective electrochemical hydrogen evolution on cerium oxide protected catalyst surfaces
- 2020
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Ingår i: Electrochimica Acta. - : Elsevier BV. - 0013-4686 .- 1873-3859. ; 341
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To date the only known solution to avoid the unwanted electrochemical reduction of hypochlorite and chlorate in industrial chlorate production, performed in undivided cells, is the addition of dichromate to the chlorate electrolyte. Because of the toxicity of this compound its use is restricted within the European Union to time limited authorization by REACH. Therefore, an alternative to sodium dichromate is essential to maintain, or even increase the process efficiency. The addition of cerium (III) salts to a hypochlorite solution increases the cathodic selectivity towards hydrogen evolution (HER), the preferred cathode process in industrial chlorate production. This is attributed to the deposition of a thin cerium oxide/hydroxide coating on the cathode, induced by the increased local alkalinity during electrolysis. Performing the electrodeposition of such protective coating ex situ, well-controlled coating thickness can be achieved. Optimizing the deposition conditions (time, current density), a coherent and stable coating is formed on the electrode surface. On this protected electrode surface the electrochemical reduction of hypochlorite is suppressed by ca. 90% compared to the bare Pt electrode, while the HER proceeds with high selectivity and unchanged kinetics. Interestingly, other electrochemical reactions (O-2 reduction, H2O2 reduction and oxidation) are also suppressed by the protective coating, suggesting that the deposited layer acts as an inorganic membrane on the electrode surface.
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| 5. |
- Endrodi, Balazs, et al.
(författare)
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Selective Hydrogen Evolution on Manganese Oxide Coated Electrodes : New Cathodes for Sodium Chlorate Production
- 2019
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Ingår i: ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2168-0485. ; 7:14, s. 12170-12178
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The safety and feasibility of industrial electrochemical production of sodium chlorate, an important chemical in the pulp and paper industry, depend on the selectivity of the electrode processes. The cathodic reduction of anodic products is sufficiently suppressed in the current technology by the addition of chromium(VI) to the electrolyte, but due to the high toxicity of these compounds, alternative pathways are required to maintain high process efficiency. In this paper, we evaluate the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction kinetics and selectivity on thermally formed manganese oxide-coated titanium electrodes in hypochlorite and chlorate solutions. The morphology and phase composition of manganese oxide layers were varied via alteration of the annealing temperature during synthesis, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, synchrotron radiation X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy measurements. As shown in mass spectroscopy coupled electrochemical measurements, the hydrogen evolution selectivity in hypochlorite and chlorate solutions is dictated by the phase composition of the coating. Importantly, a hydrogen evolution efficiency of above 95% was achieved with electrodes of optimized composition (annealing temperature, thickness) in hypochlorite solutions. Further, these electrode coatings are nontoxic and Earth-abundant, offering the possibility of a more sustainable chlorate production.
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| 6. |
- Endrodi, Balázs, et al.
(författare)
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Suppressed oxygen evolution during chlorateformation from hypochlorite in the presenceof chromium(VI)
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of chemical technology and biotechnology (1986). - : Wiley. - 0268-2575 .- 1097-4660. ; 94:5, s. 1520-1527
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Chromium(VI) is a crucial electrolyte component in industrial chlorate production. Due to its toxicity, iturgently needs to be abandoned and its functions fulfilled by new solutions. In the industrial production of sodium chlorate,homogeneous decomposition of the hypochlorite intermediate to chlorate is a key step. As a competing loss reaction,hypochlorite can decompose to oxygen. How chromium(VI) affects these reactions is not well understood.RESULTS: This work shows, for the first time, that chromium(VI) selectively accelerates the chlorate formation from hypochloriteboth in dilute and concentrated, industrially relevant solutions. The effect of the ionic strength and the specific contributionof different electrolyte components were systematically studied. By simultaneously measuring the concentration decayof hypochlorite (UV–vis spectroscopy) and the oxygen formation (mass spectrometry), both the rate and the selectivity of thereactions were evaluated.CONCLUSION: In the presence of chromium(VI) the hypochlorite decomposition is described by the sum of an uncatalyzedand a parallel catalyzed reaction, where oxygen only forms in the uncatalyzed reaction. When removing chromium(VI),the homogeneous oxygen formation increases, causing economic and safety concerns. The need for a catalyst selectivefor chlorate formation is emphasized.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Gomes, Adriano, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Electrochemical Investigation of the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction on Electrodeposited Films of Cr(OH)3 and Cr2O3 in Mild Alkaline Solutions
- 2018
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Ingår i: Electrocatalysis. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1868-5994 .- 1868-2529. ; 9:3, s. 333-342
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) from water reduction is the main cathodic reaction in the sodium chlorate process. The reaction typically takes place on electrodes covered with a Cr(III) oxide-like film formed in situ by reduction of sodium dichromate in order to avoid reduction of hypochlorite and thereby increase the selectivity for the HER. However, the chemical structure of the Cr(III) oxide-like film is still under debate. In the present work, the kinetics of the HER were studied using titanium electrodes covered with electrodeposited Cr(OH) 3 or Cr 2 O 3 , which were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy. A clear difference in the morphology of the deposited surfaces was obtained, and the structure could be revealed with Raman spectroscopy. The kinetics for the HER were investigated using potentiodynamic and potentiostatic techniques. The results show that the first electron transfer is rate limiting and that the activity decreases in the order Cr 2 O 3 @Ti > bare Ti > Cr(OH) 3 @Ti. The low activity obtained for Cr(OH) 3 @Ti is discussed in terms of the involvement of structural water in the HER and the slow ligand exchange rate for water in Cr(III) complexes, while the high activity obtained for Cr 2 O 3 @Ti is rationalized by a surface area effect in combination with reduction of surface water and water in solution. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].
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| 9. |
- Gomes, Adriano, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Understanding Selectivity in the Chlorate Process: A Step towards Efficient Hydrogen Production
- 2018
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Ingår i: ChemistrySelect. - : Wiley. - 2365-6549. ; 3:23, s. 6683-6690
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chlorate production is a highly energy demanding industrial process, where chlorate formation is accompanied with hydrogen formation on the cathode. To ensure a high cathodic current efficiency, sodium dichromate is added to the chlorate electrolyte to avoid reduction of hypochlorite formed as a reaction intermediate in the process. However, chromate is highly toxic to humans and environment, and therefore a replacement is desired. A model system with ex situ formed chromium oxide/hydroxide films were used to study hypochlorite reduction and hydrogen evolution. The experimental results demonstrate that the hypochlorite reduction is fully blocked while hydrogen evolution readily occurs. However, in the presence of hypochlorite the hydrogen evolution reaction is inhibited. By combining experimental findings with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the mechanism of hypochlorite reduction was revealed and the reason for inhibition by the deposited chromium(III) film was demonstrated. Based on these results possible replacements for chromate are suggested.
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| 10. |
- Hedenstedt, Kristoffer, et al.
(författare)
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Current efficiency of individual electrodes in the sodium chlorate process: a pilot plant study
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Electrochemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0021-891X .- 1572-8838. ; 47:9, s. 991-1008
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2017 The Author(s)Abstract: Current efficiency in the sodium chlorate process is a key issue in the evaluation of the power consumption. A pilot cell unit for executing the sodium chlorate process was constructed to study the current efficiency of the anode and cathode separately. The effects of sodium dichromate and sodium sulphate concentrations and the electrolyte temperature on the anode and cathode current efficiencies were studied. Corrosion products formed on the mild steel cathodes after their removal from the cell were characterised using X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. The results show that the cathodic current efficiency increases with increasing dichromate concentrations in the electrolyte until approximately 5 g dm−3 is reached. At this optimum concentration of dichromate, the presence of sulphate ions decreases the cathodic current efficiency. For moderate increases in temperature, the cathodic current efficiency increases, but oxygen evolution is promoted, and the power consumption also increases. Surface characterisation of the electrodes after their exposure to air shows two primary types of behaviour, depending on the process parameters. At low dichromate concentrations, amorphous corrosion layers are formed, while at higher concentrations, reduced forms of iron hydroxides, i.e., “green rust”, are identified. Although the electrodes were positioned at the open circuit potential for 40 min before their removal from the cell, chromium remains on the cathode surface. This result might explain the corrosion-inhibiting effect of the addition of chromate to the electrolyte. The results from this study can be used to optimise operating procedures in real plants, decrease the energy consumption and minimise the environmental impact of these processes. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Wang, Tongshuai, et al.
(författare)
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Pilot-scale study of membrane-coated cathodes : Achieving high cathodic efficiency and outstanding stability in chlorate electrolysis
- 2024
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Ingår i: Electrochimica Acta. - : Elsevier BV. - 0013-4686 .- 1873-3859. ; 497
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sodium chlorate (NaClO3) is primarily used for producing chlorine dioxide, an environmentally friendly bleaching agent for pulp. Currently, dichromate is used as an electrolyte additive in the chlorate process where it has several functions, but due to health and environmental risks associated with chromate, there is a need for a less toxic alternative. In the present study, we prepared a membrane-coated cathode as a substitute for chromium(VI), to keep a high current efficiency in chlorate electrolysis. This electrode employed an industrially relevant electrode with active catalysts as the substrate and a thin layer of ion exchange polymer as the coating. The coating effectively blocked anions such as ClO− and ClO3− from reaching the cathode, thereby suppressing cathodic side reactions. We conducted a series of electrochemical characterizations on the membrane-coated cathodes with varying coating thickness and tested them in a pilot-scale setup for efficiency and stability under industrial testing conditions.
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| 13. |
- Wang, Tongshuai, et al.
(författare)
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Rational design of a membrane-coated cathode for selective electrochemical hydrogen evolution in chlorate electrolysis
- 2023
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Ingår i: Electrochimica Acta. - : Elsevier BV. - 0013-4686 .- 1873-3859. ; 466, s. 143010-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The industrial chlorate process has traditionally used chromium(VI) as an electrolyte additive for high Faraday efficiency. However, due to its recognized toxicity and carcinogenic properties, the EU has regulated its usage, prompting the need for alternative approaches. In this study, we propose the adoption of a polymeric membrane-coated cathode (MCC) as a straightforward yet highly efficient solution to enhance the selectivity of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in chlorate electrolysis. Proof-of-concept MCCs were fabricated by coating roughened titanium substrates with cation and anion exchange membrane layers, which function as selective barriers for anodic hypochlorite species. The study revealed that a thin membrane coating on the electrode surface effectively suppressed the permeation of anodic intermediates, without compromising the current density for HER. By optimizing the coating layer thickness and substrate surface properties of MCC, the chlorate electrolysis cell demonstrated an impressive Faradaic efficiency of up to 95% at a current density of 150 mA/cm², while maintaining exceptional stability. The outcome of this study can potentially advance the feasibility of industrial chlorate production in meeting regulatory requirements and effectively mitigating environmental consequences.
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