Hydrogen generation from alkaline solutions of methanol and ethanol by electrolysis

Abstract

In this study, electrolysis of alkaline methanol and ethanol solutions was carried out on platinum coated electrodes in actual cells with different cell preparation and catalyst coating methods. The electrolysis reaction products were analyzed by X-Ray and titrimetric methods. The gas phase products were analyzed by Gas Chromatography technique. Thermodynamic calculations and analysis results suggest that the carbonate formation is highly favorable in alkaline KOH solutions. However, methane formation reaction along with carbonate and oxygen formations may be possible during ethanol electrolysis. Alkaline methanol solutions were electrolyzed easily using platinum coated carbon paper electrodes. It was found that Nafion based MEA's are not essential for electrolysis of alkaline solutions of methanol and ethanol. One of the best performances was obtained using micro porous polyethersulfone membranes in a special cell configuration. ©The Electrochemical Society. © 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.