Electrosynthesis

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Optimizing Battery Performance

Optimizing Battery Performance

Electrosynthesis Company has been developing and supporting the commercialization of redox flow battery technologies for more than 30 years. One of our key developmental tools is to test single cell batteries (as shown in photo) leading to cell stack testing at scales ranging from 10 cm2 (laboratory) to 0.7 m2 (commercial). The results of such testing help us screen and validate battery components, design-based performance, and stability.

Battery cells comprise various materials assembled in layers including bipolar/flow field plates, electrodes, gaskets, and membranes. Each component has its own role to make the battery operational and each will contribute to the internal cell resistance. A high performing battery will require the cell resistance to be as small as possible!

Our first step to reduce the cell resistance is to understand the composition of it. One of our skills is to diagnose the battery cell in-situ and identify the factor(s) limiting the battery performance using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Understanding the dominating factor(s), will facilitate how to improve the battery performance.

For the full article click Optimizing Battery Performance

 

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Exploring the Reach of Organic Electrochemistry

by Jonathan Kennedy-Ellis

Organic electrochemistry continues to enjoy a renaissance as more groups investigate its ability to perform selective transformations without the use of stoichiometric chemical oxidants, metal catalysts, or high energy precursors. Since our previous review by Matthew Hartle, research groups have prevailed to further expand the organic electrochemistry toolkit.1 Furthermore, there has been renewed interest by major industry players who see electrochemistry’s potential to use renewable electricity sources as an increasingly more economical pathway to essential products. The gap between academia and industry continues as while new processes develop in lab-based environments, they often scale poorly due to low current densities, faradic efficiencies, and the use of hazardous solvents. Companies such as the Electrosynthesis Company are uniquely positioned to help bridge that gap thanks to their deep understanding of both research lab, and industrial plant processes.

Full Article: Exploring the Reach of Organic Electrochemistry

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Organic electrosynthesis amps up the potential for synthetic innovation, while technological advances decrease the resistance for entry into this electrifying field

By Matthew Hartle, Ph.D.

Abstract

Organic electrochemistry is an area that is receiving more attention as chemists face pressures to synthesize more complex molecular targets in a more efficient fashion. The pressure comes from many corners including a desire to develop processes that are greener and more sustainable while producing significantly fewer toxic wastes and a reduction in manufacturing costs. It helps that many electrochemical processes are safer to operate and can be inherently linked to renewable energies. While innovations in beaker-scale electrolysis1 have opened the field to the typical organic bench chemist, a technology gap exists for scaling the reactions to the production level.2 Here we review several recent organic transformations that could either scale to larger flow-cell type systems or require further optimization in parallel with scale-up, as examples where the technology gap could be bridged. The Electrosynthesis Company is well-positioned to bridge the gap that exists between the bench and commercialization.

Read Full Article Here:  Electro-organic Synthesis

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Redox Flow Batteries

Why Grid Scale Energy Storage

by Che-Nan (Josh ) Sun 

An Electrical grid equipped with energy storage system allows companies to manage and deploy the electrical energy in a much more efficient and flexible way. Key features such as peak shaving, frequency regulation and time shifting can be realized via such systems to enhance power quality and reliability. Moreover, a grid-scale energy storage system is able to serve as a buffer between the electric grid and an ever increasing demand for renewable energy generation such as solar and wind. These systems  smooth out the climate-dependent intermittency and allow the harvested energy to be distributed as needed. It has long been a global desire to increase renewable energy penetration in order to reduce the electricity sector’s carbon footprint as well as the fossil fuel consumption.

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Electrochemical Salt Splitting

by David Genders

Salt splitting is a relatively new technology dependent on the availability of modern membranes. Its development has usually been driven by one of two major factors, both environmentally based. The first is the desire to produce caustic soda without the co-production of chlorine, and the second is the increased cost of disposing of heavily laden salt solutions.

Caustic is in Demand

Caustic soda is produced in the USA at a rate of 14 million tons per year, almost entirely by the electrolysis of brine. In this process chlorine is produced at the anode and caustic soda at the cathode in stoichiometric quantities. There is a growing awareness of the need for new processes for the manufacture of high purity sodium hydroxide that do not lead to co-production of chlorine. This requirement exists because the chlorine and sodium hydroxide markets are rarely in balance.

Despite the high demand for chlorine in the last two years, it is still expected that environmental pressures on chlorine will lead to an increased demand for caustic over the coming decade. Predictions are for a long-term trend in which the demand for sodium hydroxide will outstrip that for chlorine.

Several present markets for chlorine are expected to experience significant downturns due to environmental pressures or concerns about health hazards; these include pulp and paper bleaching, fluorocarbons, water treatment and chlorinated hydrocarbons. At the same time, the demand for sodium hydroxide is predicted to continue to grow.

Another trend is towards modular plants that allow the manufacture of chemicals on various scales including generation on a relatively small scale at the site of use.

Watts new salt splitting

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Prudent Energy & Electrosynthesis Sign Technology Development Agreements

Prudent Energy Inc.  is pleased to announce it has entered into technology development agreements with Electrosynthesis Company Inc. (“ESC”).  ESC previously acted as a technology development partner with VRB Power Systems Inc. ESC is a privately held, independent research and development company specializing in the development of electrochemical technologies for energy storage systems,  electrodialysis, separations, and synthesis of inorganic and organic chemicals and recycling of waste streams. ESC offers internationally recognized expertise in electrochemistry and R&D services, engineering, and the sale of electrochemical systems to provide practical solutions for clients worldwide.

About Electrosynthesis

Offering expertise in electrochemical technology, Electrosynthesis Company, Inc. began as an R&D and consulting firm in 1977. In 1992, we moved into our current custom‐built laboratory facility where we have been providing electrochemical expertise to solve problems for clients worldwide. To date, our highly skilled staff has completed more than 200 different R&D projects for clients giving us a unique experience base.

About Prudent Energy Inc. (Prudent Energy)

With offices in Vancouver Canada and in Beijing, China, Prudent Energy is an energy storage technology developer, manufacturer and systems integrator, specializing in the patented VRB Energy Storage System (VRB‐ESS™). With a global market focus, Prudent Energy provides high‐quality environmentally safe, energy storage systems and solutions (VRB‐ESS) to improve power quality and reliability, enable large‐scale penetration of renewable energy generation, and improve the efficiency of energy distribution.

Website: www.PDEnergy.com

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Electrogenerated Hydrogen Peroxide – From History to New Opportunities

by Derek Pletcher

Hydrogen peroxide is probably a unique chemical, ideally suited to the present age where environmental considerations are always to the fore.

Why unique?

Firstly, it is capable of very diverse chemistry. Hydrogen peroxide may act as either an oxidizing agent or a reducing agent. As an oxidizing agent, its application ranges from highly selective oxidation chemistries applicable to the manufacture of many organic com-pounds, through the bleaching of pulp, to the total oxidation of large organic compounds to carbon dioxide. Its reactivity as an oxidizing agent is determined largely by the ratio of the concentrations of H2O2 to substrate and the reaction conditions, particularly the choice of catalyst and factors such as UV irradiation.

Secondly, it is a strong oxidizing agent that may be formed by cathodic reduction under mild and varied conditions, opening up the possibility of producing the same product at both anode and cathode. Thirdly, the feedstock for electrogenerated hydrogen peroxide may be air (an unusually cheap and available feedstock!) while its reactions lead only to oxygen and/or water.

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Electrochemical Methods in Organic Synthesis of Valuable Intermediates

by Murat E. Niyazymbetov

Over the past 25-30 years the use of electrochemistry as a synthetic tool in organic chemistry has increased remarkably. According to Pletcher and Walsh more than 100 electroorganic synthetic processes have been piloted at levels ranging from a few tons up to 105 tons. Such examples include reductive dimerization of acrylonitrile, hydrogenation of heterocycles, pinacolization, reduction of nitro aromatics, the Kolbe reaction, Simons fluorination, methoxylation, epoxidation of olefins, oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons etc.

In this brief report we would like to review the use of electrochemical methods as a tool in lab scale synthesis, solving R&D objectives for a multi-step targeted synthesis, or one-step synthesis of intermediates or starting materials. There are many excellent reviews and monographs and publications we refer readers to some of them. These cover a broad spectrum of applications of electrochemical methods in organic synthesis including their use in the pharmaceutical industry. 3h,k Herein, we review some recent advances in using electrochemical methods in fine organic synthesis.

Moreover we will demonstrate that electrochemical methods are a tool that should become widely accepted in this area.

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Chiral Electrosynthesis for the Pharmaceutical Industry

by Norman L. Weinberg

The pharmaceutical industry, with annual worldwide sales of more than $200 billion, has for many years provided a wealth of opportunities for organic electrosynthesis of high value added intermediates. Many of these are now commercial. The most exciting R&D is occurring in electrosynthesis of chiral drug intermediates. These are enantiomerically pure single isomers of a mixture of possible diastereomers.

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Metal Ion Removal From Effluents

by Derek Pletcher

The need to protect the environment from further contamination by transition and heavy metal ions is well established and universally reinforced by legislation which sets limits on the levels in effluents which may be discharged into sewers and local waters. All chemical plants, factories and other facilities employing solutions of such metals should therefore be treating their wastewater before discharge. Electrochemical methods compete with a number of other technologies including evaporation, precipitation, ion exchange and solvent extraction to offer solutions to the needs of the many industries involved.

Electrochemical methods, however, are uniquely capable of recovering pure metal for recycle. Although electrochemical technology for metal ion removal has been available for some time [1-3], it continues to develop to meet the challenges of lower consent levels and more complex effluent compositions. Moreover, the technology now on the market is based on diverse electrochemical concepts.

Read the Full Article Here