Description:
Reference #: 01179
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for a syngas generator that provides efficient and eco-friendly utilization of coal/biomass and CO2 to produce clean fuel and store energy.
Invention Description:
The subject invention is a carbon gasification (CG) assisted solid oxide electrolysis cell that can efficiently convert steam and carbon dioxide to syngas as a means of electricity storage and carbon dioxide utilization. This device also provides an eco-friendly and efficient way to use carbon-containing sources, such as coal and biomass, achieving carbon neutral sustainable energy supply.
Advantages and Benefits:
- Compared to conventional co-electrolysis, the energy efficiency of this syngas generator (CG assisted co-electrolysis) is higher.
- Compared with other CO2 utilization technologies, CG assisted co-electrolysis does not need pure CO2, which can save the cost of purification of CO2.
- Compared with other carbon-containing technologies, the separation of carbon and gas agent in the CG assisted electrolysis cell can produce cleaner and purer syngas without contaminants such as H2S and NxOy, which means that dirty fuels such as coal can be converted to green and clean fuels. Therefore, this novel syngas generator shows great promise for eco-friendly and efficient utilization of coal/biomass and CO2 to store energy and reduce the emission of CO2.
Potential Applications:
This novel syngas generator shows great promise for eco-friendly and efficient utilization of coal/biomass and CO2 to store energy and reduce the emission of CO2.
Background:
In conventional solid oxide electrolysis cell, a significant portion of electricity input is consumed to overcome the large oxygen potential gradient (open circuit voltage up to 1.0 V) in the electrolysis process, because the anode is often exposed to air with a high oxygen partial pressure.
In this invention, the design reduces the electrical potential barrier of the electrolysis by lowering the partial pressure of oxygen. This results in a small oxygen potential gradient between the anode and cathode. Therefore, significantly less electricity is consumed to overcome the potential barrier between the two electrodes, and the total energy efficiency is increased.
Development:
The invention is currently under laboratory development.