Electrolysis of low-grade and saline surface water

Tong, Wenming, Forster, Mark, Dionigi, Fabio, Dresp, Sören, Sadeghi Erami, Roghayeh, Strasser, Peter, Cowan, Alexander J., Farràs, Pau. (2020). Electrolysis of low-grade and saline surface water. Nature Energy. doi: 10.1038/s41560-020-0550-8

Abstract

Review Article Published: 17 February 2020 Electrolysis of low-grade and saline surface water Wenming Tong, Mark Forster, Fabio Dionigi, Sören Dresp, Roghayeh Sadeghi Erami, Peter Strasser, Alexander J. Cowan & Pau Farràs Nature Energy (2020)Cite this article 1779 Accesses 1 Citations 60 Altmetric Metricsdetails Abstract Powered by renewable energy sources such as solar, marine, geothermal and wind, generation of storable hydrogen fuel through water electrolysis provides a promising path towards energy sustainability. However, state-of-the-art electrolysis requires support from associated processes such as desalination of water sources, further purification of desalinated water, and transportation of water, which often contribute financial and energy costs. One strategy to avoid these operations is to develop electrolysers that are capable of operating with impure water feeds directly. Here we review recent developments in electrode materials/catalysts for water electrolysis using low-grade and saline water, a significantly more abundant resource worldwide compared to potable water. We address the associated challenges in design of electrolysers, and discuss future potential approaches that may yield highly active and selective materials for water electrolysis in the presence of common impurities such as metal ions, chloride and bio-organisms.

Funder

INTERREG Atlantic Area programme
Royal Society Alumni programme
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie

Publisher

Nature Research (part of Springer Nature)

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland

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Collections

School of Biological and Chemical Sciences (Scholarly Articles)