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WO-2026092850-A1 - ELECTROCHEMICAL REACTOR FOR CATALYTIC HYDROGENATION AND PRODUCT ISOLATION, AND METHOD THEREOF

WO2026092850A1WO 2026092850 A1WO2026092850 A1WO 2026092850A1WO-2026092850-A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrochemical reactor comprising a cathode chamber comprising a cathode, one or more inlets, and one or more outlets; an anode chamber comprising an anode, one or more inlets, and one or more outlets; a separator positioned between the cathode chamber and the anode chamber; and a fibrous carrier material being coated with a hydrogenation catalyst, wherein the fibrous carrier material is arranged in the cathode chamber between the cathode and the separator. Further, the invention pertains to a method of a catalytic hydrogenation in aqueous solution, comprising the steps of provision of such an electrochemical reactor; supply of an aqueous solution into the anode chamber via the respective inlet(s), and supply of an aqueous solution containing a reagent of a hydrogenable organic compound into the cathode chamber via the respective inlet(s); adsorption of the reagent on the fibrous carrier material; electrolysis of water in the electrochemical reactor such that hydrogen is formed at the cathode and oxygen is formed at the anode; diffusion of hydrogen to the hydrogenation catalyst positioned on the fibrous carrier material; catalytic hydrogenation of the reactant to a product, which is a hydrogenated compound; desorption of the product from the fibrous carrier material; accumulation of the product in the cathode chamber; and discharge of the aqueous solution from the anode chamber via the respective outlet(s) and discharge of an aqueous solution containing the product from the cathode chamber via the respective outlet(s). Furthermore, the invention refers to a fibrous carrier material being coated with a hydrogenation catalyst.

Inventors

  • SAEIDI, Navid
  • HARNISCH, FALK
  • CHÁVEZ MOREJÓN, Micjel

Assignees

  • HELMHOLTZ-ZENTRUM FÜR UMWELTFORSCHUNG GMBH - UFZ

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241031

Claims (15)

  1. 1 . An electrochemical reactor (100) comprising: a cathode chamber (10) comprising a cathode (12), one or more inlets (20), and one or more outlets (22); an anode chamber (70) comprising an anode (72), one or more inlets (80), and one or more outlets (82); a separator (60) positioned between the cathode chamber (10) and the anode chamber (70); and a fibrous carrier material (30) being coated with a hydrogenation catalyst (40), wherein the fibrous carrier material (30) is positioned in the cathode chamber (10) between the cathode (12) and the separator (60).
  2. 2. The electrochemical reactor (100) according to claim 1 , wherein the cathode (12) essentially consists of stainless steel felt.
  3. 3. The electrochemical reactor (100) according to claims 1 and 2, wherein the anode (72) essentially consists of one or more compounds selected from the group of platinum, titanium, nickel, and niobium.
  4. 4. The electrochemical reactor (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the anode (72) is a dimensionally stable anode (DSA) such that a substrate essentially consisting of at least one of titanium and niobium is coated with a noble mixed metal oxide catalyst comprising at least one metal selected from the group of iridium, ruthenium, tantalum, platinum, and rhodium.
  5. 5. The electrochemical reactor (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of a first separating element (50) is placed in the cathode chamber (10) between the fibrous carrier material (30) and the cathode (12); and a second separating element (52) is placed in the cathode chamber (10) between the fibrous carrier material (30) and the separator (60).
  6. 6. The electrochemical reactor according to claim 5, wherein the first separating element (50) between the fibrous carrier material (30) and the cathode (12) is configured to distribute supplies entering the cathode chamber (10).
  7. 7. The electrochemical reactor (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fibrous carrier material (30) is configured to adsorb organic compounds due to attractive interactions.
  8. 8. The electrochemical reactor (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fibrous carrier material (30) is based on carbon fibers.
  9. 9. The electrochemical reactor (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the hydrogenation catalyst (40) essentially consists of one or more compounds selected from the group comprising Raney Nickel (RNi), platinum, iridium, rhodium and platinum on carbon (Pt/C).
  10. 10. A method of a catalytic hydrogenation in aqueous solution, comprising the steps of: a) provision of an electrochemical reactor (100) according to claim 1 ; b) supply of an aqueous solution into the anode chamber (70) via the respective inlet(s) (80), and supply of an aqueous solution containing a reagent of a hydrogenable organic compound into the cathode chamber (10) via the respective inlet(s) (20); c) adsorption of the reagent on the fibrous carrier material (30); d) electrolysis of water in the electrochemical reactor (100) such that hydrogen is formed at the cathode (12) and oxygen is formed at the anode (72); e) diffusion of hydrogen to the hydrogenation catalyst (40) positioned on the fibrous carrier material (30); f) catalytic hydrogenation of the reagent to a product, which is a hydrogenated organic compound; g) desorption of the product from the fibrous carrier material (30); h) accumulation of the product in the cathode chamber (10); and i) discharge of the aqueous solution from the anode chamber (70) via the respective outlet(s) (82) and discharge of an aqueous solution containing the product from the cathode chamber (10) via the respective outlet(s) (22).
  11. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the electrode chambers (10, 70) are supplied and discharged independently of each other.
  12. 12. The method according to claims 10 and 11 , wherein in step c) the reagent adsorbs on the fibrous carrier material (30) due to attractive interactions.
  13. 13. The method according to claims 10 through 12, wherein in step g) the product has a lower adsorption affinity towards the fibrous carrier material (30) than the respective reagent such that desorption of the product from the fibrous carrier material (30) is favored.
  14. 14. The method according to claims 10 through 13, wherein phenol is catalytically hydrogenated forming at least one product compound selected from the group of cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol.
  15. 15. A fibrous carrier material (30) being coated with a hydrogenation catalyst (40).

Description

Electrochemical Reactor for Catalytic Hydrogenation and Product Isolation, and Method thereof Embodiments of the present invention relate to an electrochemical reactor designed for catalytic hydrogenation of a hydrogenable organic compound. Another embodiment of the present invention refers to a method of a catalytic hydrogenation in aqueous solution containing a reagent of a hydrogenable organic compound. Furthermore, the present invention pertains to a fibrous carrier material being coated with a hydrogenation catalyst. Technological Background The synthesis of basic and fine chemicals is of crucial importance for the manufacture of industrial goods. Especially for compounds being produced on a large scale, it is desirable that efficient synthesis routes with no or as few impurities as possible are known. In particular reaction conditions should be as mild as possible and the product should be easily purified and isolated. Electrochemistry is of great importance in the field of preparative chemistry. For example, the preparation of metals such as lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium and aluminum proceeds via fused-salt electrolysis. In addition, halogens and organic compounds are produced electrochemically on a large scale. For the latter, the Simons fluorination process, the Monsanto adiponitrile processes and the BASF Lysmeral synthesis via anodic benzylic oxidation may be taken as possible examples. One advantage of electrochemical reaction processes is that redox reactions are only driven by electricity and may take place without the addition of reducing or oxidizing agents. For this reason, electrochemical reactors have been and are constantly being further developed. Contemporary electrochemical reactor designs emphasize enhanced energy sufficiency, scalability and selectivity in catalytic processes. Advancements in materials science have led to the development of novel catalysts and electrode materials, optimizing reaction kinetics and durability. Additionally, there is a growing focus on integrating innovative reactor configurations, such as flow cells and membrane reactors, to improve mass transport and overall performance. A wide variety of electrochemical processes and devices has been developed enriching the state of art. US 10 577 698 B2 relates to an electrochemical process which is based on the reduction of at least one chemical compound in a multiphase catholyte solution, wherein the catholyte solution is formed by feeding a gas through a gas distributor into the cathode chamber. In the same way as the gas distributor is permeable to gas particles, the separator may also be permeable to the electrolyte or further components contained therein as reported in US 11 318 455 B2. Herein, a battery is disclosed comprising at least one electrochemical cell with an anode, an electrolyte, a cathode, and a separator comprising a polymer of intrinsic porosity. Furthermore, in addition to or instead of the separator, at least one electrode material may also be porous. In this context, KR 10 1858760 B1 describes an electrode of an electrochemical cell having a porous structure with a plurality of voids containing sulfur. Finally, also complex compounds of biochemical importance may be produced ex vivo by using an electrochemical reactor. An example for this is the hydrogenation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide by an indirect electrochemical reduction, wherein the electrolysis is carried out in the presence of an electron carrier as reported in US 4 526 661 A. Independent of electrochemical processes, the separation of products and reactants has been subject of numerous investigations. The technical teachings enriching the state of art have in common that the separation and purification of products take place in a second process step after the reaction. The following disclosures can be taken as examples. EP 1 159 290 B1 describes a separation method in aqueous phase systems with at least one aqueous phase containing a thermo-separating micelle-polymer. The separation method comprises partitioning the compound in a two-phase system wherein at least one of the phases is rich and the other is poor in a thermo-separating polymer; collecting one phase containing the predetermined compound and if desired, further working up said compound from the collected phase. Beyond that, US 9 370 749 B2 discloses a porous multi-component material for the capture and separation of species of interest comprising a substrate and a porous composite thin film. As reported in US 10239 044 B2 also metal-organic frameworks are suitable to purify compounds of interest. More precisely, the disclosure relates to a method of separating an aromatic compound from a mixture of hydrocarbons wherein a separation medium consisting of a crystalline cyclodextrin metal-organic framework is provided. The separation medium is in contact with the mixture of hydrocarbons and an aromatic compound from the mixture of hydrocarbons is isolated