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Updated: Oct 27, 2025
Ion-Exchange Membranes for the Fabrication of Reverse Electrodialysis Device
Published on: July 20, 2021
Upgrading of Ethanol to 1,1-Diethoxyethane by Proton-Exchange Membrane Electrolysis
Daisuke Kawaguchi1, Hitoshi Ogihara1, Hideki Kurokawa1
1Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan.
Abstract:
The direct acetalization of ethanol is a significant challenge for upgrading bioethanol to value-added chemicals. In this study, 1,1-diethoxyethane (DEE) is selectively synthesized by the electrolysis of ethanol using a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) reactor. In the PEM reactor, a Pt/C catalyst promoted the electro-oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde. The Nafion membrane used as the PEM served as a solid acid catalyst for the acetalization of ethanol and electrochemically formed acetaldehyde. DEE was obtained at high faradaic efficiency (78 %) through sequential electrochemical and nonelectrochemical reactions. The DEE formation rate through PEM electrolysis was higher than that of reported systems. At the cathode, protons extracted from ethanol were reduced to H2 . The electrochemical approach can be utilized as a sustainable process for upgrading bioethanol to chemicals because it can use renewable electricity and does not require chemical reagents (e. g., oxidants and electrolytes).
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