Hydrogen production by electrochemical decomposition of formic acid via solid polymer electrolyte

The aim of this work is to investigate the feasibility of simultaneous hydrogen production by electrochemical decomposition of formic acid via solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) in an electrochemical reactor. Titanium oxide coated with iridium, oxide as anode and carbon fibre with Pt catalyst as cathode were used in the experiments. Effects of applied current density, flow rates and temperature of formic acid solution, concentration of supporting electrolyte and pH of the solution on performance of the process have been investigated. The effect of membrane thickness has also been examined. The results suggest that electrolysis using SPE is a promising method for the treatment of organic pollutants. Hydrogen with purity of 99.999% at ambient temperature by using carbon fibre cathode with Pt catalyst can be produced simultaneously and COD removal efficiency of 95% has been achieved not requiring any chemical addition and temperature increase. Also complete electrochemical oxidation of formic acid at the original pH to CO2 and H2O without production of intermediate has been proved by HPLC analysis. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.