Electrochemical Reduction of Combusted Iron

In the transition of fossil fuels into renewable energy, dense energy carriers play an essential role to store and safely transport large amounts of energy. Considering its high energy density and abundance, iron powder can be used for this purpose. Iron can be converted into power through combustion and the resulting iron oxide can be recycled back into pure iron.

Electrochemical reduction is an industrially applied CO2-free process considered to produce iron. However, improvement of the process efficiency through enhanced mass transport needs to be considered. Besides, the prevention of iron deposits sticking to the electrode is still a challenge, given that metal in powder form is needed. This project aims to study the detailed mechanism of the reduction of combusted iron inside a spinning disc electrolyzer. Shear effects, induced by disc rotating motion, may assist the formation of iron powder. Therefore, phenomena related to hydrodynamics, transport, and particle interactions associated with iron production will be intensively studied through experimental and numerical work. Insights from the research can be used to control and optimize the electrochemical reduction of iron oxide.

People involved: Akmal Irfan Majid, Yali Tang, Giulia Finotello, Niels Deen, John van der Schaaf