University of Delaware engineers have demonstrated an effective way to capture 99% of carbon dioxide from the ambient air feed to an hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cell (HEMFC) air using a novel electrochemical system powered by hydrogen. It is a significant advance for carbon dioxide capture and could bring more environmentally friendly fuel cells closer to market. The research team, led by UD Professor Yushan Yan, reported their method in Nature Energy . The alkaline environment of hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells (HEMFCs) potentially allows use of cost-effective catalysts and bipolar plates in devices. However, HEMFC performance is adversely affected by CO 2 present in the ambient air feed. Here, we demonstrate an electrochemically driven CO 2 separator (EDCS) to remove CO 2 from the air feed using a shorted membrane that conducts both anions and electrons. This EDCS is powered by hydrogen like a fuel cell but needs […]