The design of a device and the supporting experimental apparatus are presented for a novel flow cell electrolyzer used to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) into relatively pure and separate product streams of carbon monoxide (CO) and oxygen (O2) in an overall water- neutral reaction. The electrolyzer uses an aqueous ionic liquid (IL) solution as the CO2 solvent, electrolyte, and co-catalyst and a porous, hydrophobic, catalyst-coated gas diffusion electrode as the cathode. The IL is a non-toxic and non-volatile component demonstrated to be thermally and chemically stable, all of which are advantageous properties for its use in a spacecraft environment. The configuration of the flow cell electrolyzer is novel in that it eliminates any need for a separate gas-liquid separation system to separate gaseous products from the liquid electrolyte. The plans for upcoming tests and current progress on testing this design are described.
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