A solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) includes a solid oxide electrolyte, a fuel-side electrode disposed on a fuel side of the electrolyte, and an air-side electrode disposed on an air side of the electrolyte. The air-side electrode includes a barrier layer disposed on the air side of the electrolyte and containing a stabilized zirconia material having a lower electrical conductivity than an electrical conductivity of the electrolyte, and a functional layer disposed on the barrier layer.

An electrically conductive substrate contains at least titanium. An intermediate layer is provided on a primary surface of the electrically conductive substrate. A composite layer is provided on the intermediate layer. The composite layer includes tantalum layers and catalyst layers. Each of the catalyst layers contains platinum and iridium. Each of the tantalum layers is made from tantalum oxide, tantalum, or a mixture of tantalum oxide and tantalum. The tantalum layers and the catalyst layers are alternately stacked one layer by one layer in a thickness direction of the electrically conductive substrate. A bottom layer of the composite layer closest to the primary surface of the electrically conductive substrate is constituted by one tantalum layer of the tantalum layers. A top layer of the composite layer furthest from the electrically conductive substrate is constituted by one catalyst layer of the catalyst layers.

A corrosion resistant anode is provided for oxygen evolution reaction in water including chloride ions. The anode includes: (1) a substrate; (2) a passivation layer coating the substrate; and (3) an electrocatalyst layer coating the passivation layer. Polyanion adjusted alkaline seawater electrolyte for hydrogen generation by electrolysis is also provided.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electrolysis technique such that the electrolysis performance is unlikely to be deteriorated, and excellent catalytic activity is retained stably over a long period of time even when electric power having a large output fluctuation, such as renewable energy, is used a power source, and this object is realized by an alkaline water electrolysis method, in which an electrolytic solution obtained by dispersing a catalyst containing a hybrid cobalt hydroxide nanosheet (Co-NS) being a composite of a metal hydroxide and an organic substance is supplied to an anode chamber and a cathode chamber that form an electrolytic cell, and the electrolytic solution is used for electrolysis in each chamber in common, and an alkaline water electrolysis anode.

In this disclosure, a process of recycling acid, base and the salt reagents required in the Li recovery process is introduced. A membrane electrolysis cell which incorporates an oxygen depolarized cathode is implemented to generate the required chemicals onsite. The system can utilize a portion of the salar brine or other lithium-containing brine or solid waste to generate hydrochloric or sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide and carbonate salts. Simultaneous generation of acid and base allows for taking advantage of both chemicals during the conventional Li recovery from brines and mineral rocks. The desalinated water can also be used for the washing steps on the recovery process or returned into the evaporation ponds. The method also can be used for the direct conversion of lithium salts to the high value LiOH product. The method does not produce any solid effluent which makes it easy-to-adopt for use in existing industrial Li recovery plants.

In this disclosure, a process of recycling acid, base and the salt reagents required in the Li recovery process is introduced. A membrane electrolysis cell which incorporates an oxygen depolarized cathode is implemented to generate the required chemicals onsite. The system can utilize a portion of the salar brine or other lithium-containing brine or solid waste to generate hydrochloric or sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide and carbonate salts. Simultaneous generation of acid and base allows for taking advantage of both chemicals during the conventional Li recovery from brines and mineral rocks. The desalinated water can also be used for the washing steps on the recovery process or returned into the evaporation ponds. The method also can be used for the direct conversion of lithium salts to the high value LiOH product. The method does not produce any solid effluent which makes it easy-to-adopt for use in existing industrial Li recovery plants.

A laminate containing: an electrode for electrolysis; and a membrane, wherein the electrode for electrolysis has one or a plurality of protrusions on a surface opposed to the membrane, and the protrusion(s) satisfies/satisfy the following conditions (i) to (iii):

0.04≤S.sub.a/S.sub.all≤0.55  (i)

0.010 mm.sup.2≤S.sub.ave≤10.0 mm.sup.2  (ii)

1<(h+t)/t≤10  (iii) wherein, in the (i), S.sub.a represents the total area of the protrusion(s) in an observed image obtained by observing the opposed surface under an optical microscope, S.sub.all represents the area of the opposed surface in the observed image, in the (ii), S.sub.ave represents the average area of the protrusion(s) in the observed image, and in the (iii), h represents the height of the protrusion(s), and t represents the thickness of the electrode for electrolysis.

The present invention utilizes an electrochemical catalyst which contains: a metal oxide that is composed of one or more compounds selected from among zirconium oxide, cerium oxide, yttrium oxide, gadolinium oxide, samarium oxide, cobalt oxide and scandium oxide; and a metal variant, which has a valence that is different from the valence of the metal that constitutes the metal oxide.

This invention provides an electrochemical system for manufacturing methanol from methane in good yields and without admixtures of methanol oxidation products. A fuel cell for methane or methanol utilization is also provided.

This invention provides an electrochemical system for manufacturing methanol from methane in good yields and without admixtures of methanol oxidation products. A fuel cell for methane or methanol utilization is also provided.