Portable High Efficiency Electrochemical Cell for Hydrogen Peroxide Production

A portable, safe, and efficient source of hydrogen peroxide that can be coupled with the Army’s existing evaporation technology provides an efficient means of generating vaporous hydrogen peroxide to neutralize chemical and biological agents in enclosed areas such as buildings, aircraft, or tanks. Lynntech, Inc. has developed a patented electrochemical device which utilizes air and the electrolysis of water to generate liquid phase hydrogen peroxide. To meet the need for a high yield, efficient, portable peroxide generator, in Phase I Lynntech proposes to maximize the yield of hydrogen peroxide by (a) utilizing a modified membrane to minimize water crossover and (b) incorporating a highly efficient catalyst developed at CASE Western Reserve University. In tandem, Lynntech will optimize a vaporization process that directly couples with the electrochemical cell and to produce vapor phase peroxide. Lynntech’s innovative, high efficiency electrochemical system provides a route to generate both 35 weight % liquid phase and 250-500 ppm vapor phase hydrogen peroxide and operates on water and electricity which are available in the field. The power, cost, and size of the portable hydrogen peroxide generator will be evaluated to optimize the peroxide yield and minimize the power requirements for large-scale production.