ADVANCED PbO2 ANODES FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL PRODUCTION OF BIO-BASED MALEIC ACID

Recent advances in the conversion of furfural (FF) to maleic acid (MA) and the progress obtained in the development of a PbO2 based electrode used for setting up a new electrochemical route at industrial scale to produce maleic acid (MA) from biobased feedstocks are reported. 1 The fabrication and characterization of the electrode material together with the electrolysis results, obtained conducting the target reaction in a 10cm2 lab scale flow cell, are presented and discussed. A cheap and affordable procedure is presented in which a SnO2-Sb2O3 layer prepared by dip-coating and thermal decomposition method ensured a good adhesion of the PbO2 electrodeposited coating allowing to obtain a stable DSA having the same requirements of the industrial Pt-plated electrode. Further improvements were obtained using PVA to modify the PbO2 electrodeposited coating (particle size and shape). The morphology, crystalline structure, oxidation states and surface chemical composition data were collected, and electrochemical performances of the materials investigated highlighting the relation between the electrode behaviour and the morphology and accessibility to the reactive furfural molecules. The investigated materials are effective for setting up a new green conversion pathway for MA synthesis and the new electrochemical approach results in a sustainable cost-effective production of industrially relevant derivatives, based on renewable waste biomass feedstocks and renewable energy.