Reactor designs for pH-swing electrochemical CO2 capture

CO₂ capture plays a pivotal role in global carbon emission management, strongly impacting the economic feasibility of downstream carbon utilization and storage. Electrochemical CO₂ capture provides a platform for efficiently removing CO₂ from the atmosphere and industrial flue gases. When operating based on the pH-swing mechanism, the process can be highly O₂-tolerant and adapted to both small-scale facilities and large industrial plants. In recent years, efforts have been therefore made to improve the efficiency of pH-swing electrochemical CO₂ capture. This Review summarizes high-performance pH-swing CO₂ capture reactors and highlights the recent advances and remaining challenges. It provides an overview of the system's working principles and performance metrics, along with an outlook on paths to low costs, high durability, and scale-up development. This paper aims to capture insights that can develop pH-swing electrochemical CO₂ capture into a key component of future carbon management strategies.