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Oxalate standard electrode potential



High Paul,

>Does anyone have a number for the standard electrode potential
>for oxalate/CO2?

I looked up in a few old chemistry books in a friend's house, and
found the values of standard electrode potentials for CO2 and
Oxalic acid:

2CO2 + 2H+ + 2e- = H2C24  (electrode potential is -0.49V)

H2C2O4 + 2H2O = 2H2CO3 + 2H+ + 2e- (electrode is potential -0.386V)

>        I really don't think that oxygen evolved at an anode is
> going to erode the carbon, the claims of the manufacturers of certain
> devices notwithstanding.

There was also the following reaction in the book:

C (graphite) + 2H2O = CO2 + 4H+ + 4e- (electrode potential +0.207)

There was also another reaction listed in the electrode reactions
section, which I thought might also be used for cheap electrolytic CO2
production: 

CH3OH + 2H2O = CO2 + 4H+ + 4e- (electrode potential +0.207V)

Do you think CO2 can be produced by electrolytic oxidation of
methanol, perhaps in H2SO4 solution? Or, mabe sugar can be oxidized
too, again with H2SO4 for electrolysis? This may become another
sugar-based CO2 generator :), but much more controllable compared with
yeast? 

I came across a "Kohinore" pencil in a shop, it was like normal
wooden pencil in size, but was all made of thick hard graphite.
I put it in concentrated H2SO4 to clean off the paint from the
surface, will try to use it as the anode. Haven't done the
experimentation yet...

Vahe