Nature Communications · 29 August 2026 · From issue 29
Cascade electrosynthesis of glycolic acid from ethylene and oxygen with an energy efficiency of 62.9%
A cascade electric process makes glycolic acid from ethylene and oxygen with 62.9% energy efficiency.
Jun Wang, Yongyan Zhao et al.
A new electricity-powered method makes glycolic acid, an industrial chemical, without the dirty process factories use now. It links three chemical steps in a row and uses a byproduct made along the way, hydrogen peroxide, to help finish the job. The process turns starting materials into the wanted product 93.5% of the time and keeps 62.9% of the input energy in the final product.
The share of electrical energy that ends up stored in the final chemical product.
Lab-scale electrochemical test, not a running factory process yet.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 31 August 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Nature Communications). Read the source
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