Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Jeong-Potter, Chae.
A novel RCC process using modified CZA DFMs to produce renewable MeOH is presented. K/CZA provides exceptionally high productivity of MeOH compared to previously reported attempts of RCC to MeOH.
As the world endures environmental crises associated with climate change and the rise of atmospheric CO2 concentrations from anthropogenic CO2 emission, carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies are increasingly necessary. Reactive carbon capture (RCC) technologies, in which capture and conversion of CO2 occur in a single reactor, are more energetically and economically attractive by avoiding the need to purify, compress, and transport the captured CO2. To this end, dual function materials (DFMs) - composed of sorbents and catalysts co-dispersed on the same high surface area carrier - have been developed. The sorbent component allows for selective capture of CO2 from a gas stream and the catalyst component subsequently performs the in-situ conversion of the adsorbed CO2 upon introduction of a reactive gas (typically H2). The end product of the most established DFM, comprised of Ru and/or Ni with an alkaline sorbent, is methane via the CO2 methanation reaction. While renewable methane would be an excellent transition fuel, fossil methane is inexpensive (averaging $2.57/MMBTU in pre-pandemic 2019) and the economics of renewable methane utilization are noncompetitive. This requires the design and investigation of DFMs that enable CO2 capture and conversion to more valuable and more useful C1 products like CO or methanol (average price of methanol was $20.61/MMBTU in pre-pandemic 2019). These products can then be further upgraded to high energy density synthetic fuels, and related carbonaceous products, for more sustainable alternatives in industries that are difficult to decarbonize, specifically heavy duty vehicles and aviation. Herein, we report various sorbent + catalyst combinations to achieve the production of useful C1 products through reactive capture of CO2.
As the world endures environmental crises associated with climate change and the rise of atmospheric CO2 concentrations from anthropogenic CO2 emission, carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies are increasingly necessary. Reactive carbon capture (RCC) technologies, in which capture and conversion of CO2 occur in a single reactor, are more energetically and economically attractive by avoiding the need to purify, compress, and transport the captured CO2. To this end, the development of dual function materials (DFM) that enable CO2 capture and conversion to useful C1 products, namely (1) methane, (2) CO, and (3) methanol, are attractive near-term targets for commercial CCU processes for renewable fuels and chemicals. DFM are composed of sorbents and catalysts co-dispersed on the same high surface area carrier. The sorbent component allows for selective capture of CO2 from a gas stream and the catalyst component subsequently performs the in-situ conversion of the adsorbed CO2 upon introduction of a reactive gas (typically H2). The survey of DFM formulations reveals a variety of sorbent+catalyst combinations of interest. There is, however, a lack of depth in fundamental understanding of how the CO2 binds to these materials and how the subsequent reaction mechanisms are affected, which are critical features for the development of next-generation materials with improved performance. To this end, we will describe in this work the CO2 binding characteristics of established and/or new DFM and their sorbent-only counterparts. The surface CO2 binding mechanism and capture capacity will be probed using techniques such as in-situ DRIFTS, operando TGA, and CO2 chemisorption.
Here a dual function material (DFM) comprised of 1% Ru, 10% Na 2 O/γ–Al 2 O 3 was studied for combined direct air capture (DAC) of CO 2 and catalytic methanation in a temperature swing operation. In the newly proposed operation, the DFM captures CO 2 (400 ppm) from air at ambient conditions. The material is then heated in H 2 to a temperature sufficient for catalytic conversion of the captured CO 2 to renewable natural gas. In this study, we demonstrate high CO 2 adsorption capacity and rates at ambient conditions (25 °C); the adsorbed CO 2 is then successfully catalytically methanated upon heating in H 2 . Adsorption was also carried out in humid conditions, more closely simulating ambient air. Adsorption and methane production were greatly improved with stable initial performance. The rate of adsorption is shown to be flowrate-dependent, which is critical for future reactor design.