US-Germany Cooperative Research: International - Tuning Phase Behavior for Optimizing Heterogeneous Catalyzed Reactions in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

0233299 Eckert This award supports the PI, a junior faculty member, and a graduate student from Georgia Tech in a collaboration with Roger Glaeser of the Institute for Chemical Technology at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. The combined efforts of the German and US groups will focus on making better predictions of phase behavior of gases, supercritical fluids, and liquids. They will apply the new understanding of phase behavior to the improvement of rates and selectivities in heterogeneous catalyzed reactions at elevated pressures, especially those involving supercritical fluids. Many current experiments on catalyzed reactions lack information on the number of phases present, which phase is present during the reaction, and whether reactions are rate or mass-transfer limited. The present work will delineate both phase boundaries and reaction conditions to enable meaningful studies of heterogeneous catalyzed reactions at elevated pressures. The project also has an educational objective. The project will allow the graduate students and junior faculty involved to benefit from performing research in another country. They will develop a heightened appreciation of the world around them while also learning important new technical skills.