US-Egypt Cooperative Research: Development of Nanoparticle Catalysts Supported on Graphene for High Activity and Selectivity Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis of Liquid Fuels

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA

Investigators

Abstract

This project supports a cooperative research effort by Dr. M. Samy El-Shall of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA and Ahmed Abdel-Hamid of the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology in Alexandria, Egypt. They plan to study the development of nanoparticle catalysts supported on graphene for high activity and selectivity in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) of liquid fuels. The project aims to develop an innovative approach to the design and synthesize a new class of efficient and selective FTS catalysts supported on graphene nanosheets. This research effort has the potential to develop a new family of highly active and selective graphene-supported, nanomaterial catalysts for the production of efficient and clean-burning liquid fuels. The research will develop new concepts and processes that will provide a platform for a rational catalyst design and optimized catalyst performance for the synthesis of liquid fuels and a variety of useful organic compounds. The project is expected to enhance the scientific knowledge of the FTS process and other related fields, and it may lead to new exciting technologies that could transform the new graphene-supported catalysts into a practical reality to increase energy supply and reduce worldwide greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. Successful results will likely initiate new efforts involving the industrial sectors in the United States and in Egypt for clean and sustainable energy production and conversion efficiency. Therefore, this cooperative research may lead to economic development in both countries. In addition, the project will train junior scientists and students in the multi-disciplinary cross-cutting research areas of catalysis, nanomaterials synthesis and characterization, surface science, industrial chemistry and energy conversion. This project will use nanocatalysts to promote the efficient and selective conversion of gas phase products derived from biomass into clean burning liquid fuels (C8-C18 n-alkanes). The key innovation in this proposal is the combination of established synthesis methods for transition metal nanocatalysts that control size and shape with the large surface area, unique electronic and defect-engineered properties of graphene. The goal is to develop a novel nanosheet catalyst support that leads to a new family of highly active and selective FT catalysts for the production of liquid fuels. With this new approach, catalyst-support interaction will be tailored to produce highly efficient, selective and recyclable FTS catalysts for the synthesis of long-chain hydrocarbons which can be used as liquid fuels as well as oxygenated hydrocarbons which can be used for the production of valuable chemicals for a variety of industrial applications. The efforts will greatly extend the capabilities of the proposed methods and will develop a new multidisciplinary area of research focused on catalysis on graphene nanosheets. This project is funded through the US-Egypt Joint Science and Technology Fund Program. Support for the U.S. side of these cooperative projects is provided to the National Science Foundation by the U.S. Department of State. The Egyptian Government provides support for the Egyptian side of the collaboration. Egyptian side.