FMSG: Eco: Electrification of catalytic processes for CO2 conversion to sustainable liquid fuels

Colorado School Of Mines, Golden CO

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to produce sustainable liquid fuels using CO2 as a starting material. The CO2 can be captured from waste streams of other processes or directly from the air. This CO2 will be combined with water in a process driven by renewable electricity to create hydrocarbon fuels. These processes will take place within a reactor and use a catalyst. The main advantage of this new process is that it will use rapid heating and cooling cycles. These quick temperature changes can drive the starting materials to the catalyst, while removing the desired products. The rapid temperature swing reactors will also provide flexible and easy shutdown and startup procedures. The project will include technoeconomic analysis of the proposed technology, considering the fluctuation in renewable energy costs and energy efficiency of the system. The team will develop and demonstrate an educational activity based using color-coded data for visualizing heat transfer. The project will provide research opportunities for undergraduate students by leveraging on-going programs at the University of Cincinnati and the Colorado School of Mines. The objective of this project is to generate fundamental knowledge in designing a CO2 electrolyzer for selective C2H4 production based on operation conditions, rational catalyst design, and gradient electrode engineering. Thus, the successful demonstration of this project will improve the design the CO2 electrolyzer for efficient CO2 utilization. This work will also provide generalizable knowledge in designing Joule reactors with minimal temperature gradients and rapid temperature ramping, which will open doors to use electrified thermal reactors for a wide range of chemical processes and provide protocols to quantify the advantages of Joule heating. The team will also demonstrate the use of rapid temperature cycling to desorb strongly bound intermediates on catalytic surfaces and thus prevent coke formation by exploring the Joule reactor with in-situ spectroscopic method. Such results, in turn, will enable the process to better utilize renewable electricity and offer new ways to produce chemicals. This Future Manufacturing award is co-funded by the Division of Chemistry (CHE) in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) and the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems (CBET) in the Engineering Directorate (ENG). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.