Catalytic Dry Reforming of Methane

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) converts two greenhouse gases (CH4 and CO2) to valuable syngas (H2 and CO). Ni based catalysts are most commonly used for the reaction but suffer from catalyst deactivation due to carbon deposition.

Thermoelectricity

More than two-thirds of the utilized energy resources end up as waste heat released to the environment. The majority of the waste heat comes from automobile exhaust systems and industrial processes such as petroleum refining, chemical production, ceramics manufacturing, and iron- and steel-making. It is thus of great economic and environmental benefits to tap into this vast amount of wasted energy using thermoelectric (TE) effects and generate electricity by TE devices.

Selective catalytic reduction

Diesel engines manufactured on or after January 1, 2010 are required to meet lowered NOx emission standards. Almost all of the heavy-duty engine manufacturers have chosen to use SCR to abate NOx emissions.

CO Oxidation

CO is a toxic and detrimental air pollutant. Vehicular exhaust contributes about 64% of the CO pollution in developed countries. Due to the exponentially increasing number of automobiles on roads, CO concentrations have reached an alarming level in urban areas and regulatory measures are adopted to curb the menace of vehicular pollution.

Solid oxide fuel cells

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert chemical energy of a fuel and oxidant directly into electrical energy. An advantage of solid oxide fuel cells is their fuel flexibility (burn fuels such as CH4 besides H2) because the anode acts as a steam reformer where fuels react with steam to produce H2.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial supports for our research.

Research: Research

Catalytic Dry Reforming of Methane

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Dry reforming of methane (DRM) converts two greenhouse gases (CH4 and CO2) to valuable syngas (H2 and CO). Ni based catalysts are most commonly used for the reaction but suffer from catalyst deactivation due to carbon deposition.

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We made first successful measurements of the carbon formation kinetics on a Ni catalyst in DRM under real reaction conditions. ​

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An algorithm was developed to measure catalyst performance based on gas analysis by IR spectroscopy.

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We control the catalyst reduction process to optimize its performance.

Thermoelectricity

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We develop thermochemical processing techniques for thermoelectric materials.

Selective catalytic reduction

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Diesel engines manufactured on or after January 1, 2010 are required to meet lowered NOx emission standards. Almost all of the heavy-duty engine manufacturers have chosen to use SCR to abate NOx emissions.

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We have a delicate SCR catalyst evaluation system.

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We develop cost-effective catalysts for low-temperature SCR applications.

CO Oxidation

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We are particularly interested in understanding the thermal effects in catalyst evaluation.

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We develop non-precious metal catalysts for this application.

Solid oxide fuel cells

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We use ceramic processing technologies to manufacture durable Ni-YSZ anode materials.

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We study steam reforming reaction and aim to reduce the steam concentration while maintaining its performance.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial supports for our research.

We made first successful measurements of the carbon formation kinetics on a Ni catalyst in DRM under real reaction conditions.