U.S.-Korea Cooperative Research on the Effects of Pore Size on Deactivation of Nickel Catalyst

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This proposal requests funds to permit Dr. Hong H. Lee, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, to pursue with Dr. Sang Heup Moon, Reaction Engineering Laboratory, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), for a period of 18 months, a program of cooperative research on the effects of pore size on deactivation of nickel catalysts for benzene hydrogenation. These catalysts are affected both by sintering and coking (poisoning) due to the exothermic nature of the reaction. The objective of the research is to determine the effects of pore size on the deactivation rate so that a nickel catalyst can be designed for an extended lifetime for the hydrogenation reaction. In the cooperative project, Dr. Moon will prepare and test catalysts of varying support pore size. Dr. Lee will provide a theoretical analysis of the effect of support pore size on the sintering of these metal catalysts. Because the catalyst is affected both by sintering and coking, a determination also must be made as to how much of the deactivation is due to sintering in order to properly analyze data on catalyst effectiveness. In addition to the importance of the project as a basic research study, this research may have important applications in industrial catalysis, where the effectiveness of the catalyst is inversely related to the extent of sintering. The collaborators are highly respected scientists in the field of this research. The present project will allow them to combine their talents and interests for mutual benefit. This project is relevant to the objectives of the U.S.-Korea Cooperative Science Program which seeks to increase the level of cooperation between U.S. and Korean scientists and engineers through the exchange of scientific information, ideas, skills, and techniques and through collaboration on problems of mutual benefit. Korean participation in the project is supported by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF).