SusChem: Sustainable Chemicals Production Using Solid Polymer Electrolyte Reactors

为了解决与二氧化碳排放和对外国化石燃料来源的依赖有关的问题，化学加工工业正在努力将其制造方法转变为更可持续的原材料和生产方案。改善有机化工生产的环境和能源可持续性的潜在转型战略将涉及用从可再生资源获得的电力直接驱动的过程取代热驱动的反应。一个典型的例子是有机化学物质与氢气反应产生各种新化学物质，这个过程被称为氢化，在一个典型的化学过程中，它占所有反应步骤的20%。氢气通常来自天然气重整，这是一个能源密集型和复杂的过程，需要化石燃料。基于电化学的新系统提供了一种可持续的替代方案。本研究的总体目标是开发一种电化学反应器，利用电、水和有机化学原料作为唯一的输入来进行有机化学品的加氢。特别是促进电化学反应的固体聚合物电解质（SPE）反应器是实现这一目的的潜在有效平台。这些反应器在内部产生氢气，为发生在反应器系统阴极的氢化反应提供燃料。阴极的温和温度和高浓度氢可以促进各种商业上相关的氢化有机产品的生产。该项目的创新方面包括使用电力，最好是可再生资源，在温和的温度和压力条件下驱动化学反应，开发新型催化阴极以提高产品选择性，以及使用水作为氢的来源。该项目将培养多学科科学和工程技术的研究生，包括电化学、化学工程和化学催化。技术描述本研究的总体目标是开发一个电化学反应器，使用电、水和有机化学原料作为唯一的输入来进行有机化学品的氢化。使用固体聚合物电解质（SPE）驱动有机氢化反应的电化学反应器的商业应用显著扩大，低成本、可再生电力的可用性将推动化工加工业的转型。如果能更好地理解阴极成分、反应器操作参数、产物产量和电流效率之间的相互关系，这种反应器的扩大使用和改进设计将会受益。为此，本项目将研究在SPE反应器中使用新型催化材料和电化学/化学混合催化体系作为阴极电极，并研究多功能有机底物的选择性加氢。将进行实验，将反应器操作条件和饲料组成与功率消耗和产品产量联系起来。通过对间歇式浆料反应器实验的动力学数据分析，阐明了电化学有机底物加氢和催化阴极上产氢的机理细节。该项目将培养多学科科学和工程技术的研究生，包括电化学、化学工程和化学催化。

Principal Investigator: Peter N. PintauroNumber: 1437384Nontechnical DescriptionTo address concerns related to carbon dioxide emissions and dependence on foreign sources of fossil fuels, the chemical process industry is working to transition its manufacturing methods towards more sustainable raw materials and production schemes. A potentially transformational strategy to improve the environmental and energy sustainability of organic chemical manufacturing would involve the replacement of thermally driven reactions with processes that are driven directly by electricity obtained from renewable resources. A prime example is the reaction of organic chemicals with hydrogen gas to make a variety of new chemicals, a process called hydrogenation, which accounts for up to 20% of all reaction steps in a typical chemical process. Hydrogen gas is typically obtained from the reforming of natural gas, which is an energy-intensive and complicated process requiring fossil fuels. New systems based on electrochemistry offer a sustainable alterative. The overall goal of this study is to develop an electrochemical reactor to carry out the hydrogenation of organic chemicals using electricity, water, and the organic chemical feedstock as the only inputs. In particular, solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) reactors which promote electrochemical reactions are a potentially efficient platform for this purpose. These reactors internally generate hydrogen which feeds the hydrogenation reaction that is occurring at the cathode of the reactor system. The mild temperatures and high hydrogen concentrations at the cathode can promote the production of a variety of commercially relevant hydrogenated organic products. The innovative aspects of the project include the use of electricity, preferably from renewable resources, to drive the chemical reactions under mild conditions of temperature and pressure, the development of novel catalytic cathodes to improve product selectivity, and the use of water as the source of hydrogen. The project will train graduate students in multi-disciplinary science and engineering technologies, including electrochemistry, chemical engineering, and chemical catalysis.Technical DescriptionThe overall goal of this study is to develop an electrochemical reactor to carry out the hydrogenation of organic chemicals using electricity, water, and the organic chemical feedstock as the only inputs. The availability of low-cost, renewable electricity could drive a transformation in the chemicals processing industry via a significant expansion in the commercial use of electrochemical reactors that use solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) for driving organic hydrogenation reactions. Expanded use and improved designs for such reactors would benefit from a better understanding of the inter-relationships between cathode composition, reactor operating parameters, product yields, and current efficiencies. Towards this end, this project will investigate the use of new catalytic materials and hybrid electrochemical/chemical mixed catalytic systems as the cathode electrode in SPE reactors, and study the selective hydrogenation of multifunctional organic substrates. Experiments will be performed to correlate reactor operating conditions and feed composition to power consumption and products yield. The mechanistic details of electrochemical organic substrate hydrogenation and hydrogen generation on catalytic cathodes will be elucidated through analysis of kinetic data from batch slurry reactor experiments. The project will train graduate students in multi-disciplinary science and engineering technologies, including electrochemistry, chemical engineering, and chemical catalysis.