EAPSI: Improving and Understanding the Catalysts used to Convert Biological Oils to Diesel Fuel

生物柴油是从植物油和动物脂肪等脂类原料中提取的主要可再生燃料；然而，有几个问题阻碍了生物柴油与传统石油柴油的完全替代。生物柴油？S冷流性能差，储存稳定性差，发动机兼容性问题都源于其含氧量。最近，人们的注意力已经转移到开发一种从脂类原料中脱除氧气的工艺，以产生一种在化学上与石油衍生燃料相同的可再生燃料。该奖项将派遣一名目前在肯塔基大学应用能源研究中心(CAER)工作的研究生前往澳大利亚布里斯班的昆士兰大学(UQ)功能纳米材料卓越中心，帮助研究对这一过程至关重要的独特催化剂。这位研究生将与UQ的Jorge Beltramini博士团队合作，利用那里可用的材料、技术和仪器来开发和了解用于将生物油转化为柴油的新催化剂。镍基催化剂作为将脂类原料转化为类燃料碳氢化合物的一些最有前途的配方而受到关注。然而，在对这些催化剂的几个方面的基本认识上仍然存在着重要的差距，包括载体孔隙率和形态、催化剂的制备方法以及镍和镍助剂的化学和电子状态对这些配方性能的影响。该项目将包括：1)合成独特的介孔载体；2)用这些载体通过不同的方法制备镍基催化剂；3)对助剂和非助剂催化剂进行光谱研究，以获得对催化科学和技术具有重要意义和广泛适用性的基础知识。回到美国后，CAER不仅将获得新的合成技术诀窍，而且在UQ合成的催化剂将接受筛选，以了解它们将脂肪饲料转化为类燃料碳氢化合物的能力。该奖项由东亚和太平洋夏季研究所计划资助一名美国研究生的夏季研究，由NSF和澳大利亚科学院联合资助。

Biodiesel constitutes the major renewable fuel derived from lipid-based feedstocks such as vegetable oils and animal fats; however, several issues hinder biodiesel from being completely fungible with traditional petroleum diesel. Biodiesel?s poor cold flow properties, storage stability, and engine compatibility problems stem from its oxygen content. Recently, attention has been shifted to develop a process for the removal of oxygen from lipid-based feedstocks to generate a renewable fuel that is chemically identical to petroleum derived fuels. The award will help investigate unique catalysts that are vital to this process by sending a graduate student, currently working at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER), to the Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials of the University of Queensland (UQ) in Brisbane, Australia. The graduate student will work with the group of Dr. Jorge Beltramini at UQ to harness the materials, know-how and instrumentation available there to develop and understand new catalysts for the conversion of biological oils to diesel fuel.Ni-based catalysts are attracting attention as some of the most promising formulations for the conversion of lipid-based feedstocks to fuel-like hydrocarbons. Nevertheless, important gaps in the fundamental understanding of several aspects of these catalysts remain, including the effect of the support porosity and morphology, catalyst preparation method, and the chemical and electronic state of both Ni and Ni promoters on the performance of these formulations. The project will include: 1) the synthesis of unique mesoporous supports; 2) the preparation of Ni-based catalysts using these supports via different methods; 3) the spectroscopic study of promoted and unpromoted catalysts to acquire basic knowledge of great importance and wide applicability for catalysis science and technology. Upon returning to the United States, not only will new know-how on synthetic techniques be available at CAER, but the catalysts synthesized at UQ will be screened for their ability to convert lipid feeds stocks to fuel-like hydrocarbons.This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Australian Academy of Science.