Catalytic conversion of methane from alternative feedstocks to higher value products

有效的碳管理，特别是来自化石来源(如煤层气、页岩气)或沼气的二氧化碳和甲烷的转化，是21世纪的重大挑战之一。二氧化碳和甲烷转化的这个话题对加拿大特别相关，因为这个国家从各种天然气储藏中拥有573万亿立方英尺的可采甲烷，以及生产沼气的巨大潜力。这些气体可通过甲烷干法重整反应催化转化为合成气。在这项工作的探索阶段，我们通过NSERC Engage Grant展示了几种潜在的新型催化材料(例如，钾促进的镍催化剂)用于甲烷干法重整的初步结果。在初步评价的基础上，我们提出了三个主要的研究主题，包括材料的发现和表征、催化途径的基础理解和反应工程，以了解化学并进而开发二氧化碳和甲烷转化的催化策略。我们将集成加拿大独有的合成技术、环境电子显微镜和光谱工具，以及我们教员新成立的安大略省先进材料表征中心(OCCAM)提供的工具，以及化学动力学、同位素和反应工程方法，以揭示表面催化事件，然后开发抗碳和抗硫催化剂。该计划将建立严格的催化性能调整所需的基本知识。该计划的一个关键重点是对两名博士和一名博士后候选人进行专业培训。目标是发展他们的技术技能和领导能力，并将他们确立为加拿大能源和化工行业高度追捧的领域的新兴领导者。

Efficient carbon management, especially the conversion of carbon dioxide and methane derived from either fossil sources (e.g. coal bed methane, shale gas) or biogas, is one of the Grand Challenges of twenty-first century. This topic of carbon dioxide and methane conversion is especially relevant for Canada, as the nation has 573 trillion cubic feet of recoverable methane from various natural gas reservoirs and significant potential of producing biogas. These gases could be catalytically transformed to synthesis gas via the methane dry reforming reaction. In the exploration phase of this work, we have demonstrated initial results on several potential new catalytic materials (e.g. Potassium promoted Nickel catalyst) for the dry reforming of methane via a NSERC Engage Grant. Based upon the initial evaluation, we put forward the proposed work with three major research themes that integrate material discovery and characterizations, fundamental understanding of catalytic pathways, and reaction engineering to understand the chemistry and then develop catalytic strategies for carbon dioxide and methane conversion. We will integrate synthesis techniques, environmental electron microscopic and spectroscopic tools unique to Canada and available in the newly founded Ontario Centre for Characterization of Advanced Materials (OCCAM) at our faculty, together with chemical kinetic, isotopic, and reaction engineering methods to unravel the surface catalytic events and then develop carbon and sulfur resistance catalysts. The program will establish the basic knowledge required for rigorous catalytic property tuning. A key focus of the program is the professional training of two Ph.D. and one post-doctoral degree candidates. The goal is to develop their technical skills and leadership abilities and to establish them as the emerging leaders of the fields, highly sought after by the Canadian energy and chemical industries.