Tailoring of a catalyst La0.8Ce0.1Ni0.4Ti0.6O3−δ interlayer via in situ exsolution for a catalytic membrane reactor

Tailored nickel nanoparticles on La_0.8Ce_0.1Ni_0.4Ti_0.6O_3−δ surfaces were prepared by in situ exsolution and used in the Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3−δ catalytic membrane reactor for high-efficient partial oxidation of methane.

Microstructural and Interfacial Designs of Oxygen-Permeable Membranes for Oxygen Separation and Reaction-Separation Coupling

Mixed ionic-electronic conducting oxygen-permeable membranes can rapidly separate oxygen from air with 100% selectivity and low energy consumption. Combining reaction and separation in an oxygen-permeable membrane reactor significantly simplifies the technological scheme and reduces the process energy consumption. Recently, materials design and mechanism investigations have provided insight into the microstructural and interfacial effects. The microstructures of the membrane surfaces and bulk are closely related to the interfacial oxygen exchange kinetics and bulk diffusion kinetics. Therefore, the permeability and stability of oxygen-permeable membranes with a single-phase structure and a dual-phase structure can be adjusted through their microstructural and interfacial designs. Here, recent advances in the development of oxygen permeation models that provide a deep understanding of the microstructural and interfacial effects, and strategies to simultaneously improve the permeability and stability through microstructural and interfacial design are discussed in detail. Then, based on the developed high-performance membranes, highly effective membrane reactors for process intensification and new technology developments are highlighted. The new membrane reactors will trigger innovations in natural gas conversion, ammonia synthesis, and hydrogen-related clean energy technologies. Future opportunities and challenges in the development of oxygen-permeable membranes for oxygen separation and reaction-separation coupling are also explored.

Carbon dioxide splitting in a dielectric barrier discharge plasma: a combined experimental and computational study

Plasma technology is gaining increasing interest for the splitting of CO2 into CO and O2 . We have performed experiments to study this process in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma with a wide range of parameters. The frequency and dielectric material did not affect the CO2 conversion and energy efficiency, but the discharge gap can have a considerable effect. The specific energy input has the most important effect on the CO2 conversion and energy efficiency. We have also presented a plasma chemistry model for CO2 splitting, which shows reasonable agreement with the experimental conversion and energy efficiency. This model is used to elucidate the critical reactions that are mostly responsible for the CO2 conversion. Finally, we have compared our results with other CO2 splitting techniques and we identified the limitations as well as the benefits and future possibilities in terms of modifications of DBD plasmas for greenhouse gas conversion in general.

Efficient catalytic decomposition of CO2 to CO and O2 over Pd/ mixed-conducting oxide catalyst in an oxygen-permeable membrane reactor

The thermal decomposition of CO2 to CO and O2 is a potential route for the consumption and utilization of CO2. However, this reaction is limited by both the thermodynamic equilibrium and the kinetic barrier. In this study, we reported an innovative catalytic process to decompose CO2 in an oxygen-permeation membrane reactor packed with a mixed-conducting oxide supported noble metal catalyst, or Pd/SrCo0.4Fe0.5Zr0.1O3-delta (Pd/ SCFZ), which is of high activity in the decomposition of CO2 into CO and O2. Pd/SCFZ catalyst was prepared by incipient wetness impregnation of the SCFZ powders with an aqueous solution of PdCl2, and the CO2 sorption/desorption property was examined by in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and temperature-programmed desorption-mass spectrometry technologies. It was shown that there appeared a typical of bridged carbonyls (Pd-CO) on the surface of the Pd/SCFZ catalyst formed after CO2 decomposition. Both CO2 and CO could be detected in the species desorbed from Pd/SCFZ catalyst, which implied that the Pd/SCFZ catalyst could effectively activate the CO2 molecule. During the catalytic process, furthermore, the activity of the Pd/SCFZ catalyst can self-regenerate by removing the produced lattice oxygen through the dense oxygen-permeable ceramic membrane. At 900 degrees C, this catalytic process attains 100% of CO formation selectivity at 15.8% of CO2 conversions.