Sorbent-enhanced Steam Biomass Reforming for Integrated Bio-energy with Carbon Capture and Storage

Project Information

SE-SBR

Grant agreement ID: 800419

DOI

10.3030/800419

Project closed

EC signature date 18 April 2018

Start date 1 October 2018

End date 30 September 2020

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 187 419,60

EU contribution

€ 187 419,60

Coordinated by

EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH
Switzerland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SE-SBR (Sorbent-enhanced Steam Biomass Reforming for Integrated Bio-energy with Carbon Capture and Storage)

Reporting period: 2018-10-01 to 2020-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

• What is the problem/issue being addressed?

With the crisis of fossil fuel shortage and climate change, the utilization of renewable energy is getting increasing attention. In this project, I developed a new technology to use renewable energy. In detail, a material/catalyst is developed to finish the energy conversion more efficiently than previous materials. The stability of the material is tested and it was found that this material showed very good stability after 100 h time on stream (no obvious deactivation was observed). The reaction conditions, such as reaction temperature and pressure are optimized. Moreover, this study detected the reaction intermediates and revealed the reaction mechanisms. Overall, this study developed a new material/technology to convert the energy, which will be inspiring for future studies and potential commercialization.

• Why is it important for society?

In the Paris Agreement, countries agreed to limit the increase of global temperature below 2 C compared with the pre-industrial level. Later, it was proposed 2 C is not enough, even 1.5 C should be sought to avoid the world from suffering serious situations. Therefore, countries proposed the scenarios according to their current situations to stop climate change. For example, the EU aimed to reduce carbon dioxide emission by 40% at 2030 compared with 1990. To meet this goal, the utilization of renewable energy is critical and the most effective solution. Therefore, developing novel technologies for the utilization or storage of renewable is important to the society.

• What are the overall objectives?

The overall objective of this study is to establish a novel technology that can convert renewable energy in a more efficient way. This objective includes the development of novel catalysts that shows high activity and stability, and the optimization of the reaction conditions.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period:

1. The setup of the reactor for the experiments.

2. Synthesis of the catalytic materials.

3. Activity test of the materials.

4. Stability test of the materials.

5. Characterization of the materials.

6. Optimization of the reaction conditions.

7. Detection of the reaction intermediates and development of the reaction mechanisms.

Main results:

1. A novel material is developed for the catalytic conversion of renewable energy.

2. The reaction conditions are optimized to obtain the best performance.

3. The reaction intermediates are detected by FTIR and solid-state NMR and the reaction mechanisms are proposed.

Exploitation and dissemination:

The Researcher and the Host put notable efforts into dissemination and exploitation of the research and maximize the possibility of converting the outcome of this project into socio-economic benefits for the EU.

1. A peer-reviewed journal article is submitted to a high-impact journal already, and another two are in preparation. This is the most common and recognized way of dissemination and exploitation of research findings in the scientific community.

2. The Researcher already present the findings at the Swiss Chemical Society (SCS) Fall Meeting in 2019 and will present in the North American Catalysis Society Meeting in 2021.

3. The Researcher and the Host have obtained a further fund from a company to further explore this project and put it into commercialization.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

1. The Researcher is cooperating with a company to further investigate the material and apply it in other energy-related reactions.

2. The Researcher has presented his study in a popular science seminar, which explains the definition of carbon neutral and carbon negative, and technologies to combat climate change.

3. The Researcher has set up a Twitter account for this project to communicate the progress of this project and disseminate the idea of carbon negative.

4. The Researcher has been to a farm to communicate the potential application of this novel technology in the conversion of real biomass feedstocks.

EDX mapping

Microscopy of the material

Particle size distribution

DFT calculation