Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Greenhouse gases to valuable liquid chemicals: High-flux zeolite membrane-based reactor for the efficient conversion of CH4 and CO2

Project description

A new way for porous minerals to transform greenhouse gases

The history of zeolite science dates back to the 18th century when Swedish mineralogist and chemist Baron Axel Fredrik Cronstedt heated the mineral stilbite with a blowpipe flame. Scientists today are studying how the highly porous rocks called zeolites can help reduce carbon dioxide levels from factory smokestacks. Taking this a step further, the EU-funded ZeoMemRx project will use catalytically active, highly oriented zeolite ZSM-5 thin-films to create a prototype membrane reactor for the conversion of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) into liquid commodity chemicals, especially aromatics, while reducing emissions into the atmosphere. The project will seek intellectual property coverage through a patent application.

Objective

Both methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are greenhouse gases, but are available in large supply, and are often flared or vented. A promising strategy to efficiently utilize these abundant molecules is their transformation to easily transported liquid chemicals, which is particularly attractive because this conversion not only reduces emissions of the greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, but also produces commodity chemicals that can be either used as fuels or as precursors for many industrial processes. We propose the fabrication of a prototype membrane reactor, containing catalytically active, highly oriented zeolite ZSM-5 thin-films for the conversion of CO2 and CH4. We have recently demonstrated a method for fabricating catalytically active, highly oriented thin-films of zeolite ZSM-5 on various dense substrates. In this Proof of Concept proposal, we will develop the fabrication of zeolite ZSM-5 thin-films on porous substrates to serve as membranes for catalysis and to convert CH4 and CO2 into liquid commodity chemicals, especially aromatics. The membranes will be incorporated into a prototype reactor, to be designed and implemented as part of the proposal, for reaction testing and optimization. Along with the experimental work we will create a market analysis and seek potential industrial partners, key to this will be pursuing intellectual property coverage through a patent application.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

ERC-POC-LS - ERC Proof of Concept Lump Sum Pilot

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2019-PoC

See all projects funded under this call

Host institution

UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 150 000,00
Address
HEIDELBERGLAAN 8
3584 CS Utrecht
Netherlands

See on map

Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Beneficiaries (1)

My booklet 0 0