Engineering catalyst interoperability in next-generation tandem reactions for intensified chemical processes

Project Information

TANDEng

Grant agreement ID: 864195

DOI

10.3030/864195

Project closed

EC signature date 22 January 2020

Start date 1 June 2020

End date 31 March 2026

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 982 188,00

EU contribution

€ 1 982 188,00

Coordinated by

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - TANDEng (Engineering catalyst interoperability in next-generation tandem reactions for intensified chemical processes)

Reporting period: 2023-06-01 to 2024-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Essentially any chemical compound, and all materials derived thereof, which are manufactured today relies on at least on conversion step driven by catalysts, i.e. materials which accelerate and steer chemical reactions to the desired products out of several compounds which may be produced in any transformation. The integration of various catalyst materials in tandem, i.e. to attain sequential conversions in a single step, is a highly attractive strategy to intensify chemical processes, i.e. to enhance their efficiency and reduce overall energy consumption and waste production. However, tandem catalysis integrations typically mean operating both catalysts under process conditions which are outside their optimal operational window in standalone form, which rules out many conceivable tandem processes at present. The TANDEng project is a multidisciplinary effort, encompassing aspects of materials science, physics, chemistry and chemical engineering, collectively geared at unlocking new tandem catalysis routes for the valorization of oil-alternative and renewable raw materials, such as biomass derivatives and CO2, into high added value chemicals which lay at the entry point of numerous production value chains. The project’s success will therefore contribute to the transition towards a delocalized, highly intensified and thus more sustainable chemical industry.

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

The team implementing the project have designed, assembled and commissioned a new laboratory-scale facility which allows assessing the performance of solid catalysts in gas-solid catalytic conversion processes. The unit features various modes of energy input, including unconventional dielectric heating in an oscillating electromagnetic field. Next, a wide array of nanomaterials have been designed and synthesized while controlling composition, size and shape at the nanoscale. Nanomaterials having different chemical and physical properties have been integrated into multifunctional composites with the assistance of tomographic imaging methods, that is techniques which provide direct visual access to the 3D nanoarchitecture of the materials. This way, various functionalities have been integrated together, e.g. electromagnetic, catalytic, among other. Through the assembly of multiple functionalities in a single solid, with spatial control over their relative distribution, the team has revealed which inter-function distances are optimal for a synergistic operation of the different functions without mutual self-inactivation. The new materials have been tested in the newly developed setup or tandem catalysis processes driving the selective conversion of monocarbonated compounds (compounds with one single carbon atom in their molecular formula) of renewable origin into platform chemical compounds which are highly demanded in industry. The experiments have demonstrated the benefits of a material-specific energy supply to maximize the cooperation between different functions in the hybrid materials and this way steer a sequence of chemical reactions which take place in a single reactor.

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)

In the reporting period, the researchers have conceived and demonstrated four new tandem chemical processes, at laboratory scale, which provide direct access to important platform chemicals, such as oxygenates and nitrogenated organic compounds, exclusively from renewable resources (CO2 and their direct derivatives syngas and dimethylether). Such direct chemical routes did not exist previously and rely on a controlled growth of hydrocarbon chains from the single-carbon-atom building blocks and subsequent functionalization. Four patent applications have been filed on these innovations. The new conversion routes provide means to reduce the carbon footprint of important chemical production value chains. Moreover, the results contribute to realize the full potential of the concept of "tandem catalysis", according to which, the integration of two or more catalysts in a single reactor can deliver performances out of reach for each of the catalysts operating individually, in a conventional multi-step conversion process scheme.

Moreover, the TANDEng project has contributed to highlight and exploit the synergies between different catalysis subdisciplines which had been hitherto considered mutually excluding, that is "homogeneous catalysis" which employs molecular compounds in solution as catalysts, and "heterogeneous catalysis" which develops solid materials as catalysts. Traditionally, scientists have perceived these two realms of catalysis as a dichotomy, with complementary benefits and drawbacks, but difficult to reconcile. Results achieved in this TANDEng project break with this dichotomy and demonstrate a catalytic process that integrates solid and molecular catalysts cooperating in a single conversion stage.

Building on the tools and knowledge developed thus far, in the remaining of the project's implementation, until the end of the project, the team expects to extend the concept of tandem operation in chemical production, beyond the combination of different catalyst materials, further towards the integration of additional functionalities such as sensing or sorption.