CORDIS - Forschungsergebnisse der EU
CORDIS

Transition metal carbides as efficient catalysts for methane partial oxidation

Projektbeschreibung

Ein verbesserter Katalysator für die Umwandlung von Methan in Synthesegas

Methan bleibt viel kürzer in der Atmosphäre als Kohlendioxid, ist jedoch 25 Mal wirksamer. Die partielle Oxidation von Methan zu Synthesegas ist im Vergleich zur Dampfreformierung effizienter. Jedoch gibt es Probleme mit den für dieses Verfahren verwendeten Katalysatoren. Das EU-finanzierte Projekt TMC4MPO wird ein virtuelles Screening zur Identifizierung von Katalysatoren durchführen, die bei entsprechenden Reaktionsbedingungen höchstwahrscheinlich eine hohe Aktivität, Selektivität und Stabilität aufweisen. Der Schwerpunkt wird auf Edelmetallkatalysatoren wie Rhodium, Palladium, Platin und Gold sowie kostengünstigeren unedlen Metallkatalysatoren wie Kobalt und Nickel liegen.

Ziel

Methane is a particularly problematic greenhouse gas as its impact is 25 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. Human activity has increased the amount of methane in the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. Therefore, there is an imperative for the transformation of methane into useful chemicals. At this time, the most economically available route for the conversion of methane into more valuable chemicals is via synthesis gas, a mixture of CO and H2. The only large-scale process for natural gas conversion involves a reaction known as methane-steam reforming. However, it is an endothermic process that requires high operating temperatures. Methane partial oxidation (MPO) is a promising energy saving alternative because it does not require the use of superheated steam. A major goal is to find a catalyst that exhibits high activity, selectivity and stability at the relevant reaction conditions.
This project envisions the computational prediction of novel MPO catalysts that overcome this challenges by computationally screening a large set of materials consisting of precious metals (Rh, Pd, Pt, Au) and more affordable metals (Co, Ni, Cu) supported on transition metal carbides (TMCs, TM = Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Mo, W). These type of catalysts have exhibited outstanding performance in other chemical reactions in the past 5 years. To this end, state-of-the-art Density Functional Theory and Kinetic Monte Carlo frameworks will be employed to provide direct predictions of activity, selectivity, stability and yield for the most promising catalysts at relevant reaction conditions. Moreover, the large amount of results gathered from this project will serve as a big dataset to conduct descriptor analysis, and will suggest key properties that correlate well with their activity for C-H and O-H bond activation. The results obtained will be discussed with our experimental collaborators, who will prepare a selected set of catalysts based on my findings.

Koordinator

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Netto-EU-Beitrag
€ 212 933,76
Adresse
GOWER STREET
WC1E 6BT London
Vereinigtes Königreich

Auf der Karte ansehen

Region
London Inner London — West Camden and City of London
Aktivitätstyp
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Gesamtkosten
€ 212 933,76