Objective
Objectives and content
Today, natural gas is used primarily as fuel for heating. However, there is a large economic and ecological incentive to convert it to carbon monoxide and hydrogen (synthesis gas) and to use this mixture for the production of chemicals, high-value transportation fuels as well as energy carriers in fuel cells. Currently, the only proven technologies to produce synthesis gas are steam reforming and oxyreforming, which is a combination of steam reforming and partial oxidation. The steam-reforming process has a disadvantage in that it requires a large heat input and the construction of such plants is mechanically complex. Currently available pardal-oxidation processes require little heat input, but have a major drawback with respect to heat management as very high temperatures exist in the initial reactor zone where total oxidation occurs, while the endothermic steam and CO2 reforming occur in the final zone. Whilst current investigations point towards novel materials which improve the isothermicity of the partial-oxidation reactor, it is expected that only a radically new approach involving a completely integrated design of the catalyst and the reactor, will lead to a breakthrough.
During this three year programme, completely novel catalytic materials will be developed to produce synthesis gas from natural gas via partial oxidation in a cleaner, more efficient and less capital intensive way than the existing technologies. The investigation of new entirely catalytic routes such as direct partial oxidation (based on a proprietary Ru catalyst) and simultaneous oxidation plus reforming (based on Pt/La/Y/zirconia catalysts) will be carried out. Integrated catalyst and reactor design will be the guiding principle of the research involving the preparation and characterisation of novel catalysts, the study of catalytic reaction mechanisms, reactor engineering and process design. Computer models will be employed to allow the scale- - up of the novel process to pressures up to 5 MPa.
If successful, it is expected that the project should lead to 15% less energy consumption, 60% less NOX and 15% less CO2 emissions, as well as 40% reduction in capital investment plus less raw material consumption in comparison to conventional process schemes. This will lead to a strong improvement of the European position in the market of the aforementioned products.
To this end, end-users British Gas and Linde have a heavy involvement in this project.
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.
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.
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry inorganic compounds
- natural sciences chemical sciences electrochemistry electrolysis
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels fossil energy natural gas
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels fuel cells
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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.
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.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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.
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.
Coordinator
5600 MB Eindhoven
Netherlands
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.