Objective
The proposal deals with production of dimethyl ether (DME) and high-octane gasoline from biomass in an integrated sequence of three catalytic processes: autothermal / steam reforming / partial oxidation - ATR/SR/PO of biomass into syngas>DME>gasoline. At the first stage, efficient generation of syngas will be done by ATR/SR/PO at high (up to 700°C) temperatures under sufficiently oxidizing conditions in order to prevent coking, the main obstacle on the way to an efficient catalyst, and to provide the sufficient heat supply into the reaction zone. Monolithic catalytic systems with high heat conductivity are suitable choices for these purposes. Promising approaches to catalyst design are based upon the use of materials of perovskite and fluorite types (partially substituted La-Cr-Mn complex oxide; rare earth-doped ceria-zirconia systems), and on their nanocomposites (compounds of mixed type and conductivity) promoted by Cu, Ni, Pt. Pilot reactor for biomass conversion into syngas will be designed, built and tested.
At the second and third stages, the synthesis of synfuels will be routed via synthesis of DME into gasoline, the direction we consider to be preferable to the common method of synfuel production, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS). DME can be used as a fuel on its own for diesel engines and power plants. DME synthesis is characterized by a high productivity of the reactor volume unit and absence of any harmful wastes, and is remarkable in that it allows to use efficiently any syngas composition of the ratio 2: greater than or equal to 1. Synthesis of DME will be done over a mixture of a catalyst of methanol synthesis and alumina. Synthesis of a high-quality gasoline (no sulfur, benzene content <0.1%, olefins content ~1%) will be performed over a zeolite-type catalyst.
A separate task will be the optimisation of the whole technological sequence and separate stages (for this, theoretical kinetic model of DME synthesis will be made). The possibility of combine DME and gasoline syntheses within one stage and options for scaling the process up and down will be researched. This multidisciplinary project will be handled by combined efforts of 5 teams of highly qualified specialists working in different fields of fundamental and applied catalytic research (molecular design of catalysts, studies of kinetics and mechanisms of catalytic processes, and chemical engineering) which may serve as a guarantee for its successful implementation.
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Topic(s)
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LIMERICK
Ireland