Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
İPEK TORUN B. (Yürütücü)
TÜBİTAK Projesi, 2019 - 2022
Conversion of carbon dioxide to a valuable chemical that can be utilized in chemical and energy sector via effective, safe and environmentally friendly processes is an appealing subject for the scientific and industrial community. Currently, conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol is being performed on Cu/ZnO based catalysts at temperatures between 200–300 °C and pressures higher than 30 bar. There is an undeniable need for a novel catalyst that would produce methanol with a high yield at low pressures (ideally at atmospheric pressure). Promising methanol and dimethyl ether synthesis activity is shown with copper active sites interacting with holmium and gallium on -Al2O3 at atmospheric pressure. But, detailed kinetic tests of -Al2O3 supported Cu/Ga/Ho catalyst and the interaction of different supports such as ZSM-5 and ferrierite with Cu/Ga/Ho metals have not been investigated.
The purpose of the project is to investigate the role of holmium and gallium in methanol synthesis using experimental and theoretical methods in detail and design novel catalysts that could show high methanol and dimethyl ether activity and yield at atmospheric pressure. The novel aspects of the proposal are the experimental investigation of catalyst preparation, calcination and reduction parameters of -Al2O3, ZSM-5 and ferrierite supported Cu, Ho and Ga catalysts, reaction parameters such as temperature, H2/CO2 ratio and space velocity together with the theoretical investigation of catalytic mechanisms using density functional theory.
The first step in this project is to prepare Cu/Ga, Cu/Ho, Cu/Ga/Ho catalysts with small particle sizes supported on -Al2O3, H+-ZSM-5 and H+-Ferrierite using impregnation and coprecipitation techniques. When the targeted metal sizes are reached, the catalysts will be tested for methanol and dimethyl ether production at various temperature, H2/CO2 ratio and space velocity values, which will be optimized. In the second part of the project, interaction of Cu/Ho, Cu/Ga catalysts with H2 and CO2 will be investigated theoretically and the energy barriers for the methanol formation will be calculated. Hence, the relationship between Ho and Cu or Ga and Cu metals and their role in methanol synthesis will be revealed. In the last part of the project, novel ternary catalysts containing copper, holmium and a lanthanide metal that would show high methanol production activity would be proposed and tested experimentally.
When the targets for high methanol and dimethyl ether production activity have been reached using novel catalysts, the introduction of these novel catalysts would initiate further detailed studies in literature. In the case of these novel catalysts’ methanol and dimethyl ether activity approaching the reaction rates of traditional processes (at high pressures), it would be possible to use these catalysts in industry at atmospheric conditions that would produce methanol with a lower carbon footprint and result in decreasing CO2 amounts in the atmosphere.