Faculty Mentor
Cheng Zhang
Major/Area of Research
Physics
Description
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a well-known greenhouse gas, which traps heat in the atmosphere causing global warming. The purpose of this study is to develop novel iron (Fe) based catalysts to convert CO2 to value added chemicals such as carbon monoxide (CO), methane, ethylene, ethane and fuels. In this work, the heterogeneous Fe-based catalysts were synthesized via a wetness incipient impregnation method. The synthesized catalysts were tested for CO2 hydrogenation through a flow bed reactor with controlled CO2 and hydrogen (H2) flow rate and on-line gas chromatography analysis to determine the catalyst performance such as selectivity, conversion and stability. Results showed that Fe-based catalysts supported on SiO2 produce predominantly carbon monoxide and methane with high efficiency and stability. Characterization for pulse CO chemisorption illustrated the number of active sites and temperature-programmed measurements indicated the reducibility of active metals and the alloy formation of the bi- and tri-metallic catalysts. A good relationship was established between the activity from the testing results and the properties from the characterization results. We believe this study will have a significant impact on alleviating the greenhouse gas emission by understanding the role of Fe in the reaction of CO2 with H2
Included in
Carbon Dioxide Conversion to Value-added Products over Fe Based Heterogeneous Catalysts
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a well-known greenhouse gas, which traps heat in the atmosphere causing global warming. The purpose of this study is to develop novel iron (Fe) based catalysts to convert CO2 to value added chemicals such as carbon monoxide (CO), methane, ethylene, ethane and fuels. In this work, the heterogeneous Fe-based catalysts were synthesized via a wetness incipient impregnation method. The synthesized catalysts were tested for CO2 hydrogenation through a flow bed reactor with controlled CO2 and hydrogen (H2) flow rate and on-line gas chromatography analysis to determine the catalyst performance such as selectivity, conversion and stability. Results showed that Fe-based catalysts supported on SiO2 produce predominantly carbon monoxide and methane with high efficiency and stability. Characterization for pulse CO chemisorption illustrated the number of active sites and temperature-programmed measurements indicated the reducibility of active metals and the alloy formation of the bi- and tri-metallic catalysts. A good relationship was established between the activity from the testing results and the properties from the characterization results. We believe this study will have a significant impact on alleviating the greenhouse gas emission by understanding the role of Fe in the reaction of CO2 with H2