Research Catalysis

Reactor and Process Engineering

Professor Morsi is leading an extensive research effort to design and scale-up multiphase reactors such as bubble columns, slurry bubble-columns, high pressure/temperature stirred vessels, and trickle-bed reactors. The design and scale-up of reactors require precise knowledge of the kinetics, hydrodynamics, and head as well as mass transfer. The research is currently measuring the hydrodynamic and mass transfer characteristics in a number of important chemical processes, including methanol synthesis, toluene oxidation, propylene polymerization, benzoic acid oxidation, soybean oil hydrogenation, and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The mass transfer coefficients, gas solubilities, gas and liquid holdups, gas-liquid interfacila area, bubble size and distribution, catalyst agglomeration, attrition, and axial as well as radial distributions, hydrodynamic flow regimes, and power in put are being measured for these processes under typical industrial conditions. Modeling and optimization of such processes are also conducted in parallel to the experimental work.

State-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation range from a one-gallon, see-through, high-pressure, high-temperature agitated autoclave, to a 10-ft high, 1-ft diameter, high-pressure, high-temperature slurry bubble column reactor. The reactor working pressure is 825 psig at a temperature of 600 degrees Fahrenheit. The reactor is completely insulated and is provided with a gas sparger, heating and cooling systems, two Jerguson sight-windows, mass/density flow controllers, differential pressure cells, pressure transducers, and thermocouples.

F-T Used to Develop Improved Diesel Fuel

There is a growing needs to provide clean and efficient diesel fuels, as well as improved diesel engines to replace the gasoline now used in trucks, sport utility vehicles and other means of transportation. The gain in efficiency would be large and would also result in a reduction of global warming gases. These new fuels must have high cetane numbers and, importantly, must meet the new emission standards (PMEs), especially with the lowering of the particulate matter emissions thresholds. Diesel exhaust PMEs can be as much as ten times greater than from an equivalent gasoline engine. As a result, the reduction of emissions from diesel engines is a problem of great importance.

When an oxygenated fuel blend is combusted, it can effectively deliver oxygen to the pyrolysis zone of a burning fuel, resulting in reduced particulate matter generation. Data indicates that particulate matter emission reductions of 4-10% can be achieved for each 1% of oxygen blended into diesel fuel by incorporation of certain oxygenated compounds such as glycol ether.

Research directed by Professors Wender and Tierney is using the Fisher-Tropsch (F-T) reaction to prepare oxygenated fuels. This approach does not add pure oxygenated compounds to the fuel, which is a technically feasible approach, but has disadvantages such as cost, toxicity and solubility.

The research is directed to the conversion of synthesis gas to F-T products from which environmentally clean diesel fuels containing 4-10% oxygen in the hydrocarbon chain can be produced. The F-T diesel fuel has a high cetane number and this product is soluble in petroleum-derived diesel fuel. The implementation of this method would be to use the F-T product as an additive to current petroleum-derived diesel fuel, as has been done in California.

A continuous trickle-bed reactor with a platinum-promoted, tungsten-modified zirconia catalyst (Pt/WO₃/ZrO₂) has been used to convert long-chain paraffins and waxes to clean diesel fuel and high-octane gasolines as well as lube-based oils. The catalyst showed high hydroisomerization activity and exceptional stability over 100 hour runs. It is now being evaluated to convert F-T waxes to high quality transportation fuels.

Improved Catalyst Design Criteria

Research by Professor d'Itri and her colleagues has developed improved design criteria for catalysts. As an example, they have defined how the activity and the selectivity of a (Pt+Cu)/SiO₂ catalyst is affected by composition in the reaction of 1,2 dichloroethane dechlorination in a H₂ containing atmosphere.

The studies showed that for monometallic Pt catalysts, and those with Pt/Cu atomic ratio > 1, the reaction products are primarily ethane and monochloroethane. However, decreaing the Pt/Cu ratio increase the selectivity towards ethylene. A selectivity towards ethylene of nearly 90% is obtained for catalysts with a Pt/Cu ratio < 1/3. Using infrared analysis of CO adsorption, it was shown that Pt and Cu form bimetallic particles during pretreatment and in addition to the dilution effect, Cu changes the electronic properties of the Pt atoms.

Catalysis Faculty

Areas of Research

Research Facilities

State-of-the-art academic laboratories and centers