Robust ceramic membranes for production of hydrogen and aromatic compounds originated from biogas

Direktekonvertering av metan til kjemikalier er sett på som den "hellige gral" innen kjemisk prosessindustri. Problemet er lav omsetting til ønsket produkt og rask deaktivering. Ved bruk av hydrogenselektive membraner kan disse problemene løses. Prosjektet har igjennom optimalisering av membran, katalysator og prosessparametere funnet betingelser som kan gi en høy virkningsgrad, også i et oppskalert system. Prosesskontroll under fabrikasjon av membraner har vært essensiell da defekter på nano-nivå kan gi økt tjæredannelse. For katalysatoren har vi økt forståelse mtp struktur, surhet, type metall og deaktivering. I tråd med forventningene fra bakenforliggende teori, har den totale ytelsen blitt forbedret ved oppskalering til multi-rør-reaktor med integrert resirkuleringssløyfe.

Biogas produced by anaerobic digestion of organic material constitutes a large fraction of the renewable hydrocarbon resource, but its full economic and environmental potential is not yet realized. The carbon footprint and the economic potential can there fore be much improved if we can directly upgrade biogas to liquid transportation fuels and valuable green chemicals. The overall aim of the RoMA proposal is to capitalize on biogas as an advantageous economic and environmental opportunity by providing nov el proton ceramic membrane reactors that directly convert biogas to fuels and chemicals in a one-step catalytic membrane reactor process. The major advances proposed focus on using recent knowledge to engineer and control the composition and configuration of materials at the nano scale so as to make membrane reactors that are compatible with biogas with as little clean up as possible. Nano innovation will take place on several levels such as, manufacturing of ceramic nano-crystalline membranes and nano-im pregnated zeolite catalysts, modification of nano-engineered ceramic membranes for specific separation and control of reaction conditions and chemical state of the catalyst coupled to medium/long term operation on biogas. In this proposal we build on the advancement made by Protia, NTNU, UiO and SINTEF in fabrication of robust ceramic proton conductors, research on bifunctional catalysts for methane to aromatics process and development of catalytic membrane reactor testing procedures. The project will edu cate 1 PhD at UiO.