Evaluation of catalysts supported on carbon nanotubes and kinetic modeling of the process for the Water-Gas-Shift reaction (WGS)

• Grant number: 17/11940-5
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): September 01, 2017
• Effective date (End): May 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal researcher: Reinaldo Giudici
• Grantee: Fábio Machado Cavalcanti
• Home Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/09766-2 - Multiscale reactor modelling using a microkinetic approach for the Water-Gas Shift (WGS) reaction over catalysts supported on carbon nanotubes, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The Water-Gas Shift (WGS) reaction is one of the most important routes for hydrogen production and for controlling H2/CO ratios in methane reforming reactions. It has received great importance due to the use of H2 in the main chemical industries (fertilizers, oil refining, etc.) and fuel cells. In addition, the H2/CO ratio control becomes relevant, for example, in the production of liquid hydrocarbons through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, enhancing the use of natural gas over petroleum. For optimizing the WGS reaction, reversible and exothermic, consecutive stages in high (HTS) and low temperature (LTS) are used, in which catalysts of Fe2O3-Cr2O3 and Cu-ZnO-Al2O3 are generally employed, respectively. However, for portable fuel cell applications, catalysts based on noble metals at nanoscale and supported on oxides have been used due to their more resistant and suitable characteristics for this type of employment. In this context, the use of carbon nanotubes as catalysts support has shown to be advantageous due to their high surface area and the low availability of some oxides for this purpose. Moreover, determining the kinetic model and understanding the reaction mechanisms are fundamental for the reactor design and the development of new catalysts for the WGS reaction. The kinetic models most widely used to describe the process are those of Langmuir-Hinshelwood and power laws, while the two most widely verified mechanisms in the literature are the redox and the associative. The aim of this research project is to evaluate new catalysts supported on carbon nanotubes and to propose a kinetic model that best describes the WGS reaction to find innovative solutions for improving the process. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MARCOS, FRANCIELLE C. F.; CAVALCANTI, FABIO M.; PETROLINI, DAVI D.; LIN, LILI; BETANCOURT, LUIS E.; SENANAYAKE, SANJAYA D.; RODRIGUEZ, JOSE A.; ASSAF, JOSE M.; GIUDICI, REINALDO; ASSAF, ELISABETE M. Effect of operating parameters on H-2/CO2 conversion to methanol over Cu-Zn oxide supported on ZrO2 polymorph catalysts: Characterization and kinetics. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL, v. 427, JAN 1 2022. Web of Science Citations: 1.

GARONA, HIGOR A.; CAVALCANTI, FABIO M.; DE ABREU, THIAGO F.; SCHMAL, MARTIN; ALVES, RITA M. B. Evaluation of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis to light olefins over Co- and Fe-based catalysts using artificial neural network. JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION, v. 321, OCT 25 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

CAVALCANTI, FABIO MACHADO; SCHMAL, MARTIN; GIUDICI, REINALDO; BRITO ALVES, RITA MARIA. A catalyst selection method for hydrogen production through Water-Gas Shift Reaction using artificial neural networks. Journal of Environmental Management, v. 237, p. 585-594, MAY 1 2019. Web of Science Citations: 1.