Thesis (M.S.)--Rutgers University, 2008. / "Graduate Program in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics." Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-34).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Heterogeneous catalysis is a key industrial process involved in the synthesis of nearly all chemicals currently produced. The environmental impact of these processes is huge so improvements must be made to current catalysts. Should a new material provide better yields at lower energy cost the benefits to both the industry and the planet are significant. There are many ways to change the behaviour of a catalyst, the addition of dopants, the selective blocking of active sites, and changing the strength of the support interaction to name a few. One technique that has become increasingly investigated is interstitial modification, the insertion of a light element into a metal lattice to change the metal's catalytic properties. The work presented in this thesis devises greener synthetic routes to the known Pd-^interstitialB/C catalyst and investigates potential routes to a novel interstitial material, Pd-^interstitialLi/C. Initially, successful verification of interstitial modification comes from the characteristic increase in palladium lattice parameter from 3.89 to 4.00 Å and the blocking of the β-hydride formation. Initial catalytic screening determines the synthetic route which yields the most active catalyst which subsequently undergoes thorough characterisation. The wealth of evidence generated confirms the interstitial location of lithium within the palladium lattice, as well as adding to the current understanding of the Pd-^interstitialB/C material. EELS analysis on Pd-^interstitialB is the closest to direct observation of boron within the palladium lattice to date. PDF on Pd-^interstitialLi shows 13.7 % of the palladium octahedral interstitial sites are occupied by lithium. This is the first report of interstitial lithium within palladium to date. The effect of the interstitial modification on catalytic hydrogenation by two elements that have opposite effects on the surface electronics of the host palladium gives intriguing results. The effect on catalysis varies depending on the conditions investigated. This bank of hydrogenation data allows an informed choice as to which interstitial material would be best suited to the gas or liquid phase catalytic hydrogenation under investigation.

The application of heterogeneous catalysts to industrial processes is a key factor in the synthesis of nearly all chemicals currently produced, however billions of pounds are lost every year due to unplanned reactor shutdowns and catalyst replacement as a result of catalytic deactivation processes. Poisoning of heterogeneous catalysts by sulfur compounds is a particularly prominent class of deactivation processes, affecting a wide range of catalytic materials and catalytic reactions, including the industrially-prominent Haber-Bosch process for the synthesis of ammonia and steam reforming of methane for the synthesis of hydrogen. However, while the effects of sulfur adsorption on catalytic behaviour are often unmistakably apparent, the fundamental interactions leading to these effects are not yet well understood. The work presented in this thesis uses a combination of models systems, novel and traditional characterization techniques, and methods of modifying catalyst geometric and electronic structure to approach the topic of sulfur poisoning from a fundamental perspective. Particular focus is placed on using selective decoration of active sites to develop a system of model hydrogenation reactions to relate changes in catalytic behaviour to changes in geometric and electronic structure. Application of these model reactions to investigate the sensitivities of palladium- and ruthenium-based catalytic systems to modification by sulfur shows contrasting effects for the two metals. While both systems exhibit similar geometric effects of modification, the palladium-based catalysts are far more sensitive than the ruthenium-based catalysts to modification of electronic structure. Additionally, controlled variation in particle size for the palladium-based catalysts demonstrates that catalytic behaviour is dominated by electronic structure for small nanoparticles and geometric structure for large nanoparticles. This leads small nanoparticles to show increased sensitivity to electronic modification effects resulting from sulfur adsorption. Ultimately, the research presented within this thesis provides a basis for the intelligent design of heterogeneous catalysts for improving tolerance for sulfur poisoning, and for utilizing the effects of sulfur modification to optimize catalytic activity and selectivity for the synthesis of fine chemicals.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Chemical Engineering / Mary E. Rezac / Membrane reactor is a device that simultaneously carrying out reaction and membrane-based separation. The advantageous transport properties of the membranes can be employed to selectively remove undesired products or by-products from the reaction mixture, to break the thermodynamic barrier, and to selectively supply the reactant. In this work, membrane reactor technology has been exploited with robust H₂ selective polymeric membranes in the process of hydrogenation and dehydrogenation. A state-of-the-art 3-phase catalytic membrane contactor is utilized in the processes of soybean hydrogenation and bio-oil hydro-deoxygenation, where the membrane functions as phase contactor, H₂supplier, and catalytic support. Intrinsically skinned asymmetric Polyetherimide (PEI) membranes demonstrated predominant H₂permeance and selectivity. By using the PEI membrane in the membrane contactor, soybean oil is partially hydrogenated efficiently at relatively mild reaction conditions compared with a conventional slurry reactor. In the hydroprocessing of bio-oil using the same system, the membrane successfully removed water, an undesired component from bio-oil by pervaporation. The more industrially feasible membrane-assisted reactor is studied in the alkane dehydrogenation process. Viable polymeric materials and their stability in elevated temperatures and organic environment are examined. The blend polymeric material of Matrimid® 5218 and Polybenzimidazole (PBI) remained H₂permeable and stable with the presence of hydrocarbons, and displayed consistent selectivity of H2/hydrocarbon, which indicated the feasibility of using the material to fabricate thermally stable membrane for separation. The impact of membrane-assisted reactor is evaluated using finite parameter process simulation in the model reaction of the dehydrogenation of methylcyclohexane (MCH). By combining tested catalyst performance, measured transport properties of the material and hypothetical membrane configuration, by using a membrane assisted packed-bed reactor, the thermodynamic barrier of the reaction is predicted to be broken by the removal of H₂. The overall dehydrogenation conversion can be increased by up to 20% beyond equilibrium. The predicted results are justified by preliminary experimental validation using intrinsically skinned asymmetric Matrimid/PBI blend membrane. The conversions at varied temperatures partially exceeded equilibrium, indicating successful removal of H₂by the blend membrane as well as decent thermal stability of the membrane at elevated temperatures with the presence of hydrocarbons. The successful outcome of membrane contactor and membrane-assisted reactor using robust polymeric membranes shows the effectiveness and efficiency of membrane reactors in varied application. The future work should be focusing on two direction, to further develop durable and efficient membranes with desired properties; and to improve the reactor system with better catalytic performance, more precise control in order to harvest preferable product and greater yield.

A modelagem e simulação de reatores trifásicos representa um grande desafio para simuladores de processo. Muitos estudos acadêmicos têm sido desenvolvidos com o objetivo de descrever e prever o comportamento desses equipamentos, quer seja em seu estado estacionário, quer seja as respostas dinâmicas. Várias são as abordagens aplicadas para tentar melhor refletir os fenômenos envolvidos nos reatores trifásicos, ponderando sempre o custo computacional de cada abordagem. Neste trabalho, um reator de hidrogenação seletiva de nafta de pirólise foi simulado baseado em dados publicados na literatura. O reator é do tipo leito gotejante (trifásico), e as reações consideradas são de pseudo-primeira ordem. A técnica aplicada foi a de modelagem matemática por células, onde os leitos catalíticos foram subdivididos em reatores tipo CSTR dinâmicos associados em série. A cada célula, um cálculo de flash foi associado, aperfeiçoando os balanços de massa e energia comumente empregados em reatores de leito gotejante. A abordagem termodinâmica utilizada para prever o equilíbrio líquido-vapor foi a i - i, com a equação de estado SRK associada a parâmetros de interação binária específicos para a solubilidade de hidrogênio em gasolina de pirólise. Os parâmetros de interação binária são provenientes do pacote termodinâmico do simulador iiSE. O modelo do reator foi implementado no software EMSO (Environment for Modeling, Simulation and Optimization) consistindo em cerca de 9000 equações e variáveis. Os resultados obtidos com o modelo contruído foram similares aos reportados na literatura. A aplicação de modelagem por células mostrou-se não só aplicável mas também mais robusta do que as abordagens tradicionais que utilizam equações diferenciais ordinárias. A utilização da ferramenta EMSO para a modelagem por células mostrou-se ainda mais vantajosa ao permitir a avaliação do comportamento dinâmico do reator em algumas situações hipotéticas, mas que são bem comuns na indústria. / Modeling and simulation of three-phase reactors is a challenge for process simulators. Many academic studies have been developed in order to describe and predict the behavior of these equipments for both steady states or dynamic responses. There are several approaches applied trying to reflect better the phenomena involved in three-phase reactors, always considering the computational cost of each approach. In this work a selective hydrogenation reactor for pyrolysis naphtha was simulated based on published literature data.The reactor is trickle bed type and the reactions are considered pseudofirst order. The technique used is cell-network modeling, where the catalyst beds were subdivided into dynamics CSTR reactors linked in series. To each cell there is a calculation Flash associated, enhancing mass and energy balances commonly applied in TBR. The thermodynamic approach used to predict the vapor-liquid equilibrium was i- i with SRK equation of state, associated to specific binary interaction parameters for the solubility of hydrogen in pygas from the thermodynamic simulator package iiSE. The binary interaction parameters come from the thermodynamic package of IISE simulator. The reactor model was implemented in software EMSO (Environment for Modeling, Simulation and Optimization) and consists of 9,000 equations and variables approximately. The results obtained with the model constructed here were similar to those reported in the literature. The use of cell-network modeling proved to be not only applicable but also more robust than the traditional approaches that use ordinary differential equations. The use of EMSO tool for cell-network modeling proved to be even more advantageous because allows the evaluation of some dynamic behavior of the reactor for hypothetical situations but quite common in the industry.

Três catalisadores contendo o mesmo teor de fase ativa (20% de óxido de molibdênio e 4% de óxido de níquel), mas constituídos por diferentes suportes (alumina, sílica-alumina e alumina zeólita) foram preparados com o objetivo de se obter catalisadores bifuncionais com acidez distinta e boa dispersão da fase metálica visando analisar o papel da acidez do suporte na conversão da tetralina. Os catalisadores e seus respectivos suportes foram caracterizados na formas óxido e sulfeto e avaliados na reação de hidrogenação da tetralina, que representa bem os monoaromáticos presentes nas correntes de petróleo. A caracterização textural mostrou que tanto a área específica quanto o volume de poros foram pouco alterados após a incorporação dos óxidos metálicos aos suportes. Os catalisadores apresentaram uma dispersão relativamente boa da fase ativa, conforme indicado pelos resultados de MET, DRX e DRS. Os resultados obtidos por TPD de n-propilamina e por espectroscopia de IV de piridina mostraram que a incorporação de óxidos de molibdênio e níquel levou a um aumento da acidez de Brönsted, o que foi atribuído à criação de novos sítios ácidos associados ao óxido de molibdênio ou a sítios de interface deste com o suporte. Obteve-se uma boa correlação entre a atividade de conversão da tetralina e o rendimento em produtos aromáticos e abertura de ciclo naftênico com a acidez de Brönsted do suporte, com a seguinte ordem de atividade para a conversão da tetralina: NiMo/alumina < NiMo/sílica-alumina < NiMo/alumina zeólita. O aumento do rendimento de produtos de hidrogenação foi relacionado à existência de um efeito eletrônico entre os sítios de Brönsted do suporte e as partículas de sulfeto suportado. No entanto, para o catalisador suportado em alumina-zeólita, onde em princípio a fase hidrogenante estaria distante dos sítios ácidos, sugeriu-se a possibilidade de uma rota alternativa de hidrogenação a partir do metil-indano formado nos centros ácidos da zeólita. / Three sulfided catalysts with the same active phase content (20 wt% of molybdenum oxide and 4 wt% of nickel oxide) and deposited on different supports (alumina, silica-alumina and alumina-Y zeolite) were prepared aiming to obtain bifunctional catalysts with different acidities and good dispersion of the sulfide phase for analyzing the role of the support acidity on the hydroconversion of tetraline. The supports and respective catalysts were characterized in the oxide and sulfide forms and were evaluated for the hydroconversion of tetraline, which is representative of the monoaromatic compounds present in the diesel fraction. The textural characterization indicated that the specific surface areas as well as the pore volumes were very little affected by the impregnation of the metal oxides in the supports. The catalysts presented a relatively good dispersion of the active phase as indicated by TEM, XRD and DRS results. Pyridine IR spectroscopy and n-propylamine TPD results showed an increase of Brönsted acidity after impregnation of molybdenum and nickel oxides, which were attributed to the creation of new acidic sites associated to the supported molybdenum oxide or to sites at the interface of this oxide with the support. A good correlation of the support Brönsted acidity with the overall conversion of tetraline was observed, as well as with the aromatic and ring opening product yields. The following activity ranking for tetraline conversion was observed: NiMo/alumina < NiMo/silica-alumina < NiMo/alumina-zeolite. An increase of the hydrogenation product yields with the support acidity was also observed which was ascribed to an electronic effect between the support acidic Brönsted sites and the sulfide particles. However, for alumina-zeolite supported catalyst, where acidic and hydrogenating sites are not in close vicinity, an alternative reaction route was proposed considering the hydrogenation of the methyl-indane formed by tetraline isomerization on the Brönsted sites.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Chemical Engineering / Mary E. Rezac / Catalytic membrane reactors are a class of reactors that utilize a membrane to selectively deliver reactants to catalysts integrated in the membrane. The focus of this research has been on developing and characterizing polymeric catalytic membranes for three-phase hydrogenation reactions, where the membrane functions as a gas/liquid phase contactor allowing selective delivery of hydrogen through the membrane to reach catalytic sites located on the liquid side of the membrane. The benefit of conducting three-phase reactions in this manner is that delivering hydrogen through the membrane to reach catalytic sites avoids the necessity of hydrogen dissolution and diffusion in the liquid phase, which are both inherently low and often described as causing mass-transfer and reaction rate limitations for the reactive system. This work examines two types of membrane reactor systems, porous polytetrafluoroethylene and asymmetric Matrimid membranes, respectively, for the ruthenium catalyzed aqueous phase hydrogenation of levulinic acid. The highly hydrophobic PTFE material provides an almost impermeable barrier to the liquid phase while allowing hydrogen gas to freely transport through the pores to reach catalytic sites located at the liquid/membrane interface. Catalytic rates as a function of hydrogen pressure over the range 0.07 to 5.6 bar are presented and shown to be higher than those of a packed bed reactor under similar reaction conditions. An increasing catalytic benefit was obtained operating at temperatures up to 90 °C, which is attributed to increased hydrogen permeability and avoidance of the decreasing solubility of hydrogen in water with increasing temperature. The membrane reactor was shown to be stable with no decrease in catalytic activity over 200 hours of operation. The Matrimid membrane reactor work demonstrates the feasibility of applying an integrally-skinned asymmetric membrane for an aqueous phase hydrogenation reaction and focuses on the impact that membrane hydrogen permeance and catalyst loading have on catalytic activity. The non-porous nature of the separating layer in the Matrimid membrane allowed successful operation up to 150 °C. The overall catalytic rates were approximately an order of magnitude lower than those achieved in the PTFE membrane reactor system due primarily to significantly lower hydrogen permeances, nevertheless rates were still higher than control experiments. This work also focuses on characterizing Matrimid/solvent thermodynamic relationships for a variety of organic solvents, looking at sorption, diffusion, and polymer relaxation behavior in thin films ranging from 0.1 to 2.0 µm in thickness using quartz crystal microbalance techniques. Diffusion coefficients at infinite dilution for water and C1-C6 alcohols are given as a function of van der Waals molar volume and a clear dependency is shown ranging from 2E-11 to 6.5E-13 cm²/s for water and hexanol, respectively, for 0.26 µm thick films. Diffusion coefficients for all studied vapor penetrants displayed a marked dependence on thickness spanning approximately two orders of magnitude for each respective vapor penetrant over the range 0.1 to 1.0 µm. Chemically cross-linking Matrimid is a method to mitigate some of the relatively high sorption and swelling behavior exhibited in the presence of sorbing species. An in-depth analysis on the vapor phase ethylenediamine cross-linking of Matrimid films and its impact on diffusion, sorption, and relaxation is also described.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:53:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:58:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:33:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:06:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP