As a promising approach for carbon dioxide capture, chemical looping combustion has been extensively investigated for more than two decades. However, the chemical looping strategy can be and has been extended well beyond carbon capture. In fact, significant impacts on emission reduction, energy conservation, and value-creation can be anticipated from chemical looping beyond combustion (CLBC). This article aims to demonstrate the versatility and transformational benefits of CLBC. Specifically, we focus on the use of oxygen carriers or redox catalysts for chemical production – a $4 trillion industry that consumes 40.9 quadrillion BTU of energy. Compared to state-of-the-art chemical production technologies, we illustrate that chemical looping offers significant opportunities for process intensification and exergy loss minimization. In many cases, an order of magnitude reduction in energy consumption and CO2 emission can be realized without the needs for carbon dioxide capture. In addition to providing various CLBC examples, this article elaborates on generalized design principles for CLBC, potential benefits and pitfalls, as well as redox catalyst selection, design, optimization, and redox reaction mechanism.

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Chemical looping beyond combustion – a perspective

State-of-the-art applications of fly ash from coal and biomass: A focus on zeolite synthesis processes and issues

Biodiesel production from Silybum marianum L. seed oil with high FFA content using sulfonated carbon catalyst for esterification and base catalyst for transesterification

A review on prospective production of biofuel from microalgae

Fabrication of hierarchically porous carbon materials (HPCs) with high surface area and pore volume has always been pursued. However, the currently effective template methods and acid/base activation strategies suffer from the drawbacks of either high costs or tedious steps. Herein, HPCs with 3D macro-mesopores and short-range meso-micropores were fabricated via an easy and sustainable two-step method from biomass. Macro-mesopores were constructed by slightly accumulation/aggregation of carbon spheres ranging from 60 nm to 80 nm, providing efficient mass diffusion pathways. Short-range mesopores and micropores with high electrolyte accessibility were developed in these spheres by air activation. The obtained HPCs showed surface area values up to 1306 m2/g and high mesopore volume proportion (63.9%). They demonstrated excellent capacitance and low equivalent series resistance (ESR) as supercapacitor electrode materials, suggesting the efficient diffusion and adsorption of electrolyte ions in the designed hierarchically porous structure.

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Design and Fabrication of Hierarchically Porous Carbon with a Template-free Method

Cu–Mn mixed metal oxide (MMO) catalysts doped with NaCl were synthesized using combustion synthesis technique with a variety of fuels for the direct gas-phase epoxidation of propylene with molecular oxygen. The catalyst structure consisted of Mn2O3 and Cu1+xMn2–xO4 crystals. The catalyst crystallinity, primarily influenced by the combustion synthesis fuel choice and calcination temperature, has been found to be of particular importance in affecting the selectivity of the epoxidation reaction. The optimum catalyst composition was 10–20 mol % Cu in Mn doped with 0.1–0.2 mol % NaCl. It exhibited 30–37% propylene oxide selectivity and 1.3–1.5% propylene conversion.

Copper–Manganese Mixed Metal Oxide Catalysts for the Direct Epoxidation of Propylene by Molecular Oxygen

Statistical optimization of biodiesel production from para rubber seed oil by SO3H-MCM-41 catalyst

In this work, we are reporting for the first time the synthesis of hierarchical micro- and mesoporous zeolite using silica–carbon (SiO2/C) composites prepared by pyrolysis of carbonaceous gases in the presence of silica gel. The pyrolysis effectively yielded carbon deposited onto the raw silica material. The obtained SiO2/C composites were utilised as a bifunctional material, mesoporous template and silica source, for the zeolite synthesis. Tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAOH) was used as a microporous template. The combination of the obtained composites and the TPAOH for the hydrothermal synthesis resulted in the formation of hierarchical micro- and mesoporous ZSM-5. The results from the SEM, TEM, and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, and 27Al MAS NMR characterisations of the synthesised samples obtained after the removal of the templates confirmed the successful formation of the micro- and mesoporous zeolites. The mesoporosity of the zeolites could be controlled by adjusting the carbon content in the SiO2/C composites while the carbon content could be controlled by varying the deposition time and the concentration of the carbonaceous gases used. This controllable and efficient synthesis method is considered to be a promising method for creating hierarchical micro- and mesoporous zeolites. © 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering



Dans ce travail nous presentons pour la premiere fois la synthese de zeolites micro- et mesoporeux hierarchises en utilisant des composites de silice-carbone (SiO2/C), prepares par pyrolyse de gaz en presence de gels de silice. La pyrolyse conduit a du carbone depose sur la silice de depart. Les composites obtenus ont ete utilises comme materiaux bifontionnels, template mesoporeux et source de silice, pour la synthese de zeolites. L'hydroxyde de tetrapropylammonium (TPAOH) a ete utilise comme template microporeux. La combinaison des composites obtenus avec le TPAOH pour la synthese hydrothermale a conduit a la formation de ZSM-5 micro- et mesoporeux hierarchise. Apres elimination du template, les resultats des mesures SEM, TEM et des isothermes d'adsorption/desorption de N2 ainsi que les caracterisations 27Al MAS NMR des echantillons synthetises ont confirme la formation des zeolites micro- et mesoporeux. La mesoporosite des zeolites a ete controle en variant le temps de depot et la concentration des gaz. Cette synthese controlable et efficace peut etre consideree comme une methode prometteuse pour la generation de zeolites micro- et mesoporeux hierarchises. Copyright © 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering

Metta Charoenpanich

Papers

Copper–Manganese Mixed Metal Oxide Catalysts for the Direct Epoxidation of Propylene by Molecular Oxygen

Statistical optimization of biodiesel production from para rubber seed oil by SO3H-MCM-41 catalyst

The versatile synthesis method for hierarchical micro‐ and mesoporous zeolite: An embedded nanocarbon cluster approach