Universiti Teknologi Petronas

About: Universiti Teknologi Petronas is a education organization based out in Ipoh, Malaysia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Adsorption & Ionic liquid. The organization has 6127 authors who have published 11284 publications receiving 119400 citations.

Improved interfacial bonding of graphene-TiO2 with enhanced photocatalytic reduction of CO2 into solar fuel

Abstract: This study focuses on the improvement in the interfacial bonding of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) and important factors which contributed towards the enhanced photocatalytic activity of rGO/TiO2 photocatalyst. A facile two-steps approach was employed to synthesize the rGO/TiO2 which involved partial reduction of graphene oxide followed by vacuum thermal treatment. The properties of rGO/TiO2 photocatalysts were thoroughly investigated using SEM, XRD, FTIR, XPS, Raman, PL, N2 adsorption/desorption, and UV–vis spectroscopy. The performance of photocatalysts was evaluated for the reduction of CO2 with H2O using a continuous gas phase fixed bed photoreactor. The highest amounts of methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO) were 12.75 and 11.93 μmol g−1 h−1 over 0.4 wt.% rGO/TiO2 that were 4 fold greater compared to anatase TiO2. Improved photocatalytic activity was attributed to interfacial chemical bonding (Ti O C), efficient transfer of electrons, enhanced light absorption and higher adsorption of CO2 due to rGO. Thus, this development could provide an efficient approach to improve the interfacial bonding in graphene based nanocomposites for photocatalytic applications.

Performance enhancement and energy reduction using hybrid cryogenic distillation networks for purification of natural gas with high CO2 content

Abstract: A novel concept of hybrid cryogenic distillation network has been explored which maximizes the benefits of both desublimation or solid-vapor based separation as well as distillation or vapor-liquid equilibrium based separation during the separation of carbon dioxide from methane or natural gas. Process network synthesis has been performed for four case studies with high carbon dioxide (72 mole%) and medium carbon dioxide (50 mole%) natural gas feed streams. The benefits of optimal locations for cryogenic packed beds were investigated. A conventional cryogenic network consisting of multiple distillation columns with butane as additive for extractive distillation was also studied and presented in this paper. Process modeling of cryogenic distillation network with MESH equations was attempted using an integrated dual loop (C+3) convergence and the results were compared with Aspen Plus simulator for benchmarking. The prediction of solidification region was employed using experimental data from literature to avoid solidification regions in the column. The proposed hybrid cryogenic distillation network showed promising potential for energy and size reduction.