Nano- and micro-scale engineering of MoS2-based catalyst for conversion of syngas to ethanol. Domestic production of ethanol to provide a 10% blend in petrol (E10) can be achieved from waste methane gas that Australia currently vents or flares to atmosphere. This project aims to develop a conversion process for making ethanol from syngas (the product of coal or methane gasification). Small scale, modularised plants would make ethanol locally to the methane emission source. The benefits of local ....Nano- and micro-scale engineering of MoS2-based catalyst for conversion of syngas to ethanol. Domestic production of ethanol to provide a 10% blend in petrol (E10) can be achieved from waste methane gas that Australia currently vents or flares to atmosphere. This project aims to develop a conversion process for making ethanol from syngas (the product of coal or methane gasification). Small scale, modularised plants would make ethanol locally to the methane emission source. The benefits of local E10 production would be a reduction in the oil trade deficit of $1 billion per year, $500 million per year in lower carbon imposts to industry and government, 25 million tonnes per year of reduced CO2e release to atmosphere and significantly improved urban air through reduced emissions from car transport, with attendant human health benefits.Read moreRead less
Unsteady-State Operation of Slurry and Fixed-Bed Fischer-Tropsch Reactors for Improved Process Performance. The development of efficient gas-to-liquid processes via the Fischer-Tropsch reaction is the most economically viable route for the production of non-petroleum based chemicals and environmentally-friendly fuels from abundant natural gas. This investigation proposes the exploitation of both reactor and catalyst dynamics behaviour to obtain higher hydrocarbon synthesis rate and selectivity n ....Unsteady-State Operation of Slurry and Fixed-Bed Fischer-Tropsch Reactors for Improved Process Performance. The development of efficient gas-to-liquid processes via the Fischer-Tropsch reaction is the most economically viable route for the production of non-petroleum based chemicals and environmentally-friendly fuels from abundant natural gas. This investigation proposes the exploitation of both reactor and catalyst dynamics behaviour to obtain higher hydrocarbon synthesis rate and selectivity not attainable under conventional steady-state operation. With current market conditions of about US$30/bbl for crude oil, even modest process improvements of 30-60% will make the process competitive. Whilst individual national energy policy goals are promoted, the research will further strengthen closer economic and technology ties between France and Australia.Read moreRead less
Novel Metal Carbide Catalysts For Gas-To-Liquid Conversion Processes. The development of efficient gas-to-liquid fuels processes is driven by the availability of abundant natural gas reserves and environmental advantages of synthetic liquid fuels. In this study, a new molybdenum-tungsten carbide catalyst that with excellent performance but 80 times cheaper than noble metal catalysts is proposed. It is especially attractive for industrial applications because it can be used for steam reforming of ....Novel Metal Carbide Catalysts For Gas-To-Liquid Conversion Processes. The development of efficient gas-to-liquid fuels processes is driven by the availability of abundant natural gas reserves and environmental advantages of synthetic liquid fuels. In this study, a new molybdenum-tungsten carbide catalyst that with excellent performance but 80 times cheaper than noble metal catalysts is proposed. It is especially attractive for industrial applications because it can be used for steam reforming of natural gas to synthesis gas, and subsequent conversion to gasoline. This represents huge cost savings in catalyst and energetically-efficient reactors in the global petrochemical industry where millions of dollars are spent annually on catalyst improvement and rehabilitation.Read moreRead less
Process Systems for Distributed Chemical Manufacturing. This Project investigates a new paradigm for chemicals production, moving away from large-scale centralised plant to distributed manufacture in relatively small localised facilities. The Project is built on the conjunction of a revolutionary process systems synthesis methodology with a new approach to highly compact equipment manufacture. The Project is of great significance to developing countries and to smaller, remote economies such as A ....Process Systems for Distributed Chemical Manufacturing. This Project investigates a new paradigm for chemicals production, moving away from large-scale centralised plant to distributed manufacture in relatively small localised facilities. The Project is built on the conjunction of a revolutionary process systems synthesis methodology with a new approach to highly compact equipment manufacture. The Project is of great significance to developing countries and to smaller, remote economies such as Australia's, which cannot justify or compete with world-scale production facilities. We will develop our ideas in a case study and identify routes to practical implementation of this example in particular and of the new approach in general.Read moreRead less