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Tracy
Q. Gardner
Lecturer/Assistant Research Professor
BS,
MS - Colorado School of Mines
BS (Math and Computer Sciences) - Colorado School of Mines
Ph.D.
- University of Colorado, Boulder
Postdoc: TUDelft, The Netherlands
Inorganic Membranes, Catalytic Membrane Reactors, Micro and Macro Structuring of Thin Films and Supports, Transport/Reaction Modeling
Research
Description
Inorganic membrane reactors can provide significant processing and safety
advantages over traditional reactors. Their utility regarding equilibrium
shift of reactions by product removal, controlled reactant distribution,
reaction selectivity toward intermediate products, and production of
pure product streams without need of further separations has been studied
enthusiastically over the past 15 years. Many industrially important
reactions, such as hydrogenations and dehydrogenations, partial oxidations,
steam reforming of hydrocarbons, water gas shift, and methane conversion
to syngas, could benefit from combined reaction and separation processing.
Some materials that are being studied for these and other processes include
pure and mixed metal oxides, zeolites, carbon molecular sieves, and dense
metal films.
Zeolite membranes have intrinsic catalytic activity, high thermal and
chemical stability, and pores of molecular dimensions and thus have great
potential as materials for catalytic membrane reactors, but have been
the least studied of these mentioned because of the immaturity of the
field. Recent advances in synthesis and characterization techniques for
zeolite membranes have catapulted them into the realm where they are
now being considered for this purpose. Mixed metal oxides, on the other
hand, have been developed to the point of commercial application for
oxygen separation from air. There are still several areas for improvement
for using mixed metal oxide membranes for oxygen separation, however,
including increasing fluxes to decrease the high required membrane area,
improving their thermal and chemical stability in harsh atmospheres,
and optimizing their use with or as catalysts for combined reactions
and separations.
The goals of my research program are aimed at developing inorganic membranes
and membrane reactors (IMRs) suitable for integration into industry. Currently
I am working on zeolite membranes, for liquid and vapor separations based on
diffusion and adsorption differences, and mixed metal oxide membranes, for oxygen
separation from air. Specifically, I am working on further developing synthesis
procedures including macro and micro structuring of the inorganic materials and
their supports and of characterization techniques and modeling to understand
the fundamental properties of supported zeolite thin films and supported and
unsupported metal oxides. Both experimental and modeling studies are being conducted
to provide insight into the transport mechanisms driving the permeation and separation
behavior.
Contact
Information
Tracy Q. Gardner
441 Alderson Hall
Chemical Engineering Department
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO 80401
Office: (303) 273-3846
FAX: (303) 273-3730
tgardner@mines.edu
