Project Info
Low cost catalysts for efficient ammonia decomposition
Colin Wolden
cwolden@mines.edu
Project Goals and Description:
Ammonia is the leading carrier of hydrogen the leading fuel for industrial decarbonization. However ammonia must be decomposed back to H2 and N2 on-site, on demand for full utilization. Ideally this is done at low temperature to minimize energy demands. The state of the art catalysts are based on ruthenium, and effective but expensive platinum group metal (PGM). This project would focus on the development of non-PGM alternatives. Specifically we target perovskite-based catalysts employing either nickel or cobalt that we hope will deliver comparable performance at much lower cost.
More Information:
Grand Challenge: Not applicable.
https://inside.mines.edu/fs_home/cwolden/Wolden_Webpages/Projects/H2%20Seperation%20Membranes_index.html
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.2c01822
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b04929
Primary Contacts:
Colin Wolden: cwolden@mines.edu
Tatiane Gercina de Vilas: tgercinadevilas@mines.edu
Student Preparation
Qualifications
The student should be a chemist or chemical engineer that has successfully completed 0rganic and ideally physical chemistry.
TIME COMMITMENT (HRS/WK)
5
SKILLS/TECHNIQUES GAINED
The student will learn advanced laboratory techniques in catalyst synthesis, extensive materials characterization (XRD, BET, SEM, etc), and catalyst performance using a differential reactor. Experimental analysis and presentation skills,.
MENTORING PLAN
The student will be mentored primarily by the lead PhD student as far as lab training and participate in weekly group meetings with full team.
PREFERRED STUDENT STATUS
Sophomore
Junior