EAGER: Viologen-catalyzed Electrochemical Conversion of Biomass for Sustainable Energy and Products

EAGER：紫精催化生物质电化学转化，用于可持续能源和产品

• 批准号: 1540537
• 负责人: John Harb
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: Brigham Young University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-09-01 至 2017-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1540537&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Viologen; catalyzed; Electrochemical; Conversion

Harb, 1540537Carbohydrates from biomass have the potential to generate renewable energy for electric automobiles and other power-consuming needs. Current challenges inhibiting this technology include the low power output and insufficient catalyst durability of biofuel cells, and low carbohydrate conversion in non-biological fuel cells. A transformative breakthrough has come with the discovery of a homogeneous non-biological viologen catalyst that enables almost complete carbohydrate conversion. The overall objective of this project is to explore the feasibility of using this breakthrough to produce sustainable energy through biomass conversion in an electrochemical reactor. This preliminary feasibility study will identify the key fundamental processes and constraints that will determine the design and operation of a reactor system to produce sustainable energy, fuel or biochemical products.Four tasks have been defined to accomplish this objective. Task 1 will determine whether the homogenous and heterogeneous reaction rates can be effectively balanced to obtain the current density needed for a sustainable, economically viable process. Experiments under controlled flow conditions will the influence of pH, reactant concentrations, temperature, and potential. Task 2 will explore strategies, informed by the conditions identified in Task 1, for promoting near-complete carbohydrate conversion in a practical reactor system. Task 3 will assess the feasibility of hydrogen production as an alternative to electricity production. Viologens with more negative redox potentials will be evaluated as possible catalysts. Finally, Task 4 will identify and quantify fundamental properties and limitations of the proposed electricity or hydrogen generating system based on results from the previous tasks. The possibility of using separate reactors for the homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions will also be explored as part of this task to potentially enable greater efficiency and additional, transformative products. Completion of this preliminary study will 1) determine if the newly discovered viologen catalyst can be used for carbohydrate conversion at high rates (current density) in order to justify further consideration of this system as part of a full proposal, 2) identify a reactor strategy by which it may be possible to produce electricity from near-complete conversion of a carbohydrate, and 3) explore the feasibility of using carbohydrates to generate hydrogen. Fundamentally, this research will examine the interaction of homogeneous biomass reactions, a heterogeneous electrochemical reaction, and the reaction conditions in order to achieve potentially conversion of carbohydrates to produce sustainable energy. Fundamental issues related to carbon removal in the form of carbonate will also be explored in the contextof potential reactor strategies. It is expected that the results of this study could have a far-reaching impact on the development of viable and sustainable biomass conversion strategies, with emphasis on energy and transportation fuels. Inherent is the potential benefit of multiple platforms (electricity, hydrogen, and biologically reactive species) utilizing near-complete conversion of carbohydrates to increase the appeal for development of biomass-based economies. Increased adoption and sustained use of biomass-based processes from dedicated energy crops could (i) reduce dependence on other energy resources such as petroleum, (ii) reduce the impact of fossil fuels on global climate change, and (iii) reduce the use of food crops currently dedicated for biofuel production. Both graduate and undergraduate students, including those from underrepresented groups, will (i) gain experience in the design and implementation process for use of renewable resources (ii) demonstrate an appreciation for working within engineering constraints to develop a sustainable process, (iii) demonstrate effective teamwork and leadership skills as they work together as a team, and (iv) recognize the extent to which renewable resources can be applied to multiple process platforms.

Harb，来自生物质的1540537碳水化合物有可能为电动汽车和其他功率消耗需求产生可再生能源。抑制该技术的当前挑战包括生物燃料细胞的低功率输出和催化剂耐用性以及非生物燃料电池中碳水化合物的低转化率。发现了一种均匀的非生物VIologen催化剂的变革性突破，该催化剂几乎可以完全碳水化合物转化。该项目的总体目的是探索使用这种突破来通过电化学反应器中的生物量转化产生可持续能量的可行性。这项初步的可行性研究将确定主要的基本过程和约束，这些过程和约束将确定反应堆系统的设计和操作，以生产可持续的能源，燃料或生化产品。已定义任务以实现这一目标。任务1将确定是否可以有效地平衡同质和异质反应速率，以获得可持续性，经济上可行的过程所需的当前密度。在受控流动条件下的实验将影响pH，反应物浓度，温度和电势的影响。任务2将探讨任务1中确定的条件所示的策略，以促进实用反应堆系统中近乎完整的碳水化合物转换。任务3将评估氢生产的可行性，以替代电力生产。 将评估具有更多负氧化还原电位的VIologens作为可能的催化剂。最后，任务4将根据先前任务的结果来识别和量化所提出的电力或氢生成系统的基本属性和局限性。还将探讨使用单独的反应器进行均质和异质反应的可能性，作为此任务的一部分，以实现更高的效率和额外的变革性产物。 这项初步研究的完成将1）确定新发现的毒素催化剂是否可用于碳水化合物以高速（当前密度）的形式转化，以证明将该系统的进一步考虑作为全面建议的一部分；从根本上讲，这项研究将研究均质生物量反应，异质电化学反应和反应条件的相互作用，以实现碳水化合物的潜在转化以产生可持续的能量。还将在潜在反应堆策略的上下文中探索与碳酸盐形式相关的基本问题。预计这项研究的结果可能会对可行和可持续的生物质转化策略的发展产生深远的影响，重点是能源和运输燃料。固有的是利用碳水化合物几乎完全转化的多个平台（电力，氢和生物反应性物种）的潜在好处，以增加对基于生物量的经济体发展的呼吁。从专门的能源作物中增加采用和持续使用基于生物质的过程可能会（i）减少对石油等其他能源资源的依赖，（ii）减少化石燃料对全球气候变化的影响，（iii）减少目前专门用于生物燃料生产的食品作物的使用。研究生和本科生，包括来自代表性不足的小组的研究生和本科生，都将获得（i）在使用可再生资源的设计和实施过程中获得经验（ii）表现出对在工程限制中工作以开发可持续过程的欣赏，（iii）证明了有效的团队合作和领导能力，可以将他们作为团队合作，以及（iv）识别出范围的范围，以供该范围进行范围的范围。