IChemE-supported research promises more sustainable liquid hydrocarbons
16th June 2023
Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) research fellow, Dr Qingyuan Zheng, has published important insights into how Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) works in real industrial environments.
This key advance in understanding made by Dr Zheng, a Senior Research Associate at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, UK, has recently been published in high-impact factor journal Nature Catalysis.
FTS is a complicated but widely used heterogeneous catalytic process technology that converts resources, including biomass and CO2, into synthetic fuels and chemicals. Further development and optimisation of FTS is expected to significantly improve the efficiency and sustainability of liquid hydrocarbon production and is therefore a key research field for overcoming some of the huge challenges around reduction of energy and resource demand that society faces.
Dr Zheng was mentored by Marc-Olivier Coppens, FIChemE, Ramsay Memorial Professor of Chemical Engineering at University College London, UK. Professor Coppens declared the research completed during the IChemE Andrew Fellowship ‘an outstanding piece of work’, highlighting the elegant use of various nuclear magnetic resonance methods to provide unique insights on FTS ‘of great fundamental and industrial importance.’
Conventionally, due to the lack of experimental methods, the catalytic performance is estimated based on the product composition determined from the reactor exit. Dr Zheng's real time magnetic resonance measurement of FTS under the industrial operating conditions of the reaction reveals that the product composition inside the catalyst pores substantially deviates from that at the reactor exit, suggesting that the catalyst works in a very different environment from that traditionally estimated.
Professor Coppens said: “It has been a very long-standing question on what the composition of wax was inside the pores and how it affected diffusion of hydrogen and the specific product distribution. The huge difference between even the average carbon number inside the pores and the one found from gas chromatography at the exit was important to establish and quantify. Impressive work. To have your results published in Nature Catalysis as a culmination of this research is, of course, the cherry on the cake.”
Alexandra Meldrum, IChemE Vice President (Learned Society), said: “I am delighted to congratulate Dr Zheng on his excellent research results. Chemical engineers have a critical role to play in helping to address our major global challenges. The IChemE Andrew Fellowship enables ground-breaking research that is directly applicable to making key industrial processes more sustainable. Supporting active research collaboration between academia and industry not only leads to research excellence like Dr Zheng’s, but also generates significant development in the field.”
Contact
For more information please contact:
Lucy Cook, Communications Manager, IChemE
t: +44 (0) 1788 534454
e: lcook@icheme.org
Ann Baylis, Communications Executive & PR Lead, IChemE
t: +44 (0) 1788 534477
e: abaylis@icheme.org
Links
Dr Qingyuan Zheng’s IChemE Andrew Fellowship final research report for publication (PDF)
Andrew Fellowship
Dr Zheng was awarded the prestigious IChemE Andrew Fellowship in 2019 following his previous work on heterogeneous catalysis; the judges noted this was a challenging and intellectually demanding area where further work would benefit the catalysis community.
The IChemE Andrew Legacy scheme is funded from a bequest made by IChemE Fellow, Professor Syd Andrew, a distinguished expert in the field of catalysis who had a long and successful career at Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), UK and as an Industrial Professor at the University of Leeds, UK.
The Andrew Fellowship aims to strengthen links between industry and academic research scientists, and provides funding to undertake heterogeneous catalyst research. Heterogenous catalysis is a key field for the reduction of energy and resource demand for a myriad of chemical processes, and so the individuals supported by the Andrew Legacy are supporting IChemE’s work on responsible production and are positively contributing to IChemE’s commitments on climate change.
Dr Qingyuan Zheng
Dr Zheng’s studies during the time of the IChemE Andrew Fellowship have led to the following publications:
- Zheng, Q., Williams, J., van Thiel, L.R. et al. Operando magnetic resonance imaging of product distributions within the pores of catalyst pellets during Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. Nat Catal 6, 185–195 (2023).
- Zheng Q, Mantle MD, Sederman AJ, Baart TA, Guédon CM, Gladden LF. In Situ Characterization of Mixtures of Linear and Branched Hydrocarbons Confined within Porous Media Using 2D DQF-COSY NMR Spectroscopy. Anal Chem. 2022 Feb 22;94(7):3135-3141. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c04295. Epub 2022 Feb 12. PMID: 35152703; PMCID: PMC9098118.
- Zheng Q, Williams J, Mantle MD, Sederman AJ, Baart TA, Guédon CM, Gladden LF. Experimental Determination of H2 and CO Diffusion Coefficients in a Wax Mixture Confined in a Porous Titania Catalyst Support. J Phys Chem B. 2020 Dec 3;124(48):10971-10982. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c07440. Epub 2020 Nov 20. PMID: 33216551.
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