(7ft) Membrane Separations for Clean Energy Conversions

Membrane
Separations for Clean Energy Conversions

Simona Liguori – Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO

Research Assistant Professor – Colorado School of Mines            2016
– present

Physical Science Research Associate – Stanford University         2014
– 2016

Post Doc – Institute on Membrane Technology – ITM-CNR              2012
– 2014 Motivation
and Research Interests:

In the view of a significant
reduction of greenhouse gases emissions amidst fossil fuel exploitation, the
use of sustainable energy sources are a mandatory option as well as the use of
alternative fuels for the transportation sector. In this context a strong
interest has been addressed towards the possible development of a global Ôhydrogen
economyÕ, by considering hydrogen as the energy carrier of the future and as reliable
fuel source for transportation. Among all of the different technologies to
produce green and sustainable hydrogen, inorganic membrane reactors are a
promising alternative to enable distributed and centralized production and
separation of hydrogen, respectively.

Hydrogencan
be generated using feedstock from renewable sources, such as biogas, biomethanol, bioethanol, and bioglycerol
or from fossil fuel such as natural gas. In both cases, two streams are
produced by performing the reforming reaction in the membrane reactor. One
stream contains high-purity hydrogen, which can be directly fed to a PEM fuel
cell or internal combustion engine, while the other stream is mainly composed of
CO₂, which can be easily separated and stored. An evident outcome of
using a membrane reactor is emissions-free energy generation.

Inorganic
membrane reactors are a clear example of process intensification and their utilization
provides several other benefits when applied to chemical processes.
Specifically, they are able to reduce the equipment footprint, energy
consumption, and environmental impact of manufacturing processes. For these
reasons, they may also be applied to NH₃ production. They allow for
performing the process at milder operating conditions than the conventional Haber-Bosch
process and to produce ammonia on-site eliminating the need for the U.S. import
of foreign ammonia. Specifically, for the first time it has been demonstrated
that N₂ permeates through metallic membranes by solution-diffusion
and, by using the hydrogen as a sweep gas, it is feasible to produce NH₃
at a lower operating pressure.

This new method
to produce NH₃ is highly significant as the current process is the
second most energy-intensive chemical manufacturing process in the US and
worldwide due to the harsh operating conditions.

In general, inorganic
membranes have the potential to play a critical role in the area of clean
energy conversion and the study of different materials through alloying is the
key to reaching high membrane reactor performance.

In summary, my
research is focused on:

á     
Hydrogen
production by renewable sources or natural gas at lower operating conditions,

á     
NH₃
production via an alternate route from the conventional Haber-Bosch process,

á     
manufacturing of membranes and the study of different materials
through alloying to produce high-performing membranes,

á     
the direct capture of CO₂ from a residue
stream before it is released into the atmosphere.

Teaching Experience and Teaching Interests:

Sharing knowledge
and communicating effectively is very important to me. I have served as a
Teaching Assistant (TA) for Inorganic Chemistry courses for two years in Italy.
Teaching is a very complex activity. It involves planning for learning,
organizing materials, prioritizing ideas, interacting with students, learning
to "monitor and adjust", "differentiate instruction" for
students of various abilities, and learning how to accomplish goals that
sometimes seem to be mutually exclusive, all while keeping "control"
of a class and meeting the expectations of parents, administrators, and peers.
Anyhow, I am always enthusiastic and passionate when I have to share my knowledge
with student and when they are engaged during my lesson. I have had the
opportunity to serve as mentor for two undergraduate students in Italy and one
PhD student at Stanford and currently mentor a PhD student at the Colorado
School of Mines.

Courses that I
would be interested in teaching are fluid mechanics, transport phenomena, thermodynamics,
energy conversion processes, and chemical kinetics.

Research Experience

I have been
working on several fields on chemical engineering: reactor analysis and
chemical kinetics, heat/mass transfer, and reaction/diffusion through catalysts
and membranes.

During my PhD, my
research focused on experimental and simulation analysis of reforming reactions
of bio-fuels in both membrane and fixed-bed reactors for hydrogen production.
Since completing my PhD, I have continued my research in membrane science and
technology in my position as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Institute
on Membrane Technology from 2012 to 2014 and as a Physical Science Research
Associate at Stanford University from 2014 to 2016.  I have been conducting research as a
Research Assistant Professor with the Colorado School of Mines since June 2016
continuing my focus on membrane science and clean energy conversion processes. 

Future Direction

As a faculty member
I would like to continue applying membrane science and technology to different
areas of engineering, as well as industrial applications. In particular, I
would like to merge the knowledge that I obtained during my PhD and post-doctoral
position: chemical engineering, and environmental and applied science. I
believe that the synergy between the two fields can make feasible the reduction
the greenhouse gases, above all CO₂, by producing H₂ and
NH₃ by means of an alternative device including a membrane reactor.

Although I only
started working with the Colorado School of Mines in 2016, I have hit the
ground running in terms of improving my knowledge base associated membrane
separations. I have had the opportunity while at Mines to continue my
collaborations with Prof. Jennifer Wilcox in addition to beginning
collaborations with membrane expert, Professor Doug Way. I am currently working
on the evaluation of the performance of a membrane reactor to produce NH₃
at ambient pressure and by using a layer of catalyst deposited on the membrane
surface (H₂ permeates through the membrane and N₂ is used
a sweep-gas); NH₃ production in a membrane reactor at low operating
conditions compared to the Haber-Bosch process (opposite case: N₂ permeates through the membrane and H₂
is used a sweep-gas); H₂ production and separation in Pd-alloys membrane reactor from reforming reactions; writing
proposal for NSF, NineSigma, and RES Kaidi related to
the H₂ production and separation in membrane reactor technology from
renewable and natural gas reforming, respectively; writing scientific articles
and chapters.

Selected Publications:

1.    
B. Anzelmo, J. Wilcox,
S. Liguori, ÒNatural gas steam reforming reaction
at low temperature and pressure conditions for hydrogen production via Pd/PSS membrane reactorÓ, Journal of Membrane Science, 522
(2017) 343-350. DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2016.09.029 (Corresponding
Author)

2.    
J.
Wilcox, P.C. Psarras, S. Liguori, ÒAssessment of reasonable opportunities for direct air captureÓ,
Environmental Research Letters 12 (2017) 065001. DOI:
10.1088/1748-9326/aa6de5. (It was invited)

3.    
A. Iulianelli, S. Liguori, J. Wilcox, A. Basile,
ÒAdvances on methane steam reforming to produce hydrogen through membrane
reactors technology: a reviewÓ, Catalysis
Reviews Science & Engineering, 58 (2016)
1-35, DOI:10.1080/01614940.2015.1099882.

4.    
A. Iulianelli, S. Liguori, Y.
Huang, A Basile, ÒModel biogas steam reforming in a
thin Pd-supported membrane reactor to generate clean
hydrogen for fuel cellsÓ, Journal of
Power Sources, 273 (2015) 25-32,
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.09.058.

5.    
S.
Liguori,
A. Iulianelli, F. Dalena,
P. Pinacci, F. Drago , M. Broglia, Y. Huang, A Basile,
ÒPerformance and long-term stability of Pd/PSS and Pd/Al₂O₃ membranes for hydrogen
separationÓ, Membranes, 4 (2014)
143-162, DOI: 10.3390/membranes4010143.

6.    
S.
Liguori,
A. Iulianelli, F. Dalena,
V. Piemonte, Y. Huang, A. Basile,
ÒMethanol steam reforming in an Al₂O₃ supported thin Pd-layer membrane reactor over Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃
catalystÓ, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 39 (2013) 18702-18710, DOI:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.11.113.

7.    
S. Liguori, M. Yuan, K. Lee, B. Anzelmo,
N. Buggy, T. Fuerst, D. Way, S. Paglieri,
J. Wilcox, ÒOpportunities and Challenges for Hydrogen Production/Separation via
Metallic MembranesÓ, Energy &
Environmental Science, in progress.

8.    
S. Liguori, K. Lee, J. Wilcox, ÒInnovative N₂-selective
metallic membranes for improving CO₂ capture technologyÓ Ó, Energy & Environmental Science, in
progress