(6ih) CO2 Utilization through Dry Reforming of Methane Reaction

The re-use of CO2 into value-added products is one of the most desired process pathways which have the potential to reduce carbon emissions of current processes. Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM) provides such a pathway to re-use CO2 by reacting it with methane to produce a valuable and versatile intermediate, Syngas. Syngas is a mixture of CO and H2 and is a raw material to produce various petrochemicals including fuels via Fischer-Tropsch. However, the DRM process suffers from three main challenges : low H2/CO ratio of produced syngas, high energy requirement and rapid catalyst deactivation. My PhD research aims to address these challenges at different scales. The first two problems deal with the DRM process. A Life-Cycle Analysis and Process Optimization was done which resulted in formulating process flow-sheets that can have lower CO2 emissions compared to existing processes as well as solve the low H2/CO ratio problem. Specifically, it was found that a post-DRM syngas ratio adjustment step to adjust H2/CO ratio, by removing CO resulted in a process with lower carbon footprint and lower operating costs compared to existing commercial processes. At the lower scale - catalyst scale, I have tested Nickel catalysts over-coated with Alumina layers via Atomic Layer Deposition technique. The catalyst testing experiments helped understand the effectiveness of the ALD overcoat to reduce coking and sintering of catalysts. Overall, this work addresses the major challenges of the DRM process and provides some plausible solutions that can be taken at the process level and the catalyst level to help achieve DRM at large scales.

Teaching Interests:

I have been a Teaching Assistant for the following undergraduate courses: Process Dynamics and Control, Chemical Kinetics and Reactor Design.