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THE ROLE OF CATALYSIS AND REACTION ENGINEERING IN THE ENERGY ARENA
November 17, 2009 (3:30PM - 4:30PM)
- Speaker: Dion G. Vlachos (Department of Chemical Engineering and Center for Catalytic Science and Technology, University of Delaware)
- Location: 129 DeBartolo Hall
Global warming and emissions, such as particulates, and their ecosystem implications (e.g., ice melting in the poles and ocean level rise) are taking place beyond doubt and are causing increasing concerns worldwide. The rapidly increasing energy demand associated with the increase in population, especially in Asia, and the global economy, in conjunction with the declining energy reserves (of fossil fuels) require new strategies for production and utilization of energy. The recent energy crisis and skyrocketed values of crude oil drive intensive research on alternative and renewable fuels. This talk will mainly focus on emerging technologies and processes where catalysis and reaction engineering (CRE) can significantly contribute to solving the energy problem. Enhanced process efficiency via intensification and multifunctionalization, utilization of remote and offshore energy reserves, the hydrogen economy, and biomass conversion will be the major topics covered in this talk to illustrate how CRE can contribute to overcoming some of the challenges in the energy arena. Rational catalyst design, an integral part of advances in the field, will be illustrated in the case of ammonia decomposition.
