Research
Research
Pyrolytic upgrading of methane to ethylene, aromatics and carbon materials
Methane is a cheap and abundant carbon feedstock which has the potential to become the source for lower olefins and aromatics in an atom- and energy-efficient way.[1] The Methane dehydroaromatization (MDA) and methane dehydrodimirization (MDD) reaction are especially suitable for this task, as methane transformation is achieved without any oxidants, resulting in excluding the greenhouse gas CO2 as a reaction product and instead producing hydrogen.[2]
Unfortunately, the catalyst (usually Mo/ZSM-5) for the MDA reaction suffers from rapid deactivation due to coking.[3] Fundamental insights into this process, e.g. the identification of the coking site, or the mechanism of coke formation are still missing which hinders the development of new more coke-resistant catalysts. In this project I aim to utilize and develop various operando techniques to gain a better understanding of the working catalyst (Figure 1). In the course of this project I plan to expand the set of investigated catalysts from the mostly used Mo/ZSM-5 catalyst to W/ZSM-5 and Fe/ZSM-5 which were shown to also have MDA activity.[4]
Figure 1: Schematic representation of the planned operando techniques.
In addition, I plan to develop a new set of metal oxide 8MR zeolite based catalyst for the MDD reaction and applying the same characterization techniques which were developed for the MDA reaction. This PhD project is funded by ARC CBBC.
[1] BP p.l.c., BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2018, 2018.
[2] E. T.C. Vogt, G. T. Whiting, A. Dutta Chowdhury, B. M. Weckhuysen in Adv. in Catal. Volume 58 (Ed.: F. C. e. Jentoft), Academic Press, Amsterdam, 2015, pp. 143–314.
[3] I. Vollmer, I. Yarulina, F. Kapteijn, J. Gascon, ChemCatChem 2019, 11, 39.
[4] B. M. Weckhuysen, D. Wang, M. P. Rosynek, J. H. Lunsford, J. Catal. 1998, 175, 347.
C.V.
C.V.
Education
March 2019 to present
PhD Candidate, Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group, Debye Institute for nanomaterials, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Supervisor(s): Prof. Dr. B.M. Weckhuysen, Dr. Robin Geitenbeek
2017 – 2018
Master Thesis, Chair of Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, Technical University Munich, Germany
Thesis title: “Structural and Biochemical Characterization of tRNA modifying Enzymes”
Supervisor(s): Dr. Eva Huber, Prof. Dr. Michael Groll
2017
Research Internship at University of Cape Town, Department of Chemical Engineering, Cape Town, South Africa
Project Title: “Design of solid catalysts for the co-activation of carbon dioxide and light alkanes”
Supervisor: Dr. Nico Fischer
2017
Research Internship at Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Department of Heterogenous Catalysis, Mülheim a.d. Ruhr, Germany
Project Title: “Design of solid catalysts for the co-activation of carbon dioxide and light alkanes”
Supervisor: Dr. Gonzalo Prieto
2014 – 2018
Master of Science in Chemistry, Technical University of Munich –Munich, Germany
Major: Inorganic Chemistry
Minor: Organic Chemistry
2011 – 2014
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Technical University of Munich –Munich, Germany
Thesis title: “Synthesis and characterization of a novel three-nuclear homogeneous photocatalyst [ReRu2] for CO2 reduction”
WACKER-Chair of Macromolecular Chemistry
Supervisor(s): Dr. Simon Meister, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Rieger
Professional Experience
2018
Intern, Integrated Lab Solutions GmbH, Berlin, Germany (Process engineering)
2016
Intern, Clariant AG, Heufeld, Germany (BU Catalysis – Syngas)