NEXTECH MATERIALS, LTD. — Department of Energy SBIR Phase II: 10c

Description

Biogas generation from the anaerobic decomposition of biological waste from municipal waste, farm waste, and waste-water treatment presents a renewable source of hydrocarbon feedstocks for fuels and chemical manufacturing. This market is projected to reach $33B in 2022. However, the majority of biogas currently generated is combusted to produce relatively low value products, like heat or electricity. To increase the valorization of biogas, it is important to find ways to make it more easily inserted into common chemical/fuel synthesis routes. Phase I of this effort resulted in a novel family high-performance catalysts for biogas steam reforming to synthesis gas and Fisher-Tropsch synthesis to liquid fuel. These catalysts achieve excellent heat transfer in reactors, reducing the energy requirement for biogas reforming, and more effectively dissipating heat from the exothermic Fischer-Tropsch reaction. A new coating technology, developed in this project, protects the support from corrosion and enhances catalyst adhesion. Phase I modeling and experimental results demonstrated proof of concept for the approach. Computational modeling confirmed the importance of thermal conductivity to reducing energy consumption of the steam reforming processes, while experimental efforts have demonstrated that surface modification of high thermal conductivity supports can fundamentally improve their performance in steam-reforming and FT conditions. Catalyst testing confirmed the performance the candidate coatings at atmospheric and elevated pressures. To complete the study, the support materials, protective coatings and catalyst materials were combined into composite pellets for packed bed tests, in which the catalyst activity met the predictions of the models, and achieved equivalent or superior performance of commercially available products, with 3X higher thermal conductivity. Process model developed for industrial reformers demonstrates economic advantage the experimental catalyst over conventional options. Extending the model predictions to full-scale reactor conditions, we anticipate that technology developed in this program will provide a drop-in solution for customers’ existing reactors, while consuming significantly less fuel during operation and achieving the same level of performance. In the Phase II effort, experiments using bench-scale reactors to evaluate catalyst thermal properties and validate modeling approaches. Resulting validated computational models of the Fischer-Tropsch and steam reforming reactions will be extended to industrial scale reactors, to predict commercial viability of the approach. In parallel, manufacturing studies of protective coatings and catalyst materials will be completed to confirm manufacturing cost models derived in Phase I and confirm the business model. Beyond biogas-to-liquids applications, the catalyst support technology has direct applicability in a range of chemical reactions, where heat transfer is a rate-limiting process. These include important reforming and oxidation reactions central to the chemicals, refining, and petrochemical industries.