ÉcolepolytechniquefédéraledeLausanne(EPFL)Valais/WallisInstituteofChemicalSciencesandEngineering(ISIC)BasicScienceFaculty(SB)Energypolis,Ruedel’Industrie17,CH-1950Sion,Switzerland

ENERGYPOLISSEMINAR24.8.2016,13:00-14:00,ENERGYPOLISSion,4thfloor,Seminarroom

Uncovering the changes on Raney Ni properties

under Biomass upgrading reactions

JorgeA.Mendes-Burak

Max-Planck-InstitutfürKohlenforschungKaiser-Wilhelm-Platz145470Mülheim(Ruhr),Germany

Tobetterunderstandacatalystlargelyusedinindustrialprocesses,hereemployedinnewandrenewableapplications.DetailedstructuralandsurfaceanalysesofRaneyNiusedinthewoodcatalytic upstream and dehydrogenation of limonene process was performed. Severaltechniques as (1) X-ray diffraction (XRD), (2) X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), (3)transmissionelectronicmicroscopy(TEM),(4)energy-dispersiveX-rayspectroscopy(EDX),and(5)superconductingquantuminterferencedevice(SQUID)wereusedinordertogainin-depthinsightintotheremarkablematerialpropertieswhichconferRaneyNiexceptionaldurabilityintheprocesses.ThebulkpropertiesofRaneyNi,weremoreaffectedby thedehydrogenationprocess,presentingsignificantchanges, suchas fragmentationof theparticles, leaching,andloss of themagnetic properties. The catalyst surfacewashighly affectedbybothprocesses,leadingtoadecrease inthesurfacearea,theformationofathinfilmoforganicmaterialonthe catalyst surface, and the modification of the chemical composition. Notably, Raney Nicould be regenerated by a simple reactivation treatment (i.e., cooking the catalyst in 2-propanol at 180-200°C) or the stability was improved by the mixing of the solvents. Thechemicalandphysicalchangesofthesurfaceshowdistinguishingfeaturesthatareassociatedwiththechangesinselectivityobservedintheprocesses.MorerecentlystoragestudiesofthiscatalystinadifferentsolventhaveshowntheeffectsoftimeanddifferentsolventsfunctionalgroupsontheRaneyNiproprieties.

CV:Dr.JorgeA.Mendes-BurakBorninBrazil,JorgegraduatedinChemistry(BSc)fromtheStateUniversityofMaringá in 2012. His undergraduate research was in the field of biodieselproductionusingalternativerawmaterialsasmicroalgaeoilbyhomogeneousand heterogeneous catalysis. In 2014 he finished his MSc in chemicalengineeringanddevelopmentofchemicalprocessesattheFederalUniversityofSãoCarlos,withtheproject:SteamReformingofAceticAcidoverNi/Al2O3catalyst, studiesof reactions routes.He then joinedtheMaxPlanck InstituteKohlenforschung in Germany, where he obtained his PhD degree in 2017focusedonRaneyNistabilityandcharacterizationunderdifferentsystems.AtthemomentheisaPostdoctoralresearcherinthesameinstituteperformingoperandostudiesonRaneyNiagingbyXASandXRD.