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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Preparation Of Mesoporous Silica Supported Ruthenium Oxides And The Application And Kinetic Study In The Catalysis Of Water Oxidation, Yang Zhang Oct 2013

Preparation Of Mesoporous Silica Supported Ruthenium Oxides And The Application And Kinetic Study In The Catalysis Of Water Oxidation, Yang Zhang

Open Access Dissertations

Photo-induced water splitting of water into H2 and O2 has been a major focus in the development of clean and renewable energy. The development of viable and efficient catalysts that facilitates O2 production remains the major challenge in the study of the corresponding half-reaction of water oxidation. There are plenty of metal oxides reported active in the catalysis of water oxidation. However, several important performance bench marks of those materials, such as the non-stoichiometric production of O2, slow reaction rate and/or low quantum efficiency, remain to be improved.

Ruthenium oxide (RuO2) has long been known as one of the most …


High-Pressure Vapor-Phase Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation Of Lignin-Derived Compounds To Hydrocarbons On Bimetallic Catalysts In The Range Of 0.2-2.4 Mpa., Sara Lynn Yohe Oct 2013

High-Pressure Vapor-Phase Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation Of Lignin-Derived Compounds To Hydrocarbons On Bimetallic Catalysts In The Range Of 0.2-2.4 Mpa., Sara Lynn Yohe

Open Access Dissertations

Biomass, as the only renewable source of carbon, presents a sustainable alternative to liquid fossil fuels for the production of renewable transportation fuels and chemicals. The lignin portion of biomass poses a significant challenge in the upgrading and conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to fuels and chemicals, and in many current biorefineries is not utilized. However, the lignin fraction is a valuable feedstock due to its aromatic structure, lower O:C ratio than cellulose and hemicellulose, and high energy content (up to 40%) and weight fraction (average 25 wt%) of biomass. Several processes (including fast-pyrolysis, fast-hydropyrolysis, and liquid phase processing) are able …


Effect Of Nanoparticle Size, Support, And Potassium Dopant On Ruthenium Activity For Levulinic Acid (La) Hydrogenation To Γ-Valerolactone (Gvl), Shuo Cao Jan 2013

Effect Of Nanoparticle Size, Support, And Potassium Dopant On Ruthenium Activity For Levulinic Acid (La) Hydrogenation To Γ-Valerolactone (Gvl), Shuo Cao

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to study the effect of nano-particle size, support and potassium dopant on ruthenium activity on the levulinic acid (LA) hydrogenation to ã-valeroactone (GVL).In hydrogenation reaction, H2 as the gas phase reactant reacts with the metal atoms at the surface of particle size, thus a high level of metal dispersion is critical to maximize the amount of atoms on the surface. This reaction has been widely investigated by varied metal supported catalysts and proved that Ru is the most active metal for it. However, most of researchers only focused on the reaction pathway, rather than …


Model Pt- And Pd-Based Electrocatalysts For Low Temperature Fuel Cells Applications, Selasi Ofoe Blavo Jan 2013

Model Pt- And Pd-Based Electrocatalysts For Low Temperature Fuel Cells Applications, Selasi Ofoe Blavo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the search for alternative energy technologies, low temperature fuel cells continue to feature as technologies with the most promise for mass commercialization. Among the low temperature fuel cells, alkaline and proton exchange membrane fuel cells are the most popular. Alkaline fuel cells have typically been used for water generation as well as auxiliary power for space shuttles. Their bulkiness however makes them undesirable for other applications, especially in automobiles, where there is a great demand for alternative technologies to internal combustion engines. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells on the other hand possess numerous qualities including their compact size, high …