Liquid Fuels and Transportation
Our engineers are developing novel processes for clean production of liquid fuels for transportation. We are developing technologies for removing sulfur from gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and naphtha, and for synthesizing mixed alcohols and ethanol. Using attrition-resistant, cobalt- or iron-based Fischer-Tropsch catalysts, we are improving technologies for converting coal and biomass syngas into clean liquid fuels.
Many of our methods focus on removing contaminants from fuel streams, furthering national and worldwide goals for reducing tailpipe emissions.
Focus Areas
Capabilities and Expertise
- Catalyst and sorbent development
- Process development and scale-up
- Pyrolysis
Facilities and Instrumentation
- Micro-reactors (gas-solid reactions)
- Slurry reactors (gas-liquid-solid reactions)
- Fixed- and fluidized-bed, bench-scale reactors
- Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area
- Pore size distribution
- Attrition resistance
- Scanning electron microscopy
- Transmission electron microscopy
- Particle size distribution
- Thermogravimetric analysis (atmospheric and high pressure)
- Differential thermal analysis
- Differential scanning calorimetry
- Temperature-programmed reaction and temperature-programmed Desorption
- Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy
- X-ray diffraction
Key Patents
- U.S. Patent 7,259,286: Attrition resistant bulk iron catalysts and processes for preparing and using same
- U.S. Patent 6,306,793: Metal sulfide initiators for metal oxide sorbent regeneration
- U.S. Patent 5,972,835: Fluidizable particulate materials and methods of making same
- U.S. Patent 5,914,288: Metal sulfide initiators for sorbent regeneration
- U.S. Patent 5,798,088: Method for producing elemental sulfur from sulfur-containing gases
- U.S. Patent 5,714,431: Zinc titanate sorbents
- U.S. Patent 5,366,717: Method for producing elemental sulfur from sulfur-containing gases
- U.S. Patent 5,254,516: Fluidizable zinc titanate materials with high chemical reactivity and attrition