COMPACT - Continuous Microsystem Production of Catalysts Technology
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bath
Department Name: Chemical Engineering
Abstract
Currently, there is outstanding world-leading nano-material science being developed in Europe and especially the UK. The growing understanding of the physical and chemical interactions at the nanoscale is constantly revealing novel materials with a wide range of applications from catalysis, drug delivery, sensors, etc. However, the full realisation of these materials and their potential impact is hindered by the lack of a manufacturing technology capable of their production in a continuous and reproducible manner in large scale. This Fellowship project, aligned with the EPSRC Manufacturing the Future theme, will deliver a transformative technology for the large production of the next generation of nano-structured materials and catalysts. Its impact will allow the fast and effective transfer of knowledge from lab research to industrial scale which is essential to enhance global life standards while providing competitive advantages to the UK.
Planned Impact
This proposal has been designed with impact at the core, focused on a transformational approach to manufacturing of catalysts and structured materials. It is expect to benefit the UK and international academic community, industry and manufacturing sectors. It will also bring a wide-range of societal benefits including environmental sustainability, economy and education. The Case for Support contains a detailed academic impact plan. The roadmap to promote and ensure these impacts is described in the Pathways to Impact. This section identifies the main beneficiaries beyond me as an EPSRC Early Career Fellow, and the scientific community:
Lead users: The development of the proposed micro-scale manufacturing technology capable of producing metal particles with the desired shape and size in a continuous, scalable and reproducible manner will transform the range of materials and catalysts available at a commercial scale. Its implementation will directly benefit materials and catalysts manufacturing companies (e.g. Johnson Matthey, Oxford Catalysts, Evonik, etc.) providing competitive advantages especially in terms of product quality and customisation. It will also directly impact the competitiveness of technology suppliers specialised in micro-scale systems by the adoption of the innovative engineering strategies developed in the project.
Additionally, the manufacturing capabilities gained from this project will directly benefit the chemical-reliant industry (chemical; e.g. BP, Dow Chemicals, Unilever and pharmaceutical; e.g. GSK, Novartis, Pfizer) where more than 95% of their processes are carried out in the presence of a catalyst. The fast transfer of cutting edge research advances into industry will undoubtedly have a great impact in the UK and global economy in the medium and long-term, supporting an industry which counts for 21% of the UK GDP and supports over 6 million jobs.
End users: The implementation of more active and more selective catalysts and the industrial adaptation of cutting-edge discoveries in nano-science will enable the technical viability of more environmentally friendly processes while presenting attractive economic benefits associated to the decrease of the capital investment on industrial processes (smaller reactors and separation units) and operation costs (low energy consumption and waste production) enhancing the competitiveness of UK chemistry-using sector in the global market.
This progress will consequently have a wide range of benefits for end users in areas of water treatment, energy, food industry, healthcare, plastic production, etc. These new sustainable technologies will have societal benefits such as the reduction of emissions of pollutants, sustainable social development, better use of resources, reduced environmental impact, etc., leading to an enhanced quality of life and welfare.
Education: This project will have a direct impact in the training and formation of all PhD students in my research group who will benefit from the expertise and capabilities gained during the project. Indirectly, it will also benefit all PhD students associated with the Centre of Doctoral Training in the Centre of Sustainable Chemical Technologies at Bath as well as other postgraduate students in the Department.
Additionally, aspects of this cutting-edge research will be implemented in the undergraduate teaching modules providing students with knowledge beyond traditional engineering and understanding of its impact in day-to-day applications.
The university outreach events and public engagement activities will further expand the impact of this research to school students and the public in general. Science promotion, awakening scientific vocations and nurturing of current and future scientists and engineers are amongst the expected benefits via education.
Lead users: The development of the proposed micro-scale manufacturing technology capable of producing metal particles with the desired shape and size in a continuous, scalable and reproducible manner will transform the range of materials and catalysts available at a commercial scale. Its implementation will directly benefit materials and catalysts manufacturing companies (e.g. Johnson Matthey, Oxford Catalysts, Evonik, etc.) providing competitive advantages especially in terms of product quality and customisation. It will also directly impact the competitiveness of technology suppliers specialised in micro-scale systems by the adoption of the innovative engineering strategies developed in the project.
Additionally, the manufacturing capabilities gained from this project will directly benefit the chemical-reliant industry (chemical; e.g. BP, Dow Chemicals, Unilever and pharmaceutical; e.g. GSK, Novartis, Pfizer) where more than 95% of their processes are carried out in the presence of a catalyst. The fast transfer of cutting edge research advances into industry will undoubtedly have a great impact in the UK and global economy in the medium and long-term, supporting an industry which counts for 21% of the UK GDP and supports over 6 million jobs.
End users: The implementation of more active and more selective catalysts and the industrial adaptation of cutting-edge discoveries in nano-science will enable the technical viability of more environmentally friendly processes while presenting attractive economic benefits associated to the decrease of the capital investment on industrial processes (smaller reactors and separation units) and operation costs (low energy consumption and waste production) enhancing the competitiveness of UK chemistry-using sector in the global market.
This progress will consequently have a wide range of benefits for end users in areas of water treatment, energy, food industry, healthcare, plastic production, etc. These new sustainable technologies will have societal benefits such as the reduction of emissions of pollutants, sustainable social development, better use of resources, reduced environmental impact, etc., leading to an enhanced quality of life and welfare.
Education: This project will have a direct impact in the training and formation of all PhD students in my research group who will benefit from the expertise and capabilities gained during the project. Indirectly, it will also benefit all PhD students associated with the Centre of Doctoral Training in the Centre of Sustainable Chemical Technologies at Bath as well as other postgraduate students in the Department.
Additionally, aspects of this cutting-edge research will be implemented in the undergraduate teaching modules providing students with knowledge beyond traditional engineering and understanding of its impact in day-to-day applications.
The university outreach events and public engagement activities will further expand the impact of this research to school students and the public in general. Science promotion, awakening scientific vocations and nurturing of current and future scientists and engineers are amongst the expected benefits via education.
Organisations
- University of Bath (Lead Research Organisation)
- King Juan Carlos University (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW (Collaboration)
- Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) (Collaboration)
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) (Collaboration)
- Johnson Matthey (United Kingdom) (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- Research Complex at Harwell (Project Partner)
- University of Cambridge (Fellow)
People |
ORCID iD |
Laura Torrente Murciano (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
López J
(2015)
The prevalence of surface oxygen vacancies over the mobility of bulk oxygen in nanostructured ceria for the total toluene oxidation
in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
Bell T
(2015)
Single-step synthesis of nanostructured ?-alumina with solvent reusability to maximise yield and morphological purity
in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Al-Janabi N
(2015)
Mapping the Cu-BTC metal-organic framework (HKUST-1) stability envelope in the presence of water vapour for CO2 adsorption from flue gases
in Chemical Engineering Journal
Hill A
(2015)
Low temperature H2 production from ammonia using ruthenium-based catalysts: Synergetic effect of promoter and support
in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
Puértolas B
(2015)
In-situ synthesis of hydrogen peroxide in tandem with selective oxidation reactions: A mini-review
in Catalysis Today
Torrente-Murciano L
(2015)
Effect of nanostructured support on the WGSR activity of Pt/CeO2 catalysts
in Catalysis Communications
Description | Metal nanoparticles have unique chemical and physical properties with a wide range of applications from catalysis, bio-medicine, imaging, energy conversion, etc. However, their deployment in real world applications is limited by the lack of manufacturing process able to produce them in large scale with control size. This project contributed to the creation of such manufacturing technology by the development of bespoke microreactors guided by fluid dynamic simulation to understand the mixing in these reactors. As a result, we have demonstrated that the size and distribution of metal nanoparticles is directly related to the early degree of mixing during their synthesis. This finding has profound implications providing a shift in the way that nanomaterial synthetic routes are developed, demonstrating the importance of developing new chemical synthetic routes and reactors simultaneously. |
Exploitation Route | Over the last years, there has been an increase in the use of flow reactors for the synthesis of nanomaterials. The outcomes of this project are contributing to further advances in the field, in particular, to the use of flow set-ups for the understanding of early-stages mechanistic steps (in the range of microseconds), previously unattained in conventional batch reactors, but also the development of data-rich systems for the implementation of artificial intelligence approaches for the synthesis of nanomaterials. |
Sectors | Chemicals Energy Environment Healthcare Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology |
Description | Dial-a-particle: model-driven self-optimised manufacturing platform of nanoparticles |
Amount | £727,398 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/V025759/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 03/2024 |
Description | Enabling industrial deployment of deep eutectic solvents through manufacturing tools |
Amount | £465,240 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/S021019/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2019 |
End | 12/2022 |
Description | Programme Grant |
Amount | £4,837,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/P02081X/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2017 |
End | 06/2022 |
Description | Christos Markides |
Organisation | Imperial College London |
Department | Department of Chemical Engineering |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | The outcomes of this project enable the start of a collaboration for the production of nanofluids and its further funding by EPSRC |
Collaborator Contribution | Exploration and simulation of nanofluids to reduce the CO2 emissions in the UK chemical industry |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary and multi-site collaboration |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Jeremy Baumberg |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Cavendish Laboratory |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | This project is enabling a collaboration to provide metal nanoparticles with tuneable sizes for the development of responsive functional polymers |
Collaborator Contribution | They are opening up new applications for these nanoparticles |
Impact | This is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between physics and engineering. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Johnson Matthey |
Organisation | Johnson Matthey |
Department | Johnson Matthey Catalysts |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We are providing a new technology ofr the manufacturing of taylor catalysts with control on nanoparticle size and dispersity. |
Collaborator Contribution | Advice Industrial expertise Steering direction of research |
Impact | JM has strongly supported our latest proposal for the renewal of the NanoCDT in Cambridge |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Justin Hargreaves |
Organisation | University of Glasgow |
Department | Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | The understanding of new catalytic concepts developed during this project has been used to establish this new collaboration about N-activation systems where both groups are developing new sustainable catalysts for ammonia decomposition. |
Collaborator Contribution | They have expertise on nitrogen activation catalytic system, a complementary area to our own catalytic systems. |
Impact | I have participated in a symposium organised by Dr Hargreaves at the University of Glasgow. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Karina Mathisen |
Organisation | Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) |
Department | Department of Chemistry |
Country | Norway |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Provision of materials as well as characterisation and catalytic tests |
Collaborator Contribution | Deep understanding of the relationship between metal components in catalysts via characterisation using XAS |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary collaboration |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Karina Mathisen (NTNU, Norway) |
Organisation | Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) |
Country | Norway |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Exchange of materials to test their activity in the ammonia decomposition reaction |
Collaborator Contribution | Access to new materials Access to advanced synchrotron based characterisation techniques to understand the mechanism of reaction |
Impact | Materials science, chemistry and engineering |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Michael DeVolder |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Institute for Manufacturing |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Share of characterisation equipment and skills Knowledge on material synthesis, specially nanostructured ceramic materials |
Collaborator Contribution | Share of characterisation equipment and skills Knowledge on battery testing |
Impact | Mulstidisciplinary collaboration including manufacturing, chemistry and chemical engineering |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Prof Javier Marugan (URJC, Spain) |
Organisation | King Juan Carlos University |
Country | Spain |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Our group has hosted a post-doctoral researcher from Prof Marugán's group (Dr Cintia Casado) during 2 summers (2016 and 2020). We have provided training and development in the areas of reactor design and modelling. |
Collaborator Contribution | Dr Casado's visits have had a profound impact on our expertise, leading to an onset of our interest in coupling fluid dynamic simulations and population balance to achieve predictive capabilities in the synthesis of metal nanoparticles in flow reactors. |
Impact | This collaboration has resulted in a publication in the Chemical Engineering Journal (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2023.147684) where we brought together our complementary expertise in fluid dynamics and population balance disciplines. In addition, this collaboration has led to a Marie Curie Industrial Doctorate Training Account (REWATERGY) where we have trained 8 PhD students in the nexus of water-energy. Two of these students were graduated in Cambridge in collaborations with a wastewater company (Aqualia, Spain) and a materials atom layer deposition start-up (Delft IMP, The Netherlands). |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Tomas Garcia |
Organisation | Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) |
Department | Institute of Carboquímica |
Country | Spain |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Provided materials for catalytic testing |
Collaborator Contribution | Provided catalytic information of novel materials synthesised in the group. They also provided expertise in the advanced characterisation of materials. |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary collaboration, bringing material development and oxidation catalysis with engineering approaches |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | Scientific Workshop - Manufacturing of materials in flow |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | I organised a workshop entitled "Manufacturing of materials in flow" at the University of Cambridge (UK) on the 22nd-24th September 2019. The main aim was to showcase the activities of the group directly related to this Fellowship project to leading research groups in the field as well as industry. The workshop was organised as a networking activity to discuss different approaches, share research outputs and explore future avenues. The discussion was divided into 4 themes: i. Manufacturing of materials in flow ii. Understanding mechanism of formation of nanoparticles iii. Novel flow device designs iv. In-situ characterisation and automatization (including machine learning) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |