CO2 fixation, sequestration and utilization are critical to combatting climate change. Faculty in the Center for Renewable Energy within civil, environmental, mechanical, electrical, chemical, and nuclear engineering and chemistry are advancing research in these processes through their efforts. Among their specific expertise and interests are renewably-powered recycling of carbon dioxide, artificial photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide and water into hydrocarbon fuels, sustainable chemical synthesis, bioprocess modeling, and more. One ambitious research initiative has found that liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide droplets can be stabilized by particles creating emulsions that have several advantages for carbon dioxide sequestration in geologic formations or the deep oceans, and which can also be employed for enhanced oil recovery and other valuable applications. 

Research Highlights

  • Asst. Prof. Michael Ross and his lab group of students and postdocs found that metallic alloy nanoparticles absorb higher energies of light in research funded by the NSF and Office of Naval Research. This discovery could help expand the applications of light-absorbing nanoparticles, with implications for everything from Covid-19 testing applications to new ways to recycle CO2 into a renewable energy source. Read more in the article: Chemistry Lab Makes Scientific Discovery
  • Assistant Prof. Maria Carreon received an NSF CAREER Award of $538,659 for "Cold plasma intensified perovskite membrane technology for CO2 utilization,” a project aiming to reach energy-efficient and flexible chemical processing conditions. Plasma catalysis will be investigated as a more sustainable alternative to dry methane reforming. This technology could potentially expand employment and business opportunities in this field. Over the next five years, Prof. Carreon says that "specific emphasis will be given to the conversion of greenhouse gases such as CO2 and CH4.” Read more in the InsideLowell article, "Trahan Announces $1 million dollars in federal funding for UMass Lowell".

    • The Ryan Research Lab works in various interdisciplinary areas and includes research on liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide droplets, which are stabilized by particles to create emulsions that have several advantages for carbon dioxide sequestration in geologic formations or the deep oceans and can also be employed for enhanced oil recovery and other valuable applications.
    • The Energy & Combustion Research Laboratory (ECRL) is focused on developing solutions to the energy problems facing our world, exploring a variety of topics ranging from alternative fuels and novel thermodynamic cycles to combustion-assisted material synthesis.
    • The Re-Engineered Energy Laboratory (REng|Lab) conducts research involving novel approaches to utilize concentrated solar radiation and nonequilibrium plasmas for the conversion of low-value feedstock, such as carbon dioxide and methane, into added-value products.
    • The Sustainability and Reaction Engineering Laboratory (SuREL) focuses on utilizing both experimental and theoretical techniques to study modern energy and environmental problems. Key research expertise of this laboratory include high temperature pyrolysis, gasification, oxidation experiments, and molecular and detailed kinetic modeling.
    • The Multiphase and Reacting Flow Laboratory, led by Noah Van Dam, focuses on high-fidelity modeling of multiphase and reacting flows, and verification, validation and uncertainty quantification techniques for computational fluid dynamics models of complex flows.
    • The Carreon Research Group is aiming to understand the interaction of hydrogen with different catalysts, as different catalysts promote different reaction products for same feed gases. They reform carbon dioxide in presence of methane/hydrogen. The feed gases are excited to plasma using Radio Frequency waves.
    • The Ross Lab actively focuses on recycling CO2 into valuable products using renewably-powered electrocatalysis. This interdisciplinary strategy combines catalyst design, simulations, electrolyzers, and technoeconomic analysis to identify and convert CO2 in useful products for energy storage and chemical synthesis.
    • The “Virtual Lab” for Catalysis in Sustainability develops innovative strategies to produce renewable energy, fuel, chemicals, and energy storage solutions via the computational design of efficient thermo- and electro-catalytic processes.

    • Maria Carreon - plasma catalysis and interaction mechanisms between plasma, molten metals and porous materials; growth mechanisms of nanowires; porous crystalline membranes for chemical separations
    • Fanglin Che - machine learning-assisted multi-scale and multi-physics simulations for CO2 capture and conversion, electrocatalysis, plasma catalysis, and electric field-induced catalysis
    • Raj Kumar Gondle - coupled multiphase fluid flow and geomechanical modeling of carbon dioxide (CO2) injection in an unmineable coal seam at a field sequestration site
    • Zhiyong Gu - electrochemical reduction of CO2 (CO2RR)
    • Jayant Kumar - materials challenges to CO2 sequestration
    • Fuqiang Liu - electrochemical energy generation and storage, Solar energy conversion through photo-electrochemical reactions, Ion-conductive membranes for electrochemical systems, Nanostructured materials, CFD simulation of energy conversion devices
    • Michael Ross - CO2 recycling, renewable chemical synthesis, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis
    • David Ryan - ocean and geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide using particle stabilized emulsions
    • Jianqiang Wei - carbon-negative concrete, carbon curing, CO2 capture of cement composites
    • Dongming Xie - biomanufacturing with chemicals from fixed CO2