03/29/2021
By Sokny Long

The Francis College of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by Peng Yu on “Reaction Pathways and Kinetics of Reaction Coupling for Process Intensification.”

Ph.D. Candidate Name: Peng Yu
Defense Date: Monday, April 12, 2021
Time: 4 to 6 p.m. EST
Location: This will be a virtual defense via Zoom. Those interested in attending should contact Peng_Yu@student.uml.edu and committee chair, HsiWu_Wong@uml.edu, at least 24 hours prior to the defense to request access to the meeting.

Committee Chair/Advisor: Hsi-Wu Wong, Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Committee Members:

  • Zhiyong Gu, Professor, Chemical Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Lawrence Wolf, Assistant Professor, Chemistry Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Nan Yi, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering Department, University of New Hampshire

Abstract:
To improve process efficiency and safety and simultaneously reduce environment pollution and operation cost, the concept of process intensification has gain increased attention. Process intensification seeks to develop new strategies to integrate multiple processes into one with a smaller footprint or to optimize an existing process for higher throughput. In this dissertation, process intensification is investigated by coupling two complementary reactions. The first system investigated is the coupling of ethylbenzene dehydrogenation and nitrobenzene hydrogenation over MoO3 based catalysts. The reaction coupling concept is then extended into the emerging field of shale gas utilization, where four more reaction coupling schemes are further investigated: (1) coupling propane pyrolysis with a radical generating reaction (i.e., nitrobenzene pyrolysis to generate phenyl radicals); (2) catalytic reaction coupling of propane dehydrogenation and nitrobenzene hydrogenation over Pt/Al2O3 catalysts; (3) coupling of propane dehydrogenation and hydrogenation of biomass-derived cresol over bifunctional catalysts, and (4) oxidative dehydrogenation of propane facilitated by NOx. For each study, the reaction pathways and chemical kinetics are elucidated to obtain a fundamental understanding of the reaction system. Such knowledge will serve as the foundation of applying the reaction coupling concept to the development of future process intensification methods.

All are invited to attend remotely.