02/22/2024
By Cinamon Blair
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Seminar: Transitioning to Carbonless Energy: The Promise of Solid State Electrochemistry
Date: Friday, Feb. 23
Time: 1-1:50 p.m.
Location: DAN 220
Abstract
Incorporating more renewables into our energy mix is the central challenge that confronts our transition to a carbon free economy. Reversible solid oxide electrochemical cells (rSOCs) when operated alternately as fuel cell power systems and as electrolysis systems, can enable the incorporation and integration of far greater amounts of solar and wind energy into our power grid. As standalone systems, they can also function as distributed generation systems thereby decreasing our reliance on the grid. From the standpoint of a chemical/materials engineer, rSOCs constitute a technology platform which sits at the intersection of electrochemistry, functional materials, transport phenomena, reaction kinetics and thermodynamics. This talk will first focus on recent research results on rSOCs at the Solid State Ionics lab at Boston University leading to high performance mode switching operation at the single cell level. In the second part of the talk, we will summarize research results on the role played by topological features such as triple phase boundaries and two-phase boundaries in redox reactions at gas-solid interfaces, and the in- operando evolution of surface chemistry in rSOC oxygen electrodes. In the third part of the talk, a novel scheme to achieve reactive separation of hydrogen from hydrocarbon and/or waste feedstock at high purities, with simultaneous sequestration of carbon dioxide using passive high temperature electrochemical membranes will be described. We will conclude with a summary of future opportunities for research in solid state ionics for the mitigation of climate change.
Speaker’s Bio
Prof. Srikanth Gopalan serves on the faculty of Boston University where he has a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Division of Materials Science and Engineering since 2001. Previously he was a Senior Scientist in the Power Generation Division of Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation at the Science and Technology Center, Pittsburgh, PA. Prof. Gopalan’s research interests and expertise lie in the areas of solid state ionics and transport phenomena and thermodynamics in the solid state. His prior research has elucidated the role of point defect chemistry of perovskite and fluorite structured oxides in mass and charge transport in ceramics, and the role of oxide surfaces in electrocatalysis. He has also contributed to the understanding of mixed ionic and electronic conduction (MIECs) in the design functional electrodes for high temperature fuel cells, electrolyzers, and membrane reactors for the reactive separation of gases. More recently his research focus has been on reversible solid oxide cells (RSOCs) for grid scale storage of renewable energy. His research has been funded by the Department of Energy, Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Commission. He is a guest editor for the Journal of the Electrochemical Society and has played an advisory role for DOE’s Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Core Technology program. Prof. Gopalan received his BS from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India and his PhD from the University of Utah, both in Materials Science and Engineering.
For info: Alessandro_Sabato@uml.edu