Events

ABSTRACT:  Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is an efficient electrochemical device that directly converts the chemical energy of a fuel into electricity. The conventional Ni/YSZ anode of SOFC accumulates carbon when operated in hydrocarbon fuels. The accumulated carbon degrades cell performance and eventually damages the anode microstructure.

The addition of carbon-tolerance enhancing materials (Cu, BaO) helps to reduce the carbon accumulation at Ni/YSZ anode and thereby improve cell performance.

ABSTRACT:  Consumption of fossil fuels along with accelerated deforestation is leading to a significant increase in concentration of greenhouse gases (e.g., CO₂) in the atmosphere. Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) is considered a promising alternative to lower the amount of CO₂ emissions. This talk will briefly discuss technical and environmental aspects of three particular cases in the context of CO₂ utilization (or/and conversion) and storage processes.

ABSTRACT:  This presentation describes my recent work  in developing small scale fluid devices, microfluidics, for energy applications and CO₂ sequestration. Microfluidics has emerged over the last two decades with applications in biomedical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and life sciences research.

ABSTRACT:  Converting sunlight into chemical energy via solar thermal reforming of natural gas is an attractive route to increase the energy content of methane, consequently reducing both natural gas consumption and greenhouse gases emission. The upgraded ²solar² fuel can be used for direct power generation in gas turbines or as a feedstock for chemical industry.

ABSTRACT:  Diminishing resources are creating a global paradigm change towards more efficient, sustainable and cleaner use of energy. The conversion of chemical energy in heterogeneous catalysis is at the centre of this rapidly growing field of energy science. Since our understanding of the elementary processes constituting the reaction steps is still in its infancy, macro-scale concepts are likely to be challenged by emerging insights on the atomic scale.

ABSTRACT: Crystallization is important for pharmaceuticals, amino acids, and proteins. The first part of this seminar will discuss the crystallization of small-molecule organic chemicals such as pharmaceuticals and amino acids. The crystal size distribution (CSD) can affect the efficacy of drug products (such as the amount of drug reaching the lungs from a nasal spray) as well as the efficiency of downstream processes such as filtration and milling.