catalysis – Progress in Research

Studying catalytic mechanisms from an atomistic point of view

Posted on 15/12/202306/08/2024 by Erik Franco

A study conducted by the Department of Energy‘s ‘Laboratory of Catalysis and Catalytic Processes (LCCP)’ group at Politecnico di Milano has been selected as the front cover of the journal ChemCatChem. The article highlights the importance of describing the complex catalytic phenomena involved in pollutant (NO_x) abatement reactions from a molecular point of view.

For the first time ever, this study offers a theoretical understanding of the role of water in the NH3-SCR process: this is technologically relevant in the field of pollutant abatement because H2O is abundantly present as a reaction product.
Enrico Tronconi, co-author of the study

The study shows that the presence of water in the reduction loop of the NH₃-SCR redox mechanism changes the reaction environment at the molecular level. On the one hand, the addition of water in the system leads to a lowering of the activation energy of the reaction due to kinetically relevant enthalpy stabilisation effects of the transition state. On the other hand, the reduced mobility of the transition state leads to entropic penalties that lower the reaction speed.

Our research explores the engineering significance of an atomistic study of catalytic mechanisms, providing a detailed description of the elementary steps and molecular identities involved in reactions. These tools, in synergy with experimental work, play a major role in the optimisation and development of catalytic processes.
Matteo Maestri, co-author of the study

Read the study online

Exploring the properties of new catalytic reactors with structured conductive internals

Posted on 20/01/202306/08/2024 by Erik Franco

After more than 5 years of work, the INTENT project, which was hosted at the Politecnico di Milano’s Department of Energy and funded by an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), has achieved its main objectives: to explore the properties of new catalytic reactors with structured conductive internals and to demonstrate their potential applications in the intensification of chemical processes that are crucial to the energy transition.

A catalytic reactor is an appliance in which chemical reactions occur in ways and at speeds that are valuable for industry, thanks to the use of special materials called catalysts. The INTENT research team, coordinated by Professor Enrico Tronconi, has achieved significant results in this field of research, which will help to create a future of cleaner and more sustainable energy.

The project has already had an important impact:

the award of an ERC Proof of Concept Grant to the INSTANT project, which aims to utilise the results of INTENT for the industrialisation of an innovative compact reformer suitable to cogeneration systems (“combined heat and power”) for residential and small-scale uses;
the award of funding from the Ministry of Universities and Research to the projects BEATRICS (FARE) and PLUG-IN (PRIN 2020) on the basis of INTENT’s success;
the award of funding to the Horizon EU project EReTech and to an industry research project focussing on electrified methane reforming using the ohmic heating of structured catalysts, an innovative concept developed by INTENT;
the creation of a pilot plant at the Politecnico laboratories of the Bovisa campus with which to test INTENT’s new reactor concept in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis on a representative scale, a rarity in the academic field;
25 scientific publications in the principal journals of the fields of Chemical Engineering, Energy and Catalysis (listed on the website), a patent and numerous invites to present the results of INTENT at international conferences.

The project website

The results of the project

A new polimi study makes the cover of Catalysis Science and Technology

Posted on 29/10/202106/08/2024 by Erik Franco

A new study by Politecnico di Milano into the thermo-catalytic activation of CO₂ is the cover story of the latest edition of the Catalysis Science and Technology journal by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The article explains the work carried out by Professor Matteo Maestri’s team of the Catalysis and Catalytic Processes Laboratory of the Energy Department.

The document highlights how recycling carbon dioxide by reducing with hydrogen from renewable sources plays an important role in energy transition, to avoid accumulation of CO₂ in the atmosphere and to make it possible to synthesise high-energy-density fuels produced using renewable energy.

Catalysis is fundamental in this process. This review article attempts to fill in the gaps on this question, gathering and rationalising state-of-the-art literature, analysing and suggesting orientation and future challenges regarding the aspects of the catalytic mechanism and multiscale analyses from catalyser to reactor solutions.

This study is part of the ERC-SHAPE and MSCA-Biogas2Syngas projects.

The online study