Chemicals from heavy fuels in millisecond catalytic reactors

The role that millisecond catalytic reactors play on the development of the hydrogen economy is crucial because they have higher throughputs and smaller volumes than their traditional counter parts. Issues with the storage and production of hydrogen give an advantage to these reactors because their compact and small size makes them highly portable.; As with the development of any new technology challenges that threaten the operation of the millisecond catalytic reactor with liquid fuels were encountered. First, the autoignition of linear alkanes is higher than their boiling points. This makes it impossible to simply vaporize the fuel and mix it with air. Second, analyzing such a diverse range of products using gas chromatography is not possible with conventional equipment.; The first results of the especially engineered reactor show the successful partial oxidation of linear alkanes. Decane and hexadecane over rhodium catalysts produce synthesis gas with selectivities exceeding 80%. Experiments confirmed the highly tunable nature of the reactor. A fuel concentrated feed produces ethylene and alpha-olefins with high selectivities. A proposed mechanism and experimental results obtained suggest that these olefins are formed by homogeneous endothermic cracking.; A single fuel, decane, was used to study further the millisecond catalytic reactor versatility. Several operating conditions such as catalyst porosity, effect of wash-coat, addition of steam, and addition of hydrogen were studied. Rhodium, platinum, and platinum-rhodium mixtures were coated on supports of different porosity to determine the differences in metal reactivities. The results show that rhodium is the best catalyst for making hydrogen or synthesis gas and that adding steam improves its performance. The highest yields of ethylene and a-olefins were obtained using a platinum catalyst coated with a small amount of rhodium on the front face.; A rough economic analysis gives a sound idea of the potential that the millisecond catalytic reactor has for replacing conventional reactors. For ethylene production, the millisecond reactor is far more efficient than the conventional steam cracker requiring a reactor 20 times smaller for equal thoroughput.