New Method
for Cleaner Diesel
Researchers from KU Leuven and Utrecht University have
discovered a new approach to the production of fuels. Their new method can be
used to produce much cleaner diesel. It can quickly be scaled up for industrial
use. In 5 to 10 years, we may see the first cars driven by this new clean
diesel.
The production of fuel involves the use of catalysts. These
substances trigger the chemical reactions that convert raw material into fuel.
In the case of diesel, small catalyst granules are added to the raw material to
sufficiently change the molecules of the raw material to produce useable fuel.
Catalysts can have one or more chemical functions. The catalyst
that was used for this particular study has two functions, represented by two
different materials: a metal (platinum) and a solid-state acid. During the
production process for diesel, the molecules bounce to and fro between the
metal and the acid. Each time a molecule comes into contact with one of the
materials, it changes a little bit. At the end of the process, the molecules
are ready to be used for diesel fuel.
The assumption has always been that the metal and the
solid-state acid in the catalyst should be as close together as possible. That
would speed up the production process by helping the molecules bounce to and
fro more quickly. Professor Johan Martens (KU Leuven) and Professor Krijn de
Jong (Utrecht University) have now discovered that this assumption is
incorrect. If the functions within a catalyst are nanometres apart, the process
yields better molecules for cleaner fuel.
“Our results are the exact opposite of what we had expected.
At first, we thought that the samples had been switched or that something was
wrong with our analysis”, says Professor Martens. “We repeated the experiments
three times, only to arrive at the same conclusion: the current theory is
wrong. There has to be a minimum distance between the functions within a
catalyst. This goes against what the industry has been doing for the past 50
years.”
The new technique can optimise quite a few molecules in
diesel. Cars that are driven by this clean diesel would emit far fewer
particulates and CO². The researchers believe that their method can be scaled
up for industrial use with relative ease, so the new diesel could be used in
cars in 5 to 10 years.
The new technique can be applied to petroleum-based fuels,
but also to renewable carbon from biomass.
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