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Chemical and Biological Engineering News

2006

OCTOBER 1, 2006

DOE FUNDS CATALYSIS SCIENCE INITIATIVE
With $1.6 million in funding over the next three years, Chemical and Biological Engineering Professors James Dumesic and Manos Mavrikakis will work with researchers from the University of Delaware and the University of Texas at Austin on a catalysis science initiative. The research project will refine the design of catalysts while at the same time develop new technologies that could lead to alternative fuels, the improvement of fuel cells, and a decrease in pollutants. The team is working to enhance selectivity by design through the integration of four critical components: theory and modeling; surface science; materials synthesis, characterization and scale-up; and catalyst and reactor dynamics and optimization. Technologies being developed by the research team include ways to make alternative fuels and chemicals from biomass, or plant material or vegetation that can be used as a fuel or energy source; new catalysts for fuel cells that are more efficient and less costly than current materials; and the reduction of nitrogen oxides, primarily in diesel engines.

OCTOBER 1, 2006

TEAM SHEDS LIGHT ON SURFACE STRAIN, PLATINUM AND CO
The cover of the August issue of PCCP (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics) features work by Chemical and Biological Engineering Professor Manos Mavrikakis and his team. The research shows surface strain to play a major role in determining the rate limiting step and catalytic activity of platinum for CO oxidation. The team writes that first-principle methods in combination with microkinetic modeling can provide valuable information and insights regarding the coupling between catalytic reaction thermochemistry and kinetics, and mechanical and thermal phenomena, all co-existing under realistic catalytic conditions.

JULY 15, 2006
News of Professor James Dumesic's process for making hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose was carried by newspaper, web and television outlets around the world.

JULY 15, 2006
An article about $7.5 in venture funds that will help expand Virent Energy Systems notes Professor James Dumesic and former UW Researcher Randy Cortright.

JUNE 29, 2006
New process makes diesel fuel and industrial chemicals from simple sugar

MAY 11, 2006
Five faculty win National Science Foundation CAREER Awards

MAY 3, 2006
College of Engineering honors faculty and staff award recipients

MARCH 21, 2006
UW engineers squeeze secrets from proteins

MARCH 6, 2006
Liquid crystals show promise in controlling embryonic stem cells

2005

JULY 15, 2005

News of Chemical and Biological Engineering Professor James Dumesic's process for making a chemical intermediate called HMF (hydroxymethylfurfural) from fructose reported in Science was carried by newspaper, web and television outlets around the world. The report was featured in Chemical and Engineering News, People’s Daily Online, China; Wisconsin Radio Network, Nigerian Tribune, Nigeria; the Associated Press, and Discovery Channel to name a few.

Chemical and Biological Engineering Professor James Dumesic and former UW Researcher Randy Cortright (now at Virent Energy) are noted in a June 12 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article regarding $7.5 million in venture funds that will help expand the office and staff of Virent Energy Systems. Dumesic and Cortright formed Virent in 2002 based on a process that converts biomass to hydrogen.

2005

DECEMBER 1, 2005
Dancing bacteria? UW chemical and biological engineers explain choreography of bacteria

NOVEMBER 16, 2005
Lightfoot receives National Medal of Science

OCTOBER 4, 2005
Early proteins may have sprouted under thirsty conditions

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005
UW-Madison nanoscale research receives big boost

SPRING 2005
Chemical engineering professor emeritus dies

AUGUST 1, 2005
Lynn receives 3M award

JUNE 2, 2005
Green diesel: New process makes liquid transportation fuel from plants

JUNE 2, 2005
New technique provides path to manufacturing complex nano-electronic devices

MAY 16, 2005
College of Engineering faculty/staff awards

MAY 15, 2005
Nealey wins Arthur K. Doolittle Award

APRIL 18, 2005
Engineering students take top honors in business plan competition

JANUARY 24, 2005
Job market for engineering grads bouncing back

2004

NOVEMBER 8, 2004
CBE team designs improved catalysts for hydrogen chemistry

OCTOBER 18, 2004
College honors 17 at Oct. 22 Engineers' Day

SEPTEMBER 22, 2004
New UW-Madison NSF center investigates nanotechnology

SEPTEMBER 13, 2004
New faculty join college

AUGUST 26, 2004
Wisconsin engineers clear bottleneck in production of hydrogen

MAY 10, 2004
Simple sugars aid preservation of bacterial probiotics

MARCH 30, 2004
New storage method amplifies cells available for science

MARCH 29, 2004
Study:Mimicking viruses may provide new way to defeat them


Reactor made of gold tubes

Gold nanotubes in polycarbonate films for the investigation of catalytic reactions at gas-liquid phase boundaries

Fuel cells require hydrogen. Unfortunately, hydrogen produced by the usual process contains large amounts of carbon monoxide (CO), which has a negative effect on the function of the fuel cell and must be removed. Research has shown that gold nanoparticles on a support with a large surface area are good catalysts for the room-temperature oxidation of CO to CO2. But what is the gold doing in this process — and what is the role of the support? Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have developed a "membrane reactor", which allows them to examine the catalyst without its support.

What is the best way to study a catalyst made of nanoscopic particles in its "pure" state, without a support? The Team headed by James A. Dumesic had a clever idea. The researchers took a whisper-thin plastic membrane made of polycarbonate containing pores with a diameter of 220 nm. After the surface was specially prepared, gold was deposited onto the membrane. When the precious metal settled onto the walls of the tiny pores, pure gold nanotubes were formed. A subsequent etching process selectively removed the upper layer of the polycarbonate membrane, so that the gold nanotubes protruded from the surface. The researchers stretched this membrane between two chambers, one of which was used to admit gases, the other liquids. Indeed, just like gold nanoparticles, the gold nanotubes catalyzed the reaction of CO and O2 to form CO2.

Systematic examination of the reaction revealed the following: The catalytic activity is increased by the presence of water in the tubes, and is raised still further if the pH level is raised (the solution is made more alkaline). It is clear that hydroxyl groups (OH-), which come to the gold surface from basic materials or the dissociation of water molecules, facilitate the interaction between CO and O2, which seems to result in CO2 and peroxidic intermediates. This theory is supported by the fact that the reaction speeds for supported gold nanoparticles strongly depend on the type of material used for the support. Gold nanoparticles on oxide- containing supports in a damp atmosphere are most active, which fits the theory, since hydroxyl groups also occur under those conditions.

With hydrogen peroxide instead of oxygen as the oxidizing agent, the reaction runs better still, presumably because the bond between the two oxygen atoms in the former is easier to break.

Source:
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Press Release No. 09/2004
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43 (9)

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NEWS ARCHIVE

2003

DECEMBER 29, 2003
Team proves stretched surfaces make better catalysts

DECEMBER 26, 2003
New knight champions Dutch language, culture

SEPTEMBER 29, 2003
Ramanujam and Lynn named as two of the world'stop young innovators by Technology Review magazine

JULY 7, 2003
Freeze drying could improve supply of stem cells and platelets

JULY 23, 2003
Manufacturing technique offers possibilities for electronics industry

JULY 30, 2003
COE researcher engineers low-cost catalyst for hydrogen production, related discovery dramatically improves fuel cell hydrogen quality

MAY 26, 2003
Chemical Engineering changes name to Chemical and Biological Engineering

MAY 5, 2003
Engineering students win two places in the G. Steven Burrill Technology Business Plan Competition

MARCH 24, 2003
Sanders, Palecek, Shusta and Ceglarek win NSF CAREER awards

MARCH 10, 2003
Chemical engineers turn Wisconsin's waste into energy

2002

AUGUST 28, 2002
Chemical Engineering researchers make hydrogen from biomass

MARCH 4, 2002
Corn yields another useful product

JANUARY 21, 2002
Four COE Faculty earn NSF CAREER awards

2001

NOVEMBER 12, 2002
Portable chemical sensors generated from liquid crystals




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Date last modified: Thursday, 02-Aug-2007 07:55:30 CDT
Date created: 20-Feb-2004
Content by: che@che.wisc.edu

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