Progress 09/01/07 to 08/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Major findings related to the catalyst formulations for a polymer electrolyte membrane reactor designed to electrochemically, partially hydrogenate vegetable oil to edible oil with low saturated and trans fat content were presented at the following conferences: Pacific Rim Meeting on Electrochemical and Solid-State Science (214th ECS Meeting) in Honolulu, Hawaii (October 12-17, 2008) and the 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA (November 17-21, 2008). Results underscoring the attractive performance characteristics of carbide and nitride based electrocatalysts and an assessment of the commercialization potential for the electrochemical hydrogenation were disseminated to the catalysis and electrochemistry communities. Recognizing the high societal costs of TFA consumption and the fact that these costs are often borne by governmental programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security disability, numerous legislative actions have been taken across cities, counties, and entire states to regulate the amount of TFAs utilized in the preparation of food products. Although TFA consumption is of course to some extent the result of customer choice, such legislation is often justified by the fact that consumers do not have access to information about how food is prepared at locations such as restaurants. Also recognizing the growing momentum to legislate the presence of TFAs in the food chain and growing customer awareness on the matter, the ability to produce adequate quantities of hydrogenated vegetable oil with low TFA content is a clear market need with direct economic benefits resulting from decreased incidence of CHD. PARTICIPANTS: A123Systems, Inc. Saemin Choi, Principal Investigator 3850 Research Park Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48108-2240 University of Michigan Professor Levi Thompson, Principal Investigator Department of Chemcial Engineering 2300 Hayward St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2137 TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
In this Phase II program, A123Systems, Inc. developed innovative electrocatalysts and membrane electrode assemblies that increase the hydrogenation rate and improve durability of state-of-the-art reactors without a sacrifice in product quality. These advances will increase the hydrogenation efficiency, limit total saturated fat content, and bring the cost of electrochemical hydrogenation into line with conventional processes. Significant progress has been made in Phase II where novel transition metal carbide based electrocatalyst formulations were identified that reduced the noble metal content of the cathode by up to 90% while maintaining the desirable (healthy) distribution of the hydrogenated oil. Assessment of durability of the electrochemical reactors has encountered some setbacks during the project period. The electrochemical hydrogenation reactor was set up at a temporary location in Prof. Thompson's lab at UM. There has not been any gas leaking related issues during the Phase II project. The catalysts are electrochemically stable enough to meet the durability target; however, heating the current system with H2 flow for ~1 month requires specific security evaluation and consideration. Hydrogen safety has always been our first priority for the operation of the electrochemical hydrogenation reactors. Accordingly, in the next phase of development, system demonstration and pilot scale-up will be carried out to advance development and demonstrate economic viability at locations such as the Hydrogen Energy Technology Laboratory (HETL) which is newly established in the Phoenix Memorial Institute at UM. In addition, we anticipate identifying strategic partners, and possibly negotiating a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with one of them during this stage of development. This MOA would identify responsibilities and cost sharing arrangements for the commercialization effort, and beyond. The list of potential partners is, we believe, long, and includes companies such as such as Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge and Cargill.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/01/07 to 08/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Major findings related to the catalyst formulations for a polymer electrolyte membrane reactor designed to electrochemically, partially hydrogenate vegetable oil to edible oil with low saturated and trans fat content were presented at the following conferences: Pacific Rim Meeting on Electrochemical and Solid-State Science (214 th ECS Meeting) in Honolulu, Hawaii (October 12-17, 2008) and the 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA (November 17-21, 2008). The oral presentations were given by the collaborators at the University of Michigan and focused on the most recent results from screening electrocatalysts based on nanostructured early transition metal carbides and nitrides, and comparisons of their electrochemical hydrogenation rates and selectivities to those of noble metal based catalysts such as Pd. Results underscoring the attractive performance characteristics of carbide and nitride based electrocatalysts and a preliminary assessment of the commercialization potential of our low cost electrochemical hydrogenation process for the production of oils with low concentrations of saturated and trans fats were disseminated to the catalysis and electrochemistry communities. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Saemin Choi, a Senior Research Scientist at A123 Systems, is the Principal Investigator for this Phase II project. Dr. Choi has over 10 years of experience in the formulation, characterization and evaluation of advanced catalyst systems for hydrocarbon conversion and fuel processing. Before joining A123Systems, he spent 6 years working for Visteon Corporation as an engineering manager leading the development of fuel processors for residential applications, and thermal and fuel systems for advanced powertrain systems including hybrids and fuel cell vehicles for global automotive OEMs. (Email:schoi@a123systems.com; Phone: 734-717-8247) The University of Michigan (UM) is a subcontractor to A123Systems and provided a series of molybdenum based catalysts that meet the key commercial catalyst properties. Dr. Levi Thompson, the Richard E. Balzhiser Professor of Chemical Engineering, has distinguished himself in research in the areas of nanostructured nitrides and carbides, micro-reactor and fuel cell systems, and fuel processing catalysts. He has authored or co-authored nearly 200 papers and presentations including an invited contribution on batteries for the World Book Encyclopedia, and has been awarded 10 patents. Dr. Levi Thompson directs the efforts to synthesize high surface area molybdenum based catalysts that meet the commercial requirements. (Email: ltt@umich.edu; Phone: 734-936-2015) Professor Peter Pintauro from Vanderbilt University serves as a consultant to A123Systems with regard to design and fabrication of the oil hydrogenation system, performance of the compositional analyses of the hydrogenated oil products, scaling up the PEM reactor, achieving target performance of the PEM reactor, and analyzing and interpreting the results. (Email: pn.pintauro@vanderbilt.edu; Phone: 615-343-3878) TARGET AUDIENCES: The primary goal of this project is to further develop materials and processes that significantly reduce the technical risk and improve the feasibility of commercially using the electrocatalytic technology to produce edible, partially hydrogenated oils (e.g. vegetable shortening) with low trans fatty acid contents. Partially hydrogenated oils are widely used in processed foods and commercial frying with a total market that exceeds 9 billion lbs of annual consumption and $40 billion revenue annually. Conventional catalytic hydrogenation processes result in the formation of trans fatty acids. Trans fatty acids have, in a number of research and epidemiological studies, been linked with significant increases in coronary heart disease (CHD). Successful achievement of the proposed goals in this project could lead to a substantial reduction in the more than 1 million deaths and nearly $120 billion spent annually in association with CHD. Accordingly, our major target audience is edible oil producers. We anticipate identifying strategic partners, and possibly negotiating a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with one of them during Phase III. This MOA would identify responsibilities and cost sharing arrangements for a Phase III effort, and beyond. The list of potential partners is, we believe, long, and includes companies such as such as Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge and Cargill. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The Phase II work for this year focused on screening and further optimizing the catalyst formulations to improve the edible oil hydrogenation activities and selectivities. Based on the results from Phase I, a series of early transition metal carbide materials (Mo2C, WC, NbC, VC) was evaluated as catalysts for the electrochemical hydrogenation of vegetable oil. In general, the bulk carbides were not as active as Pd black for oil hydrogenation. At similar degrees of hydrogenation (similar iodine values for the partially hydrogenated oil), Pd black tends to produce more saturated fats (stearic acids) and less trans fats (TFAs), while the carbides produced less saturated fats and slightly more TFAs. In order to generate an electrocatalyst capable of producing oils with low concentrations of saturated and trans fats, Pd black was either physically mixed with the carbides (e.g. Pd-WC) or dispersed onto high surface area carbide (e.g. Pd/WC). A Pd-WC physical mixture yielded comparable activities and selectivities to those of the Pd black. However, a 6 wt% Pd/WC catalyst possessed comparable activities to those of Pd and Pd-WC while producing ~50% less saturated fat and similar amounts of TFA at similar degrees of hydrogenation. It appears that we, using our electrocatalysts and process, will be able to eliminate the need for noble metals while improving the quality of the partially hydrogenated oil product. This key finding of Phase II was made possible by the funding from USDA and collaborations with the University of Michigan. This information will facilitate accurate and favorable cost estimates to help secure additional funding and private investments to advance commercialization of the electrochemical process. Currently, carbides are orders of magnitude less expensive than noble metals (e.g. Pd costs $6,000/kg and Tungsten $25/kg as of December 2008). The remainder of this Phase II effort will focus on scaling-up the electrochemical reactor and evaluating the durability of the membrane electrode assemblies (MEA). In particular, efforts will involve the fabrication of a larger format PEM reactor (upto 100 cm squared) to demonstrate the scalability of the electrochemical process. In addition, a 2 to 4 week continuous operation will be carried out to evaluate the durability requirements that meet the Phase II objectives.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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