Membrane Separations for Clean Energy Conversions
Simona Liguori – Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO
Research Assistant Professor – Colorado School of Mines 2016 – present
Physical Science Research Associate – Stanford University 2014 – 2016
Post Doc – Institute on Membrane Technology – ITM-CNR 2012 – 2014 Motivation and Research Interests:
In the view of a significant reduction of greenhouse gases emissions amidst fossil fuel exploitation, the use of sustainable energy sources are a mandatory option as well as the use of alternative fuels for the transportation sector. In this context a strong interest has been addressed towards the possible development of a global Ôhydrogen economyÕ, by considering hydrogen as the energy carrier of the future and as reliable fuel source for transportation. Among all of the different technologies to produce green and sustainable hydrogen, inorganic membrane reactors are a promising alternative to enable distributed and centralized production and separation of hydrogen, respectively.
Hydrogen can be generated using feedstock from renewable sources, such as biogas, biomethanol, bioethanol, and bioglycerol or from fossil fuel such as natural gas. In both cases, two streams are produced by performing the reforming reaction in the membrane reactor. One stream contains high-purity hydrogen, which can be directly fed to a PEM fuel cell or internal combustion engine, while the other stream is mainly composed of CO2, which can be easily separated and stored. An evident outcome of using a membrane reactor is emissions-free energy generation.
Inorganic membrane reactors are a clear example of process intensification and their utilization provides several other benefits when applied to chemical processes. Specifically, they are able to reduce the equipment footprint, energy consumption, and environmental impact of manufacturing processes. For these reasons, they may also be applied to NH3 production. They allow for performing the process at milder operating conditions than the conventional Haber-Bosch process and to produce ammonia on-site eliminating the need for the U.S. import of foreign ammonia. Specifically, for the first time it has been demonstrated that N2 permeates through metallic membranes by solution-diffusion and, by using the hydrogen as a sweep gas, it is feasible to produce NH3 at a lower operating pressure.
This new method to produce NH3 is highly significant as the current process is the second most energy-intensive chemical manufacturing process in the US and worldwide due to the harsh operating conditions.
In general, inorganic membranes have the potential to play a critical role in the area of clean energy conversion and the study of different materials through alloying is the key to reaching high membrane reactor performance.
In summary, my research is focused on:
á Hydrogen production by renewable sources or natural gas at lower operating conditions,
á NH3 production via an alternate route from the conventional Haber-Bosch process,
á manufacturing of membranes and the study of different materials through alloying to produce high-performing membranes,
á the direct capture of CO2 from a residue stream before it is released into the atmosphere.
Teaching Experience and Teaching Interests:
Sharing knowledge and communicating effectively is very important to me. I have served as a Teaching Assistant (TA) for Inorganic Chemistry courses for two years in Italy. Teaching is a very complex activity. It involves planning for learning, organizing materials, prioritizing ideas, interacting with students, learning to "monitor and adjust", "differentiate instruction" for students of various abilities, and learning how to accomplish goals that sometimes seem to be mutually exclusive, all while keeping "control" of a class and meeting the expectations of parents, administrators, and peers. Anyhow, I am always enthusiastic and passionate when I have to share my knowledge with student and when they are engaged during my lesson. I have had the opportunity to serve as mentor for two undergraduate students in Italy and one PhD student at Stanford and currently mentor a PhD student at the Colorado School of Mines.
Courses that I would be interested in teaching are fluid mechanics, transport phenomena, thermodynamics, energy conversion processes, and chemical kinetics.
Research Experience
I have been working on several fields on chemical engineering: reactor analysis and chemical kinetics, heat/mass transfer, and reaction/diffusion through catalysts and membranes.
During my PhD, my research focused on experimental and simulation analysis of reforming reactions of bio-fuels in both membrane and fixed-bed reactors for hydrogen production. Since completing my PhD, I have continued my research in membrane science and technology in my position as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Institute on Membrane Technology from 2012 to 2014 and as a Physical Science Research Associate at Stanford University from 2014 to 2016. I have been conducting research as a Research Assistant Professor with the Colorado School of Mines since June 2016 continuing my focus on membrane science and clean energy conversion processes.
Future Direction
As a faculty member I would like to continue applying membrane science and technology to different areas of engineering, as well as industrial applications. In particular, I would like to merge the knowledge that I obtained during my PhD and post-doctoral position: chemical engineering, and environmental and applied science. I believe that the synergy between the two fields can make feasible the reduction the greenhouse gases, above all CO2, by producing H2 and NH3 by means of an alternative device including a membrane reactor.
Although I only started working with the Colorado School of Mines in 2016, I have hit the ground running in terms of improving my knowledge base associated membrane separations. I have had the opportunity while at Mines to continue my collaborations with Prof. Jennifer Wilcox in addition to beginning collaborations with membrane expert, Professor Doug Way. I am currently working on the evaluation of the performance of a membrane reactor to produce NH3 at ambient pressure and by using a layer of catalyst deposited on the membrane surface (H2 permeates through the membrane and N2 is used a sweep-gas); NH3 production in a membrane reactor at low operating conditions compared to the Haber-Bosch process (opposite case: N2 permeates through the membrane and H2 is used a sweep-gas); H2 production and separation in Pd-alloys membrane reactor from reforming reactions; writing proposal for NSF, NineSigma, and RES Kaidi related to the H2 production and separation in membrane reactor technology from renewable and natural gas reforming, respectively; writing scientific articles and chapters.
Selected Publications:
1. B. Anzelmo, J. Wilcox, S. Liguori, ÒNatural gas steam reforming reaction at low temperature and pressure conditions for hydrogen production via Pd/PSS membrane reactorÓ, Journal of Membrane Science, 522 (2017) 343-350. DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2016.09.029 (Corresponding Author)
2. J. Wilcox, P.C. Psarras, S. Liguori, ÒAssessment of reasonable opportunities for direct air captureÓ, Environmental Research Letters 12 (2017) 065001. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/aa6de5. (It was invited)
3. A. Iulianelli, S. Liguori, J. Wilcox, A. Basile, ÒAdvances on methane steam reforming to produce hydrogen through membrane reactors technology: a reviewÓ, Catalysis Reviews Science & Engineering, 58 (2016) 1-35, DOI:10.1080/01614940.2015.1099882.
4. A. Iulianelli, S. Liguori, Y. Huang, A Basile, ÒModel biogas steam reforming in a thin Pd-supported membrane reactor to generate clean hydrogen for fuel cellsÓ, Journal of Power Sources, 273 (2015) 25-32, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.09.058.
5. S. Liguori, A. Iulianelli, F. Dalena, P. Pinacci, F. Drago , M. Broglia, Y. Huang, A Basile, ÒPerformance and long-term stability of Pd/PSS and Pd/Al2O3 membranes for hydrogen separationÓ, Membranes, 4 (2014) 143-162, DOI: 10.3390/membranes4010143.
6. S. Liguori, A. Iulianelli, F. Dalena, V. Piemonte, Y. Huang, A. Basile, ÒMethanol steam reforming in an Al2O3 supported thin Pd-layer membrane reactor over Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalystÓ, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 39 (2013) 18702-18710, DOI:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.11.113.
7. S. Liguori, M. Yuan, K. Lee, B. Anzelmo, N. Buggy, T. Fuerst, D. Way, S. Paglieri, J. Wilcox, ÒOpportunities and Challenges for Hydrogen Production/Separation via Metallic MembranesÓ, Energy & Environmental Science, in progress.
8. S. Liguori, K. Lee, J. Wilcox, ÒInnovative N2-selective metallic membranes for improving CO2 capture technologyÓ Ó, Energy & Environmental Science, in progress
See more of this Group/Topical: Meet the Faculty Candidate Poster Session - Sponsored by the Education Division