High-Throughput Screening of Catalytic Materials for JP-8 Fuel Cracking to Liquefied Petroleum Gas
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High-Throughput Screening of Catalytic Materials for JP-8 Fuel Cracking to Liquefied Petroleum Gas John E. Bedenbaugh1,2, Jangam Ashok1, Andrew Chien1, Sungtak Kim1, Shahriar Salim1, Mary Glascock1 and Jochen Lauterbach1 1
SmartState South Carolina Center of Economic Excellence in the Strategic Approaches to the Generation of Electricity, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, U.S.A. 2 Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A. ABSTRACT A high-throughput methodology is applied for the discovery and optimization of novel catalyst formulations to convert readily available hydrocarbon-based JP-8 fuel directly into a lighter hydrocarbon product suitable for portable power applications utilizing LPG-powered fuel cells. In addition to catalytic cracking challenges, JP-8 cracking poses other challenges including high sulfur content (up to 3,000 ppmw) and significant concentration of aromatics, which are precursors to coking. An existing 16-channel high-throughput reactor system was modified for the JP-8 catalytic cracking studies. The catalyst support material was of primary importance in determining cracking activity. Alumina-based catalytic materials demonstrate the greatest activity for conversion of JP-8 to LPG during catalytic cracking at reactor temperatures above 600oC. This is attributed to the importance of acidic reaction sites within the structure of the catalytic support. The addition of noble metals to the alumina-based materials does not yield significant improvements in JP-8 conversion. INTRODUCTION Demand for the production of more portable power sources from suitable liquid sources, such as logistic fuels, is a critical need for military applications. In particular, the implementation of unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) powered fuel cells in remote regions necessitates production of LPG utilizing available military aviation fuel (JP-8) stocks. These drones derive power from fuel cells instead of batteries because of weight and charge advantages, and JP-8 serves as a logical choice as feedstock for military LPG production due to its availability. JP-8 fuel is considered at least as abundant as clean water on the battlefield. Specifically, JP-8 benefits from a widespread existing supply infrastructure and distribution network due to its role as the single battlefield fuel of NATO and the U.S. Military [1]. In this work, a high-throughput methodology is applied for the discovery and optimization of novel catalyst formulations to convert readily available hydrocarbon-based JP-8 fuel directly into a lighter hydrocarbon product, such as LPG, suitable for portable power applications. Within the past decade, the high-throughput approach has become widespread in the field of catalysis [2-4]. This project offers the chance for high-throughput to prove itself on a short time scale due to the need to develop a new material in a matter of months for a targeted application.
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