Intensified catalysis through combined 3D printing and ALD

The major part of industrially relevant chemical processes are based on the use of catalysts in order to achieve high production efficiency and high product selectivity. With the aid of catalysts, the activation barriers of chemical reactions are lowered and milder reaction conditions compared to non-catalytic processes can be applied. Heterogeneous catalysis, i.e. using solid materials which enhance the rates of chemical reactions, is the dominant sector of contemporary industrial catalysis. The great benefit of heterogeneous catalysis is the easy separation of the solid catalyst material from the reactive gas and liquid phases after the reaction, but two challenges are evident: the product selectivity and the strong coupling of intrinsic chemical kinetics and transport phenomena. The great revolution of chemical technology implies the use of renewable resources, such as forest biomass and agricultural waste, which requires development of new, multifunctional catalytic materials and structured, intensified chemical reactors. The INCAT project will focus on very advanced catalyst preparation techniques, such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) to design optimal metal nanoparticle structures and multimetallic catalysts. These catalyst materials will be implemented in sophisticated reactor elements, e.g. 3D printed structures, solid foams and microreactors to reach optimal reactor structures with thin catalyst layers which suppress the mass and heat transfer resistances and result in considerable process intensification compared to current catalyst and reactor structures (extrudates and packed beds). In a longer perspective, industrial applications of the tailored catalyst structures are expected in the production of basic chemicals and special products based on biomass resources. The project is a joint effort of two strong Finnish research groups at Aalto University (Catalysis) and at Åbo Akademi (Industrial chemistry and reaction engineering). The focus of the group at Aalto University will be on catalyst preparation and characterization techniques and the work at Åbo Akademi will concentrate on the implementation of the catalytic materials on 3D printed structures and solid foams.