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E u r o p e a n C o n g r e s s o n
Advanced Chemistry
Advanced Chemistry 2018
J u l y 1 2 - 1 3 , 2 0 1 8
P a r i s , F r a n c e
Page 26
Journal of Organic & Inorganic Chemistry
ISSN: 2472-1123
I
n the United States and rest of the world, there are abundant shale
gas resources which are either physically or economically stranded.
Commercially, natural gas conversion to chemicals is based on an indirect
conversion route via syngas, followed by subsequent conversion processes
(methanol plus metholine to gasoline (MTG) process, or Fischer-Tropsch and
product refining). The indirect conversion processes are very capital intensive
and less energy efficient. This presentation emphasizes the direct conversion
of natural gas constituents (C
1
-C
3
) into aromatics and olefins using transition
metal promoted Zeolite Socony Mobil–5 (ZSM-5) catalysts. Catalyst activity,
selectivity, deactivation and regeneration of metal-promoted ZSM-5 zeolite
catalysts will be discussed. We will introduce a new approach that employs
non-thermal plasma to intensify catalytic reaction for natural gas conversion.
Under low reaction severity, this approach synergistically integrates plasma
reaction chemistry with novel heterogeneous catalysis that decouplesmethane
activation from catalytic surface reaction, shifting rate-determining step from
methane activation (cracking C-H bond) to surface C-C formation. One of the
focus areas of the research is to elucidate deactivation mechanism of Ga-
Pt prompted HZSM-5 and investigate feasibility of regenerating deactivated
catalysts for commercial viability. The variation in daily production volume and
the change in shale gas composition over time are hurdles to the engineering
design of large chemical plants using shale gas as feedstock. The process
intensified modular production at natural gas production site overcomes the
hurdles with low capital requirements and flexible deployment and operation.
Most importantly, the process intensification reduces energy consumption,
waste production, and ultimately resulting in cheaper and sustainable
technologies. This presentation includes direct natural gas conversion to
aromatics using low-temperature plasma catalytic rector, natural gas pyrolysis
for the production of CO
2
-free H
2
and carbon nanotubes. The challenge in
advance the fundamental science aspects presented in direct natural gas
conversion will be discussed.
Biography
Jianli (John) Hu, an experienced Scientist and Engineer, is a
Chair Professor and the Director of Center for Innovation in
Gas Research and Utilization at West Virginia University. As a
Director, he leads the creation of an interdisciplinary research
center related to natural gas utilization, which is a strategic area
of investment for WVU. He worked as a Director of Technology
Innovation at Koch Industries, where he was responsible for
developing future technological growth areas related to petro-
chemicals and catalytic and biological processing. He worked
as a Research Manager at Pacific Northwest National Labo-
ratory, undertaking DOE, DOD, and NASA projects. In the late
1990s, he served as a Lead Refinery Engineer for BP Oil. He has
been granted 25 U S patents and published more than 90 peer
reviewed journal and conference papers.
john.hu@mail.wvu.eduDirect non-oxidative conversion of shale gas to chemicals: selective
activation, catalyst regeneration and process intensification
Jianli (John) Hu
Center for Innovation in Gas Research and Utilization, West Virginia University, USA
Jianli (John) Hu, J Org Inorg Chem 2018, Volume: 4
DOI: 10.21767/2472-1123-C2-005