LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aim of the teaching is to provide the basic knowledge on the preparation, characterization and application of heterogeneous catalysts, also through practical laboratory experiences.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course the student will have to know the main methods of preparation and characterization of catalysts and be able to evaluate the influence of mass transfer phenomena on the reaction rate of heterogeneous catalytic reactions. Moreover during the laboratory activity the student will have to learn to work in a team and  to collaborate in drawing up reports on the activities carried out in the laboratory.

TEACHING METHODS

- Lectures (32 hours)

- Laboratory experiences (mandatory attendance) (26 hours). For each experience the student should write a short report and whitin the end of the course two full reports dealing with two experiences should be delivered by each working group as agreed with the teacher.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Introduction: Fundamentals e background of catalysis: Catalysts, thermodynamic equilibrium, reaction rate, activation energy and Arrhenius equation, industrial reactors. Industrial catalysts: Homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. Heterogeneous catalysts: redox catalysts, catalysts for gas and liquid phase oxidations, hydrogenation and dehydrogenation catalysts, acid-base catalysts, multifuctional catalysts. Examples of catalysis applied to the development of ecosustainable processes or in the pollutant control. Methods of catalysts preparation: Support and properties. Synthesis of supports and of bulk catalysts. Precipitation, sol-gel, hydrothermal synthesis, stabilization, shaping. Zeolite synthesis. Synthesis of Raney Catalysts. Scale-up of catalysts preparation. Preparation of supported catalysts, methods of deposition and support selection. Impregnation with and without interaction (incipient wetness, homogeneous precipitation, ion exchange, adsorption) Catalyst characterization: techniques of characterization: morphology and physical characteristics, bulk and surface characterizations, technological properties. Low temperature vapour adsorption and physi-adsorption, Hg intrusion porometry, microscopy, spectroscopic techniques, programmed temperature techniques (TPD, TPR, TPO, TG, DSC, DTA). Assessment of dispersed active sites by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or chemi-sorption. Experimental procedures to assess the catalytic activity. Reaction regimes and mass transport regimes in heterogeneous catalysis. Laboratory activities and examples: Synthesis of mesoporous alumina and evaluation of its zero charge point. Preparation of a supported catalyst: impregnation kinetics and dispersion. Characterization by electron microscopy (SEM, TEM) and physi-adsorption. Analysis of gas-solid catalytic systems: reactors, experimental methods for limiting conditions. Experimental planning for kinetic measurements, material balances e data acquisition. TON calculation and interpretation. Inter-phase and intra-particle gradients. Gas-liquid-solid catalytic systems. TOF and activation energy calculation and interpretation.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

D. Murzin, Engineering Catalysis. De Gruyter,  Berlin, Boston, 2013

D. Sanfilippo (ed.), The Catalytic Process from Laboratory to the Industrial Plant, Maraschi, Milano, 1994.

G. Bellussi (ed.), Material design for catalytic application, Maraschi, Milano, 1996

J.M.Thomas, W.J. Thomas, Principles and Practice of Heterogeneous Catalysis, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, 1996

R.J. Wijngaarden, A. Kronberg, K.R. Westerterp, Industrial catalysis: optimizing catalysts and processes, Wiley-VCH, 1998