RAPID Funded Projects

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Absorber-enhanced ammonia synthesis: Absorber performance optimization, de-risking and modeling using an existing 1kg/day prototype

Metal halide salts such as magnesium chloride have been demonstrated to be promising candidates for ammonia storage materials to enable applications such as intermittent energy storage, and distributed fertilizer production. Ammonia exiting a synthesis reactor can be separated from nitrogen and hydrogen by absorption into magnesium chloride.

Investigators

Alon McCormick

Partner Organizations

University of Minnesota

Focus Areas

Date approved

October 01, 2020
Current TRL
4

Energy Efficient Separations of Olefins and Paraffins through a membrane

Throughout the petrochemical and refining industry, the separation of olefins and paraffins is generally performed via distillation, a costly and capital intensive method, particularly for light olefins. This project uses a silver-incorporated custom amorphous fluoropolymer membrane to separate olefins and paraffins. Compared to previous attempts using facilitated transport membranes, this membrane has been shown to have very good longevity in laboratory settings and has been tested with reasonably-expected process poisons.

Investigators

Hannah Murnen
Chief Technology Officer

Partner Organizations

Compact Membrane Systems American Chemical Society (ACS)

Focus Areas

Date approved

November 01, 2017
Current TRL
4

Intensified Commercial Scale Production of Dispersants

This project will demonstrate conversion of a large-volume chemical commodities process from batch to continuous processing. It is focused to create an order of magnitude reduction in equipment size (and associated capital cost) by transitioning the traditionally batch production of dispersants, specifically succinimide dispersants, into a continuous process. Succinimide dispersants are a relatively large volume family of products that vary by molecular weight, and structure.

Investigators

Götz Veser
Professor of Chemical Engineering

Partner Organizations

University of Pittsburgh

Focus Areas

Date approved

November 01, 2017
Current TRL
4

Modular Conversion of Stranded Ethane to Liquid Fuels

Ethane can represent up to 20 vol.% of shale-gas, exceeding the 10 vol. % allowed in “pipeline-quality” natural gas. Each year, over 210 million barrels (liquid equivalent) of ethane are rejected in the lower 48 states. Upgrading low- to negative-value ethane to easily transportable liquid fuels is a promising solution to this supply glut. The key to this process is development of modular systems that can operate economically at stranded sites. Conventional gas-to-liquids (GTL) technologies face significant challenges such as high capital cost and limited efficiency.

Investigators

Fanxing Li
Associate Professor

Partner Organizations

North Carolina State University

Focus Areas

Date approved

November 01, 2017
Current TRL
3

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