Research Thrust Areas
I. Gasification
Develop an effective technology to partially oxidize biomass into a gaseous mixture of syngas consisting of H2, CO, CH4, and CO2. High-quality syngas can be further used for catalytic synthesis of liquid fuels and hydrogen production.
II. Nanocatalysts for Conversion of Syngas to Biofuel and Hydrogen
Development of mesoporous silica- encapsulated nanocatalysts followed by screening in a Si-microreactor. This technology will lead to new catalysts for gas to liquid and hydrogen production technologies.
III. High-purity hydrogen
Fuel processing and reforming for hydrogen production and separation as H2-fuel in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) applications. High-purity H2 is the fuel of choice in PEMFCs.