Forced dynamic reactor operation to enhance methane partial oxidation and propylene ammoxidation rates and product selectivities
On Friday, March 20 at 2:00 pm, the seminar entitled“Forced dynamic reactor operation to enhance methane partial oxidation and propylene ammoxidation rates and product selectivities”will take place in the Sala Consiglio of the EN:Lab building at the Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano (Bovisa Campus, Milan – Via La Masa, Building BL31, third floor, room 018). The seminar will be delivered by Professor William Epling(University of Virginia).
The seminar addresses the transition from large-scale chemical production, constrained to steady-state operation, to distributed and flexible models capable of valorizing local resources such as biomass and biogas. Within this framework, Forced Dynamic Operation (FDO) is introduced as a strategy based on the periodic modulation of reaction conditions (cycle period and duty cycle) to enhance reaction rates, selectivity, and catalyst stability.
Two case studies will be presented: methane partial oxidation over Pt/Al₂O₃, where cyclic operation increases hydrogen production compared to steady-state conditions, and propylene ammoxidation over bismuth–molybdate catalysts, in which dynamic oxygen storage enables higher acrylonitrile yields. The findings highlight the industrial potential of dynamically operated reactors for more sustainable and decentralized chemical manufacturing.
