New Perspectives on Catalytic Hydrogen Production by the Reforming, Partial Oxidation and Decomposition of Methane and Biogas

The article provides a short review on catalyst-based processes for the production of hydrogen starting from methane, both of fossil origin and from sustainable processes. The three main paths of steam- and dry-reforming, partial oxidation and thermo-catalytic decomposition are briefly introduced and compared, above all with reference to the latest publications available and to new catalysts which obey the criteria of lower environmental impact and minimize the content of critical raw materials. The novel strategies based on chemical looping with CO2 utilization, membrane separation, electrical-assisted (plasma and microwave) processes, multistage reactors and catalyst patterning are also illustrated as the most promising perspective for CH4 reforming, especially on small and medium scale. Although these strategies should only be considered at a limited level of technological readiness, research on these topics, including catalyst development and process optimization, represents the crucial challenge for the scientific community

One year of surgical mask testing at the University of Bologna labs:Lessons learned from data analysis

The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic highlighted the worldwide lack of surgical masks and personal protective equipment, which represent the main defense available against respiratory diseases as COVID-19. At the time, masks shortage was dramatic in Italy, the first European country seriously hit by the pandemic: aiming to address the emergency and to support the Italian industrial reconversion to the production of surgical masks, a multidisciplinary team of the University of Bologna organized a laboratory to test surgical masks according to European regulations. The group, driven by the expertise of chemical engineers, microbiologists, and occupational physicians, set-up the test lines to perform all the functional tests required. The laboratory started its activity on late March 2020, and as of the end of December of the same year 435 surgical mask prototypes were tested, with only 42 masks compliant to the European standard. From the analysis of the materials used, as well as of the production methods, it was found that a compliant surgical mask is most likely composed of three layers, a central meltblown filtration layer and two external spunbond comfort layers. An increase in the material thickness (grammage), or in the number of layers, does not improve the filtration efficiency, but leads to poor breathability, indicating that filtration depends not only on pure size exclusion, but other mechanisms are taking place (driven by electrostatic charge). The study critically reviewed the European standard procedures, identifying the weak aspects; among the others, the control of aerosol droplet size during the bacterial filtration test results to be crucial, since it can change the classification of a mask when its performance lies near to the limiting values of 95 or 98%

Fluidized bed reforming of methane by chemical looping with cerium oxide oxygen carriers

Methane reforming is an industrial process for hydrogen production having a high CO2 footprint that can be mitigated either by using renewable methane, or by recycling carbon dioxide from capture. Methane reforming assisted by an oxygen carrier was currently investigated, being an attractive option for production of hydrogen and carbon monoxide mixtures. The distinctive aspect of present research was the development of three dif-ferent granular materials based on CeO2 to be used in fluidized beds, obtained by pelle-tization and calcination at 900 and 1200 degrees C of CeO2 or CeO2/Al2O3 powder. Fluidization and abrasion tests were performed at cold and hot conditions, showing the best attrition re-sistance of materials calcined at the highest temperature, with attrition rate equal to 0.3 %/h. Conversely, thermogravimetric tests at 900 degrees C revealed the best performance of CeO2 granules sintered at lower temperature with respect to the others in terms of oxygen supply capacity, achieving 0.55 of conversion degree. Reforming and regeneration cycles were performed in fluidized bed at 940 degrees C with CeO2/Al2O3 granules, providing in-stantaneous methane conversion up to 37 %, high carrier conversion (0.87) and low carbon deposition (2.9 mg/g) during the reforming step.(c) 2023 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Pt and Pt/Sn carbonyl clusters as precursors for the synthesis of supported metal catalysts for the base-free oxidation of HMF

In the present work, Pt and Pt/Sn nanoparticles (NPs), synthesized from carbonyl cluster precursors were deposited on TiO2 and the resulting materials were tested as catalysts in selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). The work was mainly focused on the study of the formation of bimetallic or mixed oxide-metal nanoparticles on TiO2 starting with Pt/Sn carbonyl clusters and on the structure-activity relationship in the reaction of HMF oxidation in base-free conditions. The developed synthesis procedure allowed to obtain very small mono and bimetallic particles characterized by a narrow particle size distribution. Promising results in base-free FDCA production have been achieved using the prepared samples. In particular, the introduction of Sn in an equimolar amount with Pt improved the catalyst activity as well as its time stability upon operation, demonstrating that the modification of Pt electronic configuration by Sn is a key factor for the mastering of functional performances

Platinum carbonyl clusters stabilized by Sn(II)-based fragments: syntheses and structures of [Pt-6(CO)(6)(SnCl2)(2)(SnCl3)(4)](4-), [Pt-9(CO)(8)(SnCl2)(3)(SnCl3)(2)(Cl2SnOCOSnCl2)](4-) and [Pt-10(CO)(14){Cl2Sn(OH)SnCl2}(2)](2-)

The reaction of [Pt-15(CO)(30)](2-) with increasing amounts of SnCl2 affords [Pt-8(CO)(10)(SnCl2)(4)](2-) (2), [Pt-10(CO)(14){Cl2Sn(OH)SnCl2}(2)](2-) (5), [Pt-6(CO)(6)(SnCl2)(2)(SnCl3)(4)](4-) (3), [Pt-9(CO)(8)(SnCl2)(3)(SnCl3)(2)-(Cl2SnOCOSnCl2)](4-) (4) and [Pt-5(CO)(5){Cl2Sn(OR)SnCl2}(3)](3-) (R = H, Me, Et, and Pr-i) (1-R). 1-R and 2 have been previously described, whereas 3-5 are herein reported for the first time. The species 1-3 are the main products of the reaction under different experimental conditions, whereas 4 and 5 are by-products of the synthesis of 3 and 2, respectively. From a structural point of view, the clusters 1-5 all show a perfect segregation of the two metals, which are composed of a low valent Pt core decorated on the surface by Sn(II) fragments such as SnCl2, [SnCl3](-), [Cl2Sn(OH)SnCl2](-) and [Cl2SnOCOSnCl2](2-). These fragments behave as two electron donor ligands via each Sn-atom (and also the C-atom in the case of [Cl2SnOCOSnCl2](2-)). The [Cl2SnOCOSnCl2](2-) ligand is rather unique and may be viewed as a bis-stannyl-carboxylate, a carbon dioxide mu(3):k(3)-C, O, O'-CO2 or a carbonite ion [CO2](2-) stabilized by coordination to metal atoms. Compounds 1-5 have been fully characterised via IR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography and DFT calculations

One year of surgical mask testing at the University of Bologna labs: Lessons learned from data analysis

The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic highlighted the worldwide lack of surgical masks and personal protective equipment, which represent the main defense available against respiratory diseases as COVID-19. At the time, masks shortage was dramatic in Italy, the first European country seriously hit by the pandemic: aiming to address the emergency and to support the Italian industrial reconversion to the production of surgical masks, a multidisciplinary team of the University of Bologna organized a laboratory to test surgical masks according to European regulations. The group, driven by the expertise of chemical engineers, microbiologists, and occupational physicians, set-up the test lines to perform all the functional tests required. The laboratory started its activity on late March 2020, and as of the end of December of the same year 435 surgical mask prototypes were tested, with only 42 masks compliant to the European standard. From the analysis of the materials used, as well as of the production methods, it was found that a compliant surgical mask is most likely composed of three layers, a central meltblown filtration layer and two external spunbond comfort layers. An increase in the material thickness (grammage), or in the number of layers, does not improve the filtration efficiency, but leads to poor breathability, indicating that filtration depends not only on pure size exclusion, but other mechanisms are taking place (driven by electrostatic charge). The study critically reviewed the European standard procedures, identifying the weak aspects; among the others, the control of aerosol droplet size during the bacterial filtration test results to be crucial, since it can change the classification of a mask when its performance lies near to the limiting values of 95 or 98%