MAE Speaker Series Seminar on Structured Catalysts and Reactors

Seminar Recording_Prof Isabella Nova and Prof Enrico Tronconi

Professor Isabella Nova and Professor Enrico Tronconi

Politecnico di Milano, Italy

This seminar will be chaired by A/P Li Hong.

Honeycomb monolith reactors have long dominated catalytic exhaust gas treatment and environmental applications; however, open-cell foams and additively manufactured Periodic Open Cellular Structures (POCS) have emerged as promising alternatives. Compared with conventional catalyst pellets, these structured systems provide enhanced control of mass, momentum, and heat transport, enabling intensified diffusion- and heat-transfer-limited processes in environmental catalysis, sustainable fuel production, and hydrogen energy systems, as well as emerging applications in process electrification for industrial decarbonization.

This lecture presents the evolution of structured catalysts and reactors, with perspectives from three decades of research at Politecnico di Milano. Experimental and computational results will be discussed, focusing on:

• Interphase mass and heat transfer in structured catalysts, from industrial monoliths for NH₃-SCR to foam catalysts for methane partial oxidation
• Trade-off between external mass transfer and pressure drop in foam and POCS catalysts
• Development of thermally conductive structured catalysts, including pilot-scale demonstrations of aluminium monoliths for o-xylene partial oxidation, copper foams for methane steam reforming, and aluminium POCS for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis
• Direct Joule heating of SiC foam and POCS catalysts for electrification of key endothermic reactions, including steam methane reforming, ammonia cracking, and Reverse Water Gas Shift