Electrochemical Glycerol Oxidation Using Transition Metal Oxide

Presenter

Quang Minh Vuong

Campus

UMass Amherst

Sponsor

Zhu Chen, Department of Chemical Engineering, UMass Amherst

Schedule

Session 1, 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board C31, Poster Showcase Room (163), Row 4 (C31-C40) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

Over the past few years, biodiesel production has increased significantly as the demand for alternative fuel sources increased. In the biodiesel manufacturing process, glycerol is produced as a byproduct, which increases the surplus amount of glycerol in the market over time. Therefore, upgrading glycerol to higher-value commodity chemicals via electrochemical methods is one of the strategies that could help minimize carbon emissions and expand the biodiesel manufacturing volume. Cobalt oxide (Co3O4) has been known as an active catalyst for the glycerol oxidation reaction. This material has a spinel structure that contains cobalt cations in tetrahedral and octahedral sites. However, there is a lack of research on the mechanism of the reaction and how metal cations occupying different sites can affect the performance of Co3O4. We aimed to understand the effect of Co3+ (octahedral site) and Co2+ (tetrahedral site) on glycerol oxidation. We modified Co3O4 with different metals (e.g., zinc and aluminum) that preferentially occupy the tetrahedral and octahedral sites. The catalyst activities were evaluated using continuous flow cells with a three-electrode configuration. Moreover, the change in catalyst and the surface species of the reaction can also be probed using in-situ Raman spectroscopy. The result of this study provides some insights and mechanistic information on glycerol oxidations and opens up a new strategy to design an effective catalyst for glycerol oxidation reaction using electrochemical methods.

Keywords

Electrocatalysis, Biomass Valorization, Sustainability

Research Area

Chemistry and Materials Science

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