CAREER: Design of Bifunctional Zeolite Catalysts for Ethanol Upgrading to Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Rare earth elements are important in many engineered applications, including in catalysis. This project will enable low-cost production of sustainable aviation fuel from renewable feedstocks using catalysts. This requires upgrading renewable feedstocks (e.g., ethanol produced from corn stover) over rare earth element-based catalysts.

Improving the selectivity of these catalysts will allow for low-cost production of these fuels. This will be accomplished in this project through the design of multifunctional rare earth catalysts. Educational activities will increase achievement and retention in graduate chemical engineering programs, integrate experimental catalysis research with undergraduate and graduate chemical engineering education, and broaden awareness of chemical engineering among K-12 students.

Rare earth elements in zeolites are an emerging class of materials with broad applications. Despite reports of their use in various chemistries, little is known regarding the local structure of these elements when they are present in the framework of zeolites. This hinders efforts to probe their functions in catalysis at the molecular level and to understand performance of bifunctional materials containing these elements.

This project will advance the state of the art by developing the first experimental evidence, through novel spectroscopic studies combined with computational studies, of the structure of yttrium atoms in zeolites. Kinetic and mechanistic studies of a model Meerwein-Pondorff-Verley reduction reaction (an essential step in the Lebedev reaction that converts ethanol to butadiene) will correlate the local structure of these atoms to their function as catalysts.

The role of volumetric active site concentration and zeolite crystal size on product selectivity will be determined. The studies included in this project will advance knowledge on industrially relevant routes from ethanol to sustainable aviation fuel. Research outputs include the development of in situ infrared methods for quantification of adsorbed intermediates at rare earth elements, novel solid state nuclear magnetic resonance methods, kinetic and mechanistic insight into alcohol upgrading chemistries, and catalyst design strategies towards production of higher olefins in ethanol to olefins catalysis.

The project will benefit undergraduate and graduate STEM programs through integration of experimental catalysis research with undergraduate and graduate chemical engineering education. The project will train graduate student and undergraduate student researchers in synthesis, characterization, and testing of catalysts. Student researchers will also participate in interdisciplinary design projects using new experimental apparatuses featuring in situ IR methods developed during this project.

These research efforts will be integrated with educational activities across the state of Alabama. A new math and coding bootcamp will be developed to boost achievement and retention of chemical and biological engineering graduate students, as well as students from nearby colleges. The development of new scientific demonstrations and lesson plans for educators throughout Alabama will be disseminated via the Scientific Research and Education Network (SCiREN).

Demonstrations and presentations regarding academic programs and research opportunities in chemical engineering will increase scientific literacy among local K-12 students.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.