PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers discover faster, more energy-efficient way to manufacture an industrially important chemical

Zirconium combined with silicon nitride enhances the conversion of propane — present in natural gas — needed to create in-demand plastic, polypropylene

Researchers discover faster, more energy-efficient way to manufacture an industrially important chemical
2024-07-24
(Press-News.org) Polypropylene is a common type of plastic found in many essential products used today, such as food containers and medical devices. Because polypropylene is so popular, demand is surging for a chemical used to make it. That chemical, propylene, can be produced from propane. Propane is a natural gas commonly used in barbeque grills.

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and Ames National Laboratory report a faster, more energy-efficient way to manufacture propylene than the process currently used.

Converting propane into propylene typically involves a metal catalyst like chromium or platinum on a support material, such as aluminum oxide or silicon dioxide. The catalyst speeds up the reaction. However, it also necessitates high operating temperatures and energy use.

“One person cannot do everything. This is really a team effort, and everyone brought their expertise to the table to achieve this goal.” — Max Delferro, Argonne chemist

In a collaborative project, scientists from Argonne and Ames found that zirconium combined with silicon nitride enhances the catalytic conversion of propane gas to propylene. It does so in a way that is faster-reacting and less toxic and uses less energy than other nonprecious metals, like chromium. It is also less expensive than precious metal catalysts like platinum.

This discovery also reveals a way to reduce the temperature of the catalytic process. In turn, this reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released. Carbon dioxide accounts for almost 80% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

Additionally, this research gives a glimpse into the reactivity achievable with other low-cost metals in the catalytic conversion of propane into propylene.

For some time, Argonne chemists David Kaphan and Max Delferro have been systematically studying how nontraditional surfaces influence and promote catalysis.

As lead researchers on this study, they wanted to understand how a nontraditional metal catalyst on a nontraditional type of support compares with traditionally used materials during the catalytic conversion of propane.

Catalyst support materials typically have high surface areas and help to distribute catalysts. They can also play an important role in promoting catalysis, as shown in this study.

The research team found that a zirconium catalyst on a silicon nitride support yielded significantly more active catalysis for the conversion of propane into propylene. Conversely, this was not the case with the silica support.

They also found that the silicon nitride support enabled catalysis in a way that’s faster and more energy efficient than with traditional metals on silica. As a catalyst support, silicon nitride can enhance chemical reactions on the surface of metals relative to more traditionally used oxides.

The scientists achieved catalytic conversion of propane at a temperature of 842 degrees F. This is slightly lower than the 1,022 degrees F typically required for catalysis using traditional materials.

Furthermore, when run at the same temperature as traditional catalysts for this transformation, the reaction rates were significantly faster than similar materials with oxide supports.

This discovery also offers proof that this concept can be generalized for other important reactions.

“This provides a window into nitride-supported metal reactivity. We see promise with the use of other transition metals where we can leverage this difference in the local environment of the nitride surface to enhance catalysis,” Kaphan said.

This research benefited from Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source (APS), a DOE Office of Science user facility. At beamline 10-BM, researchers used X-ray absorption spectroscopy to understand how the zirconium catalyst interaction with the nitride material differs from the oxide material.

Argonne researchers also collaborated with Frédéric Perras, a scientist at Ames National Laboratory, to gain a better understanding of the structure of the zirconium/silicon nitride catalyst. He used a dynamic nuclear polarization-enhanced nuclear magnetic resonance technique to analyze how silicon nitride reacts with metal sites.

“The composition on the surface of silicon nitride is largely unknown, which is what I found most exciting about this work,” said Perras, who is also an adjunct associate professor at Iowa State University.

The combination of material characterization techniques available at Argonne and Ames and the expertise of the people who worked on this paper is what contributed to the success of this experiment, according to Delferro.

“One person cannot do everything. This is really a team effort, and everyone brought their expertise to the table to achieve this goal,” he said.

A paper on the study was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. In addition to Delferro, Kaphan and Perras, authors include Joshua DeMuth, Yu Lim Kim, Jacklyn Hall, Zoha Syed, Kaixi Deng, Magali Ferrandon, A. Jeremy Kropf and Liu Cong.

Support for the research came from DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences, Catalysis Science program.

About the Advanced Photon Source

The U. S. Department of Energy Office of Science’s Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory is one of the world’s most productive X-ray light source facilities. The APS provides high-brightness X-ray beams to a diverse community of researchers in materials science, chemistry, condensed matter physics, the life and environmental sciences, and applied research. These X-rays are ideally suited for explorations of materials and biological structures; elemental distribution; chemical, magnetic, electronic states; and a wide range of technologically important engineering systems from batteries to fuel injector sprays, all of which are the foundations of our nation’s economic, technological, and physical well-being. Each year, more than 5,000 researchers use the APS to produce over 2,000 publications detailing impactful discoveries, and solve more vital biological protein structures than users of any other X-ray light source research facility. APS scientists and engineers innovate technology that is at the heart of advancing accelerator and light-source operations. This includes the insertion devices that produce extreme-brightness X-rays prized by researchers, lenses that focus the X-rays down to a few nanometers, instrumentation that maximizes the way the X-rays interact with samples being studied, and software that gathers and manages the massive quantity of data resulting from discovery research at the APS.

This research used resources of the Advanced Photon Source, a U.S. DOE Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology by conducting leading-edge basic and applied research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://​ener​gy​.gov/​s​c​ience.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Researchers discover faster, more energy-efficient way to manufacture an industrially important chemical Researchers discover faster, more energy-efficient way to manufacture an industrially important chemical 2 Researchers discover faster, more energy-efficient way to manufacture an industrially important chemical 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

AI model identifies certain breast tumor stages likely to progress to invasive cancer

2024-07-24
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a type of preinvasive tumor that sometimes progresses to a highly deadly form of breast cancer. It accounts for about 25 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses. Because it is difficult for clinicians to determine the type and stage of DCIS, patients with DCIS are often overtreated. To address this, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from MIT and ETH Zurich developed an AI model that can identify the different stages of DCIS from a cheap and easy-to-obtain breast tissue image. Their model shows that both the state and arrangement ...

Researchers are closing in on a mouse model for late-onset Alzheimer’s

2024-07-24
Mice don’t get Alzheimer’s—and while that’s good news for mice, it’s a big problem for biomedical researchers seeking to understand the disease and test new treatments. Now, researchers at The Jackson Laboratory are working to create the first strain of mice that’s genetically susceptible to late-onset Alzheimer’s, with potentially transformative implications for dementia research.  In humans, two of the defining traits of Alzheimer’s disease are amyloid plaques between brain cells, and tangles of tau proteins within neurons. In mice, however, intercellular ...

New analysis offers most comprehensive roadmap to date for more targeted Alzheimer’s research and drug discovery

2024-07-24
From studying the human genome, to analyzing the way proteins are encoded, or monitoring RNA expression, researchers are rapidly gaining a far richer understanding of the complex genetic and cellular mechanisms that underpin dementia. But there’s a catch: While new technologies are revealing myriad avenues for Alzheimer’s research, it’s impossible to know in advance which research pathways will lead to effective treatments. “We have countless potential targets, but we don’t know which ones to aim at,” said Greg Carter, the Bernard and Lusia Milch Endowed Chair at the ...

Hens blush when they are scared or excited

Hens blush when they are scared or excited
2024-07-24
Hens fluff their head feathers and blush to express different emotions and levels of excitement, according to a study publishing July 24, 2024, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Cécile Arnould and colleagues from INRAE and CNRS, France. Facial expressions are an important part of human communication that allow us to convey our emotions. Scientists have found similar signals of emotion in other mammals such as dogs, pigs and mice. Although birds can produce facial expressions by moving their head feathers and flushing their skin, it is unclear whether they express emotions in this way. To investigate, researchers filmed ...

Weibo posts illuminate public response to China’s three-child policy measures

Weibo posts illuminate public response to China’s three-child policy measures
2024-07-24
An analysis of comments on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo reveals trends in the public response to measures implemented to support China’s three-child policy, highlighting concerns about women’s rights and employment. Lijuan Peng of Zhejiang Gongshang University in Hangzhou, China, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on July 24, 2024. For decades, China’s one-child policy restricted most families to having just one child. In 2021, to combat a falling birthrate, China introduced its three-child policy, allowing couples to have up to three children. To help encourage childbirth, ...

Our ability to recognize music might not diminish with age, with older concert attendees identifying themes in music as well as younger participants

Our ability to recognize music might not diminish with age, with older concert attendees identifying themes in music as well as younger participants
2024-07-24
Our ability to recognize music might not diminish with age, with older concert attendees identifying themes in music as well as younger participants ### Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0305969 Article Title: Age and familiarity effects on musical memory Author Countries: Canada, UK Funding: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: this work was supported by BRZ’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grant. The funders had no role ...

The COVID-19 pandemic slowed progress towards health-related Sustainable Development Goals and increased inequalities

The COVID-19 pandemic slowed progress towards health-related Sustainable Development Goals and increased inequalities
2024-07-24
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly widened existing economic and health disparities between wealthy and low-income countries and slowed progress toward health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a new study published July 24, 2024, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Wanessa Miranda of Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and colleagues. The global SDGs were established in 2015 as a wide and integrated agenda with themes ranging from eradicating poverty and promoting well-being to addressing socioeconomic ...

Even people who harbor positive sentiments toward immigrants imagine immigrants' faces as less trustworthy and less competent than US citizens' faces

Even people who harbor positive sentiments toward immigrants imagine immigrants faces as less trustworthy and less competent than US citizens faces
2024-07-24
Even people who harbor positive sentiments toward immigrants imagine immigrants' faces as less trustworthy and less competent than US citizens' faces ### Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0306872 Article Title: Intergroup evaluative bias in facial representations of immigrants and citizens in the United States Author Countries: USA Funding: This work was facilitated by the National Science Foundation Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, grant #1764097 awarded to ART and grant #2215236 awarded to ...

Southern Ocean absorbing more CO2 than previously thought, study finds

Southern Ocean absorbing more CO2 than previously thought, study finds
2024-07-24
New research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) has found that the Southern Ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide (CO2) than previously thought. Using direct measurements of CO2 exchange, or fluxes, between the air and sea, the scientists found the ocean around Antarctica absorbs 25% more CO2 than previous indirect estimates based on shipboard data have suggested. The Southern Ocean plays a major role in absorbing CO2 emitted by human activities, a process vital for controlling the Earth's climate. However, there are big uncertainties ...

Saharan dust regulates hurricane rainfall

2024-07-24
Giant plumes of Sahara Desert dust that gust across the Atlantic can suppress hurricane formation over the ocean and affect weather in North America.  But thick dust plumes can also lead to heavier rainfall – and potentially more destruction – from landfalling storms, according to a July 24 study in Science Advances. The research shows a previously unknown relationship between hurricane rainfall and Saharan dust plumes.  “Surprisingly, the leading factor controlling hurricane precipitation is not, as traditionally thought, sea surface temperature or humidity in the atmosphere. Instead, it’s Sahara dust,” said the corresponding ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Researchers take broadband high-resolution frequency combs into the UV

Not going out is the “new normal” post-Covid, say experts

Study shows broader screening methods help prevent spread of dangerous fungal pathogen in hospitals

Research spotlight: Testing a model for depression care in Malawi using existing medical infrastructure

Depression care in low-income nations can improve overall health

The BMJ investigates dispute over US group’s involvement in WHO’s trans health guideline

Personal info and privacy control may be key to better visits with AI doctors

NIH study demonstrates long-term benefits of weight-loss surgery in young people

Sustained remission of diabetes and other obesity-related conditions found a decade after weight loss surgery in adolescence

Low-level lead poisoning is still pervasive in the US and globally

How researchers can maximize biological insights using animal-tracking devices

Research shows new method helps doctors safely remove dangerous heart infections without surgery

Rapid horizontal eye movement can improve stability in people with Parkinson’s

Study finds COVID-19 pandemic worsened patient safety measures

Costs still on the rise for drugs for neurological diseases

Large herbivores have lived in Yellowstone National Park for more than 2,000 years

Antarctic penguin colonies can be identified and tracked from tourists' photos, using a computer model to reconstruct the 3D scene

For patients with alcohol use disorder, exercise not only reduces alcohol dependence, but also improves mental and physical health, per systematic review

Bones from Tudor Mary Rose shipwreck suggest handedness might affect collarbone chemistry

Farewell frost! New surface prevents frost without heat

Similarities in brain development between marmosets and humans

Can we protect nerve cells from dying?

Why does Lake Geneva emit large quantities of CO2? UNIL scientists provide the answer and solve a scientific enigma

Double strike against blood cancer

Combining VR and non-invasive brain stimulation: a neurotechnology that boosts spatial memory without surgery

A rudimentary quantum network link between Dutch cities

Accounting for bias in medical data helps prevent AI from amplifying racial disparity

MD Anderson Research Highlights for October 30, 2024

Three Baycrest leaders named 2024 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: WXN’s Top 100 Award winners

Scientists uncover new mechanism in plant cold sensing

[Press-News.org] Researchers discover faster, more energy-efficient way to manufacture an industrially important chemical
Zirconium combined with silicon nitride enhances the conversion of propane — present in natural gas — needed to create in-demand plastic, polypropylene