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AssigneeThe Governors of the University of Alberta
InventorsJing-li Luo, Xian-zhu Fu, Nemanja Danilovic, Karl T. Chuang, Alan R. Sanger, Andrzej Krzywicki
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Anode catalysts for conversion of hydrocarbon feeds in solid oxide fuel cell membrane reactors. An anode catalyst may be a mixture of a metal with a metal oxide, for example a mixture of copper or copper-nickel alloy or copper-cobalt alloy with Cr2O3. Mixed oxides can be prepared by dissolving into water soluble salts of the different metals, chelating the metal ions with a chelating agent, neutralizing the solution, removing water by evaporation to form a gel which then is dried, and finally heating the dried gel to form a mixed oxide of the different metals. The chelating agent can be citrate ions, and ammonia can be added to the solution until the pH of the solution is about 8. The mixed oxide so formed then is reduced, for example by hydrogen, to form a composite comprising the metal (Cu, Cu—Co, Cu—Ni) and metal oxide, here Cr2O3. Typically, the composite oxides so formed comprise approximately spherical nanoparticles, and the reduced composites are nanoparticles comprising very small particles of the metal within a network of the oxide, Cr2O3.
An anode catalyst for conversion of alkanes with cogeneration of electrical power in a proton conducting fuel cell membrane reactor, wherein the fuel cell reactor has a proton conducting electrolyte membrane having an anode catalyst and a cathode catalyst on opposed sides of the electrolyte membrane, and current collectors to conduct electrical current between each of the anode and the cathode and an external circuit, the anode catalyst comprising a metal embedded within a metal oxide comprising Cr2O3, active for dehydrogenation of an alkane at the anode, the cathode having a catalyst for activation of oxygen reduction, so that the hydrocarbon feed is converted to a product formed by dehydrogenation of the alkane, and oxygen reacts at the cathode with protons conducted through the electrolyte and electrons conducted through the external circuit to form water.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.