Light alkanes, the main constituent of natural gas and shale gas, are deemed to be alternative sources to replace crude oil to produce chemicals and fuels. Direct non-oxidative alkane conversion has been recognized as a single-step technology that directly convert alkanes to olefins, higher hydrocarbons and hydrogen. Low alkane conversion, high energy input and low catalyst durability, due to endothermic reaction nature and coke formation, are main challenges. In this presentation, I would like to highlight our recent innovations in inorganic membrane reactors that solve the thermodynamic and kinetic challenges in alkane dehydrogenation to achieve high conversion, high product yield, negligible coke formation and system’s long-term stability. These consequences originate from the removal of hydrogen co-product by hydrogen separation membranes to right shift the reaction towards high conversion. The elimination of coke formation achieved via design of subnanometer catalysts and lowering operation temperature in the membrane reactor, which enables alkane activation and suppresses the following secondary and following on reaction steps towards coke formation. The developed membrane reactors show great economic viability for practical industrial applications.
Dongxia Liu earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Shandong University in China in 2000, followed by her M.S. degree from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2003. She completed her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Rochester in 2009. Afterward, she pursued a 2.5-year post doctoral position at the University of Minnesota. In 2012, she joined the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Maryland (UMD) as an assistant professor and was promoted to an associate professor in 2018 and to a full professor in 2022. In 2023, she joined Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware (UD) as a Robert K. Grasselli Professor.
Dongxia is leading the Materials Synthesis and Catalysis Lab at UD, targeting for controlling composition and constitution of nanostructured materials for catalyst, membrane and reactor technologies to address the challenging issues in renewable energy and chemicals production. She has authored more than 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and 12 issued/pending patents on these topics, and serves as the editor for Molecular Catalysis. Dongxia has won awards including the UMD’s Faculty-Student Research Award (FSRA) awards (2021 and 2013), Junior Faculty Outstanding Research Award in A. James Clark School of Engineering at UMD (2020), and the NSF CAREER award (2013).