Jimmy Faria

University of Twente | UT · Faculty of Science and Technology (TNW)

Enzymes can precisely control the speed and selectivity of chemical reactions by modifying locally the solvent–reactant interactions. To extrapolate these attributes to heterogeneous catalysts, we have employed thermoresponsive poly n-isopropylacrylamide (p-NIPAM) brushes bonded to silica spheres containing palladium. These polymers can form hydrog...

ATR-IR spectroscopy has become an ubiquitous tool for the study of heterogeneous catalysts, probing selectively the chemistry of the solid-fluid (gas and liquid) interfaces under reaction conditions in real-time. By placing a thin catalyst layer on top of an ATR crystal, one can restrict the analysis volume to the solid–liquid interface, effectivel...

A series of Pd/Al2O3 catalysts coated with N-isopropylacrylamide polymer (p-NIPAM) brushes with increasing particle size of the support were prepared to study the interplay between mass transport limitations and the ability of the thermo-responsive catalysts to modify reactivity during reaction. Nitrite hydrogenation in water was chosen as probe re...

Water molecules can enhance or inhibit hydrogenation reactions depending on the nature of the reactive species and active sites. In metal-catalyzed nitrite (NO2–) reduction the presence of protons is essential to complete the reaction in the aqueous phase. By coupling rigorous kinetics studies of nitrite hydrogenation on Pd with kinetic isotope stu...

The Front Cover shows the interplay between chemisorption of carbon monoxide probe molecules and diffusion through a porous catalyst with stimulus responsive polymeric brushes that can switch the transfer process ON‐ and OFF with temperature. In their Research Article, M. J. Enes da Silva et al. showed that on a Polymer‐Membrane‐Catalyst Assembly (...

Molecular transport in porous media plays an essential role in heterogeneous catalysis. Here, we have studied a Polymer‐Membrane‐Catalyst Assembly (PCMA) system consisting of PET membranes with a well‐defined pore structure coated with thermo‐responsive polymer (poly(n‐isopropylacrylamide) or p‐NIPAM) coupled to an in‐situ ATR‐IR cell containing pa...

Advanced oxidation processes can potentially eliminate organic contaminants from industrial waste streams as well as persistent pharmaceutical components in drinking water. We explore for the first time the utilization of Cavitation Intensifying Bags (CIB) in combination with Pd/Al2O3 catalyst as possible advanced oxidation technology for wastewate...

Achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals requires industry and society to develop tools and processes that work at all scales, enabling goods delivery, services, and technology to large conglomerates and remote regions. Process Intensification (PI) is a technological advance that promises to deliver means to reach these goals, but...

In 2015 all the United Nations (UN) member states adopted 17 sustainable development goals (UN-SDG) as part of the 2030 Agenda, which is a 15-year plan to meet ambitious targets to eradicate poverty, protect the environment, and improve the quality of life around the world. Although the global community has progressed, the pace of implementation mu...

We report a reaction platform for the synthesis of three different high‐value specialty chemical building blocks starting from bio‐ethanol, which might have an important impact in the implementation of biorefineries. First, oxidative dehydrogenation of ethanol to acetaldehyde generates an aldehyde‐containing stream active for the production of C4 a...

Eine flexible chemische Plattform ermöglicht die Umwandlung von Bioethanol in drei spezifische chemische Bausteine mit hohen Ausbeuten: Crotonsäure (i, 62 %), 3‐Hydroxybuttersäure (ii, 29 %) und 2,3‐Dihydroxysäure (iii, 21 %). Die Produkte können als Grundlage für die Produktion zahlreicher Chemikalien dienen. Abstract We report a reaction platfor...

This work presents a new approach to improve mass transfer in and around catalyst particles in three-phase operation with micro-structured catalysts, containing hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains. Partially hydrophilic catalysts were prepared via physical mixing of hydrophobic perfluorinated octyltrichloro silane (FOTS)/γ-Al2O3 domains and hydroph...

In this study, we reported on the effect of promoting Ni/ZrO2 catalysts with Ce, Ca (two different loadings), and Y for the aqueous-phase reforming (APR) of methanol. We mainly focused on the effect of the redox properties of ceria and the basicity provided by calcium or yttrium on the activity and selectivity of Ni in this reaction. A systematic c...

The aqueous phase reforming (APR) constitutes a promising technology for obtaining hydrogen from oxygenated hydrocarbons present in wastewaters derived from biorefineries. Nobel metals, mainly Pt, have been used as efficient catalysts for this reaction. Also nickel catalysts have been proposed as a less expensive alternative, although some improvem...

Aqueous phase reforming (APR) of ethanol has been studied over a series of Ru and Pt catalysts supported on carbon and titania, with different metal loadings and particle sizes. This study proposed that, on both metals, ethanol is first dehydrogenated to acetaldehyde, which subsequently undergoes CC cleavage followed by different paths, depending o...

A series of Cu catalysts supported on SiO2, Al2O3-SiO2, TiO2 rutile and TiO2 anatase metal oxides has been studied for methanol reforming in vapour phase. The highest activity was obtained on Cu/SiO2 catalysts (5493 µmolH2 min-1.gcat-1) followed by Cu/TiO2 rutile, Cu/Al2O3-SiO2, and anatase. XRD and HRTEM characterization after reaction revealed th...

Reductive depolymerization of lignin-containing stillage (LA lignin) from 2nd generation bioethanol industrial plants have been studied over two different families of catalysts: conventional porous Ru catalysts supported on ZrO2 or activated carbon, and 1-dimensional Ru catalysts supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). The lignin depoly...

The catalytic hydroprocessing of phenethyl phenyl ether (PPE), a model compound of one of the most significant ether linkages within lignin structure, β-O-4, has been studied. Reactions were carried out using two ruthenium-based catalysts, supported on different materials: 3.8 wt.% Ru/C and 3.9 wt.% Ru/Al2O3. Aiming at studying the reaction mechani...

Benzyl phenyl ether (BPE), phenethyl phenyl ether (PPE) and diphenyl ether (DPE) have been selected as model compounds of the most abundant and significant ether linkages found within the complex structure of lignin (e.g. α-O-4, β-O-4, and 4-O-5, respectively). The catalytic hydrogenolysis of these compounds has been carried out using several Ru, P...

Stabilization of oxygen vacancies on metal oxides (e.g. TiO2) in liquid phase is an important challenge for the utilization of these materials in artificial photosynthesis, environmental remediation and biomass conversion. To create materials with low-energy barriers for vacancies formation and high stability in aqueous environments, we have develo...

Controlled incorporation of dopants into the structure of metal oxide catalysts can be used to fine-tune their topological, chemical, and electronic properties. Conventional preparation methods (co-precipitation and impregnation) tend to produce materials with a limited extent of chemical interaction between metal oxide and dopant, small pore volum...

A new type of catalyst has been designed to adjust the basicity and level of molecular confinement of KNaX faujasites by controlled incorporation of Mg through ion exchange and precipitation of extraframework MgO clusters at varying loadings. The catalytic performance of these catalysts was compared in the conversion of C2 and C4 aldehydes to value...

The isomerization of glucose to fructose and its subsequent dehydration to hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) have been investigated on nanohybrid catalysts that stabilize emulsions comprising aqueous and organic phases. Significant improvement in catalyst stability was observed when NaX faujasite catalysts were functionalized with multiwalled carbon nano...

The purpose of this study is to produce and characterize biomass pyrolysis liquids obtained in an ablative bed reactor at laboratory scale. The feedstocks selected include eucalyptus (Eucalyptus tereticornis) chips, camelina (Camelina sativa) straw pellets, and wheat (Triticum aestivum) straw pellets. Pyrolysis experiments were carried out at 550 °...

The selective conversion of acetaldehyde to C4 products, minimizing the production of secondary (C6, C8) condensation products could be a potential path in the production of butadiene from ethanol, a process of commercial interest. Therefore, we have investigated the selective aldol condensation of acetaldehyde in liquid phase over faujasite zeolit...

Amphiphilic nanohybrid catalysts (Ru particles supported on carbon nanotube–metal oxide hybrids) enable the formation of water-in-oil emulsions and have a positive influence on the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) activity and selectivity to desirable products in comparison with those obtained in single-phase solvents under the same reaction conditi...

Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) was carried out in a water/oil mixture medium, using a Ru catalyst supported on a multi-walled carbon nanotube/MgO–Al2O3 hybrid as a catalyst support. The nanohybrid particles at the water/oil interface facilitated and stabilized the formation of water-in-oil emulsion, giving rise to an oil/emulsion/water trilayer li...

We have studied the coupling of mass transport and chemical reaction rates in a biphasic emulsion system. The emulsion is stabilized by the presence of solid nanoparticles that, in addition, act as a catalyst for the reaction. These solid nanoparticles are composed of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) attached to SiO2 nanoparticles. Both components, CNTs and...

Introduction Zeolites are effective catalyst for many reactions of industrial interest, most of them carried out in the vapor phase. However, in cases such as the upgrading of biomass-derived compounds, reactions in the aqueous liquid phase at temperatures in the range 150-250°C are required. For example, biomass pyrolysis products are not particul...

HY zeolites hydrophobized by functionalization with organosilanes are much more stable in hot liquid water than the corresponding untreated zeolites. Silylation of the external surface of the zeolite crystals increases hydrophobicity without reducing the density of acid sites. This hydrophobization with organosilanes makes the zeolites able to stab...

Bi-phasic catalytic reactions provide an efficient method for the conversion of pyrolysis oil to usable biofuel. The simulation of the hydrogenation of p-hydroxybenzaldehyde was used as a prototype to develop a bi-phasic reactor model describing both reaction kinetics and phase separation. The effects of phase behavior modeling on bi-phasic reactor...

Enhanced recovery of hydrocarbons from a subterranean reservoir injects a gaseous reactant and a dispersion of oil, water, and nano-hybrid catalysts through an injection well into a subterranean formation. The combination of the dispersion and gaseous reactant(s) forms a stabilized foam within the subterranean formation. When the foam reaches an oi...

HY zeolites hydrophobized by functionalization with organosilanes are much more stable in hot liquid water than the corresponding untreated zeolites. Silylation of the zeolite increases hydrophobicity without significantly reducing the density of acid sites. This hydrophobization with organosilanes makes the zeolites able to stabilize water/oil emu...

Novel amphiphobic nanoparticles based on functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNT) have shown promising applications for enhanced oil recovery, by lowering the water/oil interfacial tension upon adsorption or chemical reaction catalyzed by these nanoparticles. Challenges for this novel approach include a) stabilizing aqueous suspensions of the nanopart...

We have developed a new reaction/separation technology based on a family of recoverable nanohybrid catalysts that simultaneously stabilize emulsions in biphasic systems[1]. These nanostructured solid particles exhibit a unique advantage in the streamlining of biomass syngas to fuels, where the presence of tars greatly complicates purification proce...

Development of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques is an important challenge for engineers and researchers working in the oil industry. In recent years, the use of nanoparticles for application of chemical EOR has attracted significant attention. In this contribution, a novel technique for potential enhancement of oil. The technique consists in...

A novel technique is proposed for potential use in oil reservoirs. The technique consists in incorporating amphiphilic nanoparticles into the water injection. These hybrid nanoparticles can simultaneously act as emulsion stabilizers as well as carriers for catalytic species, e.g., metals. They can be active for in situ reactions, such as partial ox...

The synthesis of fuel-range molecules by condensation of biomass-derived furfural and acetone has been studied in a biphasic emulsion system. Nanohybrids composed of basic oxide nanoparticles fused to carbon nanotubes have been used to simultaneously stabilize water/oil emulsions and catalyze the condensation reaction. Under the same conditions, hi...

In this chapter we present a review of the different conversion strategies for the catalytic upgrading of furfurals, specifically furfural and hydroxymethyl furfural, which are two chemical building blocks from lignocellulosic biomass for the production of transportation fuels, as well as useful acids, aldehydes, alcohols and amines. Reactions and...

Nanohybrids composed of "onion-like" carbon, single-walled (SWCNTs) or multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) fused to silica or alumina particles have been compared as stabilizers of water/oil emulsions and interfacial catalysts. The amphiphilic character of these nanohybrids makes them effective in stabilizing emulsions (up to 85 % of total volum...

Pyrolysis oil is a complex mixture of oxygenated compounds with up to ~30-40% of water. Depending on the cooling process used in the condensation of the pyrolysis vapors, the crude bio-oil can generate a biphasic system, in which molecules are distributed, between the two phases, depending on their solubility. It is desirable to conduct reactions a...

Metal-containing Janus particles are used as interfacial catalyst/emulsifiers that catalyze reactions in biphasic systems with controlled “phase selectivity”, that is, conversion of the desired reaction on one side of the emulsion. The reaction may affect the solubility of the molecule in one phase, causing migration to the opposite phase. As a res...

A novel system has been developed to catalyze reactions at the oil/water interface of a biphasic liquid system. Stabilization of emulsions was accomplished through the use of nanohybrids composed of hydrophilic oxide particles and hydrophobic Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNT), generated in the CoMoCAT process. These nanohybrids are inherently a...

A recoverable catalyst that simultaneously stabilizes emulsions would be highly advantageous in streamlining processes such as biomass refining, in which the immiscibility and thermal instability of crude products greatly complicates purification procedures. Here, we report a family of solid catalysts that can stabilize water-oil emulsions and cata...

A novel system has been developed to catalyze reactions at the oil/water interface of a biphasic liquid system. This was accomplished through the use of nanohybrids composed of hydrophilic SiO2 particles and hydrophobic single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) particles generated through the CoMoCAT process. These nanohybrids are inherently amphiphilic...