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Stankovic, Mia

University of British Columbia

Chemical manufacturing is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions because fossil fuels are used as both an energy source and a feedstock. Electrosynthesis presents an opportunity to use renewable electricity to drive chemical manufacturing instead of fossil fuel. Hydrogenation is an ideal candidate for electrification because the primary feedstock (hydrogen) can be sourced from water and renewable electricity. The challenge is that conventional electrochemical hydrogenation reactors have issues with reactant solubility, cell voltage, and separation of anodic reactions from cathodic reactions. Herein, I present a Pd membrane reactor as an alternative platform for driving hydrogenation reactions using electrochemistry. The Pd membrane addresses the issues associated with conventional electrochemical hydrogenation by using a dense Pd membrane/cathode to separate electrochemical hydrogen production from hydrogenation. In this thesis, I showcase how the Pd membrane reactor can enable the sustainable production of chemicals & fuels by investigating the hydrogenation of furfural, a biomass derived compound. Next, I investigate toluene hydrogenation for the transport and storage of hydrogen in liquid molecules. This approach to hydrogen storage enables the transport of renewable produced hydrogen using existing fuel infrastructure. Finally, I close a fundamental gap in Pd membrane reactor literature by identifying the mechanisms of H transfer from Pd–H to reactants in solution.

Text

2025-01-13

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/90120

Chemistry

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/