[ChBE-Grad] Guest seminar this Wednesday, April 27 (optional)

[Solano, Nicolette]

Seminar: Wednesday April 27, 2022

Time and Location: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Engineering Building 2, Room W205

Speaker:
Prof. Niket Kaisare, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras

Title
Microreactors with Internal Heat Recirculation: Autothermal Concepts for Energy Applications

Abstract
The concept of excess enthalpy combustion was proposed several decades ago, wherein combustion is carried out in a reactor -- heat-exchanger arrangement. The enthalpy of combustion is then recirculated into the device by preheating the incoming feed using the hot exhaust gases. Around the same time, the concept of running mildly exothermic reactions in a heat-exchanger-like arrangement was commercialized in the petrochemical industry, exemplified by the ICI and Casale reactors for ammonia and methanol synthesis.

This talk will focus on using this internal heat recirculation concept for "process intensification" in microreactors for energy applications. First example will discuss combustion in a heat recirculating microreactor, and coupling it with thermo-electric module for power generation. The second example will be that of exploiting this idea for improving methane yields in an autothermally operated microreactor for catalytic CO2 methanation. The common concepts across combustion and mildly exothermic CO2 reduction will be explored. This example will be used to show the relevance of basic engineering principles that are introduced in core UG courses. Finally, this talk will segue into efforts at NPTEL/Swayam -- a national MOOCs program in India -- towards making education relevant and accessible.


Biography
Dr. Niket Kaisare is a professor of chemical engineering at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Chennai, India. He is one of the coordinators of NPTEL/Swayam (National Program for Technology Enhanced Learning), a national MOOCs program in India, as well as online degree program of IIT Madras. Niket completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering at Georgia Tech in December 2004. After his postdoctoral research at the University of Delaware, Niket joined as an assistant professor in IIT Madras in summer 2007. Between 2011 and 2014, Niket spent three years in industrial R&D, first at General Motors and then at ABB Corporate Research in India. He rejoined as a faculty at IIT Madras in November 2014. His research interests are broadly in the area of using experiments and multiscale modeling in combustion, catalysis and control for energy applications.



Thank you,
Nicolette Solano
Administrative Assistant to Prof. Triantafillos Mountziaris
William A Brookshire Dept of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of Houston

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