<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<style type="text/css" style="display:none;"><!-- P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;} --></style>
</head>
<body dir="ltr">
<div id="divtagdefaultwrapper" style="font-size:12pt;color:#000000;font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;" dir="ltr">
<p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0"><br>
</p>
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr">
<div> </div>
</div>
<meta content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name="x_Generator" content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)">
<div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple">
<div class="x_WordSection1">
<p class="x_MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><img width="604" height="171" id="x_Picture_x0020_1" tabindex="0" style="user-select: none;" data-outlook-trace="F:1|T:1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D454BB.4A3F7FC0"></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><img width="601" height="62" id="x__x0000_i1031" alt="Supercritical Water Technology for Upgrading Model Compounds and Heavy Oils
" tabindex="0" style="user-select: none;" data-outlook-trace="F:1|T:1" src="cid:image002.png@01D454BB.4A3F7FC0"></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><img width="487" height="163" id="x__x0000_i1030" alt="Michael Timko, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Friday, September 28, 2018, 10:30 am
Room L2, Building D2
" tabindex="0" style="user-select: none;" data-outlook-trace="F:1|T:1" src="cid:image003.png@01D454BB.4A3F7FC0"></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><img width="604" height="532" id="x__x0000_i1029" alt="
Upgrading heavy oils to produce transportation fuels and chemical feedstocks provides an opportunity for development of innovative new technologies. Supercritical water promoted upgrading (SCWU) has potential to reduce the sulfur content and increase the fuel and chemical content of heavy oil that reduces coke formation and hydrogen requirements compared to traditional refinery technologies. As a new technology, SCWU faces many technological challenges that are exacerbated by knowledge gaps in fundamental understanding. In particular, reaction pathways and rates, thermodynamic phase behavior, and catalyst selection must all be understood for design of processes based on SCWU. This talk will describe our progress in these areas, which have been undertaken in partnership with MIT and with the support of SAUDI ARAMCO. The main focus of this talk will be on recent work to use zeolites to promote SCWU rates and product distribution. We found that water plays an important role in inhibiting coke formation and tuning rate constants. Systematic studies investigated the role of phase behavior, catalyst stability, and reaction mechanism on observed conversion and yield. By rejecting other alternatives, we conclude that water may play a specific and un-resolved chemical role when its reaction mixture concentration is less than 15 wt%. At concentrations greater than this threshold, water-promoted degradation decreases catalyst activity. Collectively, these works provide insight into the rates of SCWU reactions and the opportunities to improve reaction rates and tune product distribution.
Dr. Michael Timko is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), a university focused on technology and business in central Massachusetts (USA). Dr. Timko’s main research interests involve the study of new technologies for production of sustainable fuels, chemicals, and materials. In addition to his group’s work on heavy oil upgrading, Dr. Timko is working on several projects related to biofuels and bio-based chemicals. He is an author of more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and the recipient of the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award and the American Chemical Society’s Glenn Research Award. Prof. Timko is on the editorial board of the Journal of Supercritical Fluids and a Director of AIChE’s Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division. Prior to joining WPI, Dr. Timko was a Principal Engineer at Aerodyne Research Inc., where he worked on projects related to fuel chemistry and combustion, and a Research Engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His training is in chemical engineering and chemical physics at The Ohio State University (B.S.), MIT (M.S. and Ph.D.), and Harvard University (post-doc).
" tabindex="0" style="user-select: none;" data-outlook-trace="F:1|T:1" src="cid:image004.png@01D454BB.4A3F7FC0"></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><img width="592" height="95" id="x__x0000_i1028" alt=" " tabindex="0" style="user-select: none;" data-outlook-trace="F:1|T:1" src="cid:image005.png@01D454BB.4A3F7FC0"></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>