Our Research Field
Our research interests are development of materials and processes regarding
reaction and separation based on chemical engineering. Main research subjects are as follows,
■Hydrogen production
■MOF membranes
■CO2 separation
■Zeolite catalysts & membranes
■Life cycle assessment
Hydrogen Production
■Thin Pd membrane preparation by photolisography■Catalyst development for steam-reforming
■CO2 Methanation combined with NH3 decomposition using a membrane reactor
■Hydrogen production from biomass
Increasing attentions to the hydrogen society because only water is emitted by hydrogen consumption, it is essential to develop the highly efficient hydrogen production process including purification. We are developing the higly purified hydrogen production system from the variety of fosile fuels, hydrogen carriers and biomass. For hydrogen purification, we investigates thin palladium membranes by means of photolisography.
| ●Membrane Reactor Membrane reactors which is a chemical reactor integrated with membrane separation technology. Higly purified hydrogen can be produced efficiently by shifting the thermodynamic equilibrium owing to the selective removal of hydrogen from the reaction zone through the hydrogen separation membranes. |
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| ●H2 carrier combined CO2 reduction system This system consists of a membrane reactor with a H2 selective membrane. H2 carrier is decomposed and produced H2 permeates through the membrane. CO2 can be simultaneously reduced to methane at the retentate side. The combined reaction of CO2 methanation over the membrane can significantly enhance the NH3 decomposition rate. |
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MOF membranes
■Synthesis of MOF membranes and their applicationsMetal organic frameworks (MOFs) or porous coordination polymers (PCPs) are a new class of porous materials that consist of organic linkers and inorganic nodes. MOFs have been demonstrated to exhibit great potential for many applications, owing to their exceptionally broad chemical and structural diversity. We investigates the synthesis of novel MOF membranes and evaluation of their membrane separation properties.
| ●MOF membranes MOFs are one of the most attractive materials for membrane separation because of their unique characteristics. MOF membranes will be extensively stduied, although a limited number of MOFs have been reported so far. |
 SEM image of cross sectional area of ZIF-8 membrane. |
 Cross section of highly oriented UiO-66 thin film. |
CO2 separation
■Amine-modified mesoporous silica for CO2 adsorptionCO2 capture and storage (CCS) is a key technology to prevent the global warming but it is necessary to reduce the energy consumption for CO2 separation. The objective of our research is developing the efficient CO2 separation processes.
Zeolite catalysts and membranes
■Development of core-shell structured zeolites for catalysis and separation■Zeolite membranes for liquid-liquid separation
Zeolites have been widely used in separation and reaction owing to their uniform pore size, ion-exchange property and acidity. We developed the core-shell structured zeolites and found that they exhibited exceptionally high catalytic property.
Pervaporation and vapor permeation are expected to alternatives to distillation. Zeolites have a potential to be a membrane material for dehydration from organic solvents. However, hydrophilic zeolite membranes are weak in acidic condition and we are developing the zeolite membranes with high stability in acidic conditions.
| ●Core-shell structured zeolites A core-shell structured zeolite is a catalytically active zeolite coated with an inactive pure silica zeolite. The external surface is deactivated by the siliceous zeolite, resulting high shape selectivity. |
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