Former Doctoral Candidate

Rahul Subburaj

RESEARCH PROFILE

 My project description is as follows:

There is a large need for new options to use (future) cheap electricity to convert CO2 into value-added products, such as methanol. There are three important enablers in the development of these so-called CO2-to-MeOH processes: suitable catalyst materials, reaction mechanisms and chemical reactors.

In this project we will investigate the merits of a micro-structured slurry bubble column reactor as the preferred process for MeOH production (similar to LPMEOH processes for liquid phase methanol production from syngas). In slurry bubble columns the reactant gases are bubbled through an inert liquid that is used to carry the catalyst and to act as a heat sink. The contact between the phases will be intensified by using wire meshes that cut bubbles into smaller pieces, thereby increasing the surface area and enhancing the mass transfer.

We will first compare the slurry bubble column process with conventional reactor types using simple empirical reactor models. The empirical modeling study should provide direction for optimal process design, which we will study in much more detail in terms of flow phenomena, heat and mass transfer characteristics, and conversion/selectivity, via detailed CFD simulation studies.

Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn't matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough.” ― Richard P. Feynman

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

I am Rahul Subburaj. I come from the land of apparent mystic and chaos, India. With an enthusiasm for physics in general, I completed my masters in fluid mechanics. Although not a physicist, I've always been intrigued by it.

Ancillary Activities

No ancillary activities