FROM MOLECULAR TO APPLIED CATALYSIS FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Basar Caglar, Assistant Professor
Energy System Engineering, Yasar University

Place: Department of Mechanical Engineering Seminar Room
Date: March 12, 2020 @10:00

Abstract:

Catalysis plays a vital role to realize a sustainable energy scenario, being involved in the processes of efficient biomass conversion and energy storage and conversion technologies. The research on catalysis requires a molecular-level analysis to understand the dynamic interaction between catalyst and reactants with a full characterization and a prosess-level analysis to evaulate catalyst performance. In this seminar, the potential of catalyst for a sustainable and low-carbon future will be discussed in broader context, i.e, from molecular- to process-level. In the first part, the decomposition of biomass-derived molecules on single metal surface will be investigated at molecular-level by using surface science tools. In the second part, the catalytic tar removal from gasification derived gas mixture and the electrochemical reforming of biomass-derived chemicals will be analyzed at process-level. At the end of the seminar, examples of new emerging energy techologies will be discussed in the context of energy-chemistry nexus.

Short Bio:

He received his PhD in Eindhoven University of Technology from the Surface Science group, supervised by J.W. Hans Niemantsverdriet, in 2014. His research was on “Bond activation processes of biomass-derived molecules” for the fundamental understanding of catalytic biomass conversion on metal surfaces. After his PhD, he worked in a private company for the Marie-Curie project on developing a portable custom-designed fluorescence/SERS system and worked as a Post-doc researcher in Middle East Technical University for TUBİTAK 2232-Return to Country Research project on biomass gasification and post-cleaning. He has been appointed as Assistant Professor in Yasar University in 2016.