Stanford Energy Student Lectures: Calvin Lin and Jinwon Oh

Calvin Lin
Title: Electrified chemical reactors through inductive heating

Abstract: Fossil fuel heating is currently the primary method of producing high grade heat in the chemicals industry. To slash greenhouse gas emissions, electrified heating has become an optimistic, alternative pathway for process intensification. We propose a novel reactor that utilizes inductive heating to achieve volumetric heating profiles and higher efficiency in order to render higher conversion of feedstock compared to wall heating reactors. We apply this electrified heating system to two endothermic reactions: point source carbon capture and reverse water gas shift (RWGS) and validate its superior performance over conventional heating schemes. These results show promising extension to other thermochemical applications such as steam methane reforming, methane pyrolysis, and ethane steam cracking.

Bio: Calvin is a 2nd year Ph.D. student in electrical engineering in the Stanford University Power Electronics Research (SUPER) Lab under Professor Juan Rivas and the Fan Lab under Professor Jonathan Fan. He received his B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering also at Stanford. In collaboration with the Fan Lab, his current research focuses on building high frequency power amplifiers for inductively heated chemical reactors. He also works with Australian National University to help build power electronics for inductively coupled plasma thrusters.

Jinwon Oh
Title: Catalytic materials for methane abatement and atmospheric methane removal

Abstract: Rapidly growing greenhouse gas concentrations have caused a continuous rise in global temperature. Therefore, ‘Negative-emission technologies’ (NETs), which not only prevent emissions but remove atmospheric greenhouse gases already present, will be necessary to halt the concerning warming trend going forward. NETs for CO₂ have been studied intensely. However, negative emissions of other greenhouse gases-specifically CH₄ - are relatively less studied. CH₄ NETs are especially crucial because CH₄ is more than 28 times as potent compared to CO₂ at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Therefore, developing atmospheric CH₄ removal technology can offer a new pathway to resolve the climate increase crisis. In this talk, I will present the feasibility of atmospheric methane removal using thermal catalytic oxidation. We synthesized catalysts with various materials and tested their activity and stability for low concentration methane oxidation. In particular, we found out that Pd-based catalysts show superior activity and stability for CH₄ removal. We believe that the findings from this study would be a potential guideline for developing NETS of broader range of greenhouse gases.

Bio: Jinwon Oh is a 3^rd year PhD candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering supervised by Professor Matteo Cargnello in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He received his M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at Korea University. His research focuses on nanocatalysts development for energy and environmental application.