Heterogeneous Catalysis

• Catalyst Design. Selection of active metal phases (Ni, Co, Ru, Fe, etc.), catalyst supports, and promoters for specific chemical reactions.
• Powder catalyst preparation by several methods, including dry and wet Impregnation, precipitation, coprecipitation, homogenous-deposition-precipitation (HDP), suspension method, and methods to prepare capsule catalysts with a core-shell type structure.
• Optimization of extrusion processes for shaping ATR catalysts and additives for FCC. Hands-on experience with some methods for shaping catalysts, catalyst supports, and sorbets such as crushing, grinding, and granulation.
• Preparation of Extruded and Structured Catalysts/Reactors from powder catalyst formulations based on Co–Ni supported over Mesoporous Silica for Oxidation Reactions (VOCs abatement) and the Autothermal reforming (ATR) of liquid hydrocarbon fuels (HCs).
• *Characterization and **Catalytic Test of new or improved heterogenous catalysts in different forms (as a powder, extruded or structured materials) for applications in diverse catalyzed chemical processes addressed mainly to: 1) the H2 /syngas production via Biogas Reforming technologies [e.g., Dry Reforming (DR), Steam Reforming (SR), ATR, Bi-Reforming (BR); CH4 Partial Oxidation (POX) and Thermo Catalytic Decomposition (TCD)], 2) liquid biofuels production via Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS), 3) petrol via Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC), 4) VOCs abatement via Catalytic Oxidation of acetone and toluene, and 5) the thermal stability improvement of the of edible oils via Catalytic Hydrogenation.

*Catalysts characterization is carried out before and after reaction to evaluate textural, structural, chemical, morphological, and physics-chemical changes undergone by the active phases during the chemical reaction by diverse analysis and characterization techniques described in the Analytical Chemistry section. Knowledge of In-situ and Operando Characterization Techniques.

**Catalytic Tests of heterogeneous catalysts embracing preliminary and long-term catalytic runs to evaluate the catalyst performance (e.g., activity, selectivity, stability, etc.) and its deactivation mechanisms (e.g., poisoning, fouling, thermal degradation, sintering, chemical degradation, and mechanical failures). These tests also embrace the Installation, Commissioning, and Operation of automated test rigs (e.g., PID Eng & Tech modular laboratory microreactor systems).

Material Science

• Hydrothermal synthesis of nanostructured solid materials based on micro and mesoporous materials such as ST5 and ZSM-5 zeolites and INT-MM1, MCM-41, and SBA-15 mesoporous silica.
• Preparation of metal-based heterogeneous catalysts, catalyst supports, and sorbents.
• Sol-gel synthesis of catalyst precursors based on perovskite-type oxides.
• Synthesis of cryptomelane-type manganese oxides.
• Colloidal synthesis of metal nanoparticles to prepare capsule catalysts with a core-shell type structure. 
• Powder processing for shaping materials (e.g., heterogeneous catalysts, catalyst supports and sorbents) by extrusion, crushing, grinding, and granulation.

Renewable Energy

• Hydrogen & syngas production from biomass gasification processes and biogas sources via methane reforming technologies.
• Liquid biofuel production (biodiesel) from transesterification processes of fats or oils.
• Liquid biofuel production (biodiesel) from renewable syngas and biogas via Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis.
• Energy Storage. Development of bifunctional electrodes for metal-air batteries.
• Green H2 production by Alkaline Water Electrolysis (AWE). 

Analytical Chemistry

• Hands-on experience operating several analytical and characterization techniques, such as ICP-OES, AAS, XRD, FT-IR, Raman, UV, XPS, SEM, TEM, Optic Microscopy, TGA, TPR/TPO/TPD, and H2 chemisorption, BET area and N2 physisorption measurement, among others.
• Hands-on experience with other lab equipment such as analytical balances, lab oven, muffle furnace, centrifuge, ball mill, dip-coater, pH meter, viscometer, Karl Fischer, particle size analyzer by laser diffraction, zeta potential analyzer, etc. 
• Operation, maintaining, and calibrating some analysis and characterization equipment above-mentioned. 
• Development and validation of ICP-OES and AAS analytical methods to analyze the metal loading in catalysts.
• Development and validation of GC and HPLC analytical methods for the compositional analysis of reactants, reaction products, and reaction mixtures derived from the process.
• Knowledge of some separation techniques for the preparation and analysis of liquid samples for HPLC (e.g., S/L or L/L extractions, or extractions based on MAE, ASE, SPE, etc.).
• Recent training course in Validation of HPLC/UPLC Methodologies.
• Recent training course in Estimation of Measurement Uncertainty in Chemical Analysis. 
• Recent online training course in LC-MS Method Validation.

Process Intensification

• Design and manufacturing of Heat-exchange Microreactors with a cross-flow block configuration and Catalytic Membrane Reactors (CMRs) for Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis (FTS).
• Development of Microreactors, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), and Structured Reactors based on the use of metal and ceramic monoliths, foams, and commercial structured packages for several chemical processes (e.g., VOCs abatement, ATR of liquid hydrocarbons, FTS, CH4 TCD, etc.)
• Design & manufacturing of novel compact reaction systems (SMRs) based on microchannel modules built in one piece and one step by 3D-printing technology. 
• Biogas reformers development based on modular units of 3D-printed Catalytic Wall Microreactors to produce H2 and syngas via different biogas reforming technologies (e.g., DR, SR, BR, POX, and TCD).
• Research activities focused on converting batch production to continuous processing to produce specific chemicals via Flow Chemistry and 3D-Printing Technology. 
• Use of Micromachining Technologies for developing advanced catalytic microreactors based on Etching Technologies (e.g., micro electro discharge machining/μ-EDM and microdrilling), and Joining Technologies (e.g., Diffusion bonding, vacuum brazing, screwing, and sealing)

Electrochemistry (Electrocatalysis)

• Development of electrode materials for the H2 evolution reaction in alkaline water electrolyzers by vapor-phase deposition methods (APS and PV-MS).
• Development of bifunctional electrocatalysts to be used as high-performance cathodes in oxygen reduction/evolution reactions in Zn-air batteries.
• Electrochemical characterization by steady-state polarization measurements.

Coating Technology

• Hands-on experience with the vapor-phase deposition methods based on Atmospheric Plasma Spraying (APS) and PVD-Magnetron Sputtering (PVD-MS) for developing cathode electrodes with modified surface structures and large effective areas improving the H2 evolution reaction (HER) in the Alkaline Water Electrolysis (AWE). For this purpose, commercial Ni plates are used as an electrode substrate, and Al/Ni alloys are used as a coating (target). Thermal treatments and alkaline leaching are used subsequently to complete the required phases of such coatings.
• Hands-on experience with the Liquid-phase deposition method based on the dip-coating to deposit catalyst layers onto the surface of structured materials such as monoliths, foams, commercial structured packages, microchannel reactors, catalytic membrane reactors, etc. The control of experimental parameters in the steps of suspension preparation (e.g., solids content, additive selection, additive content, viscosity, pH, slurry Dp, settling speed, etc.) and washcoating (e.g., immersion and withdrawal speed, immersion time, strategies for the removal of the surplus suspension, coatings number and drying and calcination pretreatment) are key factors to ensure strong adhesion. The coating quality is evaluated in terms of homogeneity, thickness, loading, and adherence force.
•  Hands-on experience with others methods to modify the surface of metal materials with improved surface roughness, such as thermal treatment by thermal oxidation, chemical treatment by acid or alkaline corrosive attack for the steel alloy surface modification, and electrochemical treatment by anodizing for aluminum-based surface modification.
• Development of Catalytic Membrane Reactors for applications inn FTS. The configuration of this reactor is based on the concept of in-situ water removal, which involves a drawback associated with water formation in the FT process. The oxygen atoms introduced by CO molecules are removed as H2O or CO2 during the FTS reaction, depending on the water-gas shift reaction (WGS, CO + H2O ⬄ CO2 + H2) and the nature of the catalyst. Moreover, Co-based catalysts produce predominantly H2O as the main by-product. As water molecules produced during FT reactions may oxidize metallic phases of Co, it might decrease the catalytic activity of the catalyst; therefore, its removal plays a pivotal role. This type of configuration consists of developing a catalytic membrane prepared by depositing a thin layer of FT-catalyst onto the outside wall of a substrate, which consists of a zeolite-based ceramic membrane via the dip-coating method. In this case, two different H2O permselective ceramic membranes might be used as substrate in this configuration: 1) membranes commercially available on the market, or 2) porous metal tubes as substrate previously coated with an adherent and thin layer of zeolite deposited on their surface. 

Oil Refining Technology

• Development of Additives for the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) of weight hydrocarbons based on micro and mesoporous materials.
• Scale-up of materials by extrusion techniques in terms of kg for their application in an FCC pilot plant.
• Catalytic performance assessment of such materials at bench and pilot plant scale.