DOI: 10.1595/147106708X324403 A New Palladium-Based Catalyst for Methanol Steam Reforming in a Miniature Power Source

By Oleg Ilinich*, Ye Liu, Christopher Castellano, Gerald Koermer, Ahmad Moini and Robert Farrauto BASF Catalysts LLC, 25 Middlesex-Essex Turnpike, Iselin, NJ 08830-0770, U.S.A.; *E-mail: [email protected]

A novel palladium-based catalyst has been developed for use in a miniature fuel cell power source for portable applications, incorporating a polymer membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Hydrogen, which is the fuel for the cell, is produced in a ceramic microreactor via the

catalytic reaction of methanol steam reforming: CH3OH + H2O → 3H2 + CO2. The need for a new catalyst in this application is driven by the limitations of traditional particulate catalysts based on copper oxide, oxide and alumina (Cu-Zn-Al catalysts), which have low thermal stability and high sensitivity towards air and condensing steam. These features result in a declining activity and mechanical integrity of Cu-Zn-Al catalysts under the frequent start-stop conditions typical of the operational mode of the miniature power source. The new Pd- based catalyst has activity and selectivity similar to those of Cu-Zn-Al catalysts, but is more durable and stable under the duty cycle conditions of a portable power source. In the microreformer, the catalyst is washcoated directly on the walls of the steam reforming section, providing favourable conditions for efficient heat transfer between the heat-generating catalytic combustion section of the microreformer and its heat-consuming steam reforming section.

1. Introduction it practically attractive for this application. Current trends in energy demand for portable Methanol is used as a fuel in two different types electronics show that the power consumption in of fuel cells. In the direct methanol fuel cell devices such as cell phones, personal digital assis- (DMFC) (Figure 1), methanol is fed directly to the tants (PDAs), notebook computers and digital where it reacts with water, generating elec- cameras continues to rise. Consumers demand trons which travel through the external circuit as small size, light weight, but long battery life. The electric current, Reaction (i): batteries most commonly used in these devices are + – CH3OH + H2O → CO2 + 6H + 6e (i) of the rechargeable (secondary) type. However, in certain applications such as those used by Protons travel through the proton-conducting exploratory expeditions, first responders and the polymer electrolyte membrane (for example, military, recharging a battery in the field is often dif- Nafion®) to the where they react with oxy- ficult, if possible at all. Therefore a heavy load of gen from the atmosphere, to produce water. disposable (primary) batteries must be transported The subject catalyst of this article was developed to remote locations. One solution to this problem for use in a reformed methanol fuel cell, shown in is to use a small portable battery charger powered Figure 2. In essence this is a classic type of fuel cell, by a fuel cell. invented in 1839 by William Grove. Here the fuel is Due to the low energy density of compressed hydrogen which is fed to the anode, where it splits hydrogen, using it as a fuel for a portable fuel cell electrocatalytically into protons and electrons, charger is not a viable option. Liquid fuel, in partic- Reaction (ii): ular methanol, has a much higher energy density + – and is easier to transport and handle, which makes H2 → 2H + 2e (ii)

Platinum Metals Rev., 2008, 52, (3), 134–143 134 Fig. 1 Schematic

CH3OH of a direct Anode reaction: methanol fuel cell + – 2CH3OH + 2H2O → 2CO2 + 12H + 12e

NAFION® + H membrane Overall reaction: 70ºC 2CH3OH + 3O2 → 2CO2 + 4H2O

– e Cathode reaction: + – 12H + 12e + 3O2 → 6H2O

Air e–

Fig. 2 Schematic of a Hydrogen production via methanol steam reforming: reformed methanol fuel cell

CH3OH + H2O → 3H2 +CO2

Anode reaction: + – 2H2 → 4H + 4e

PBI/H PO 3 4 Overall reaction: H+ (Polybenzimidazole) 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O 180ºC

e– Cathode reaction: + – 4H + O2 + 4e → 2H2O

e– Air

In contrast to Grove’s cell, however, in our appli- This reaction has received much attention in the cation the hydrogen is produced by the catalytic last decades as an attractive route to hydrogen sup- steam reforming of methanol, Reaction (iii): ply. An excellent review on methanol steam reforming (MSR) for hydrogen production has

CH3OH + H2O → 3H2 + CO2 (iii) recently been published by Palo et al. (1).

Platinum Metals Rev., 2008, 52, (3) 135 The MSR reaction can be efficiently catalysed of the miniature power source. The catalyst con- by copper-based catalysts (2–7), including the Cu- sists of Pd and Zn on an oxide support with Zn-Al particulates otherwise used in methanol proprietary additives. In the present paper this cat- synthesis (8) and the water-gas shift reaction (9). alyst is designated as ‘Pd-Zn/oxide support’. It is These catalysts are commercially produced, and fabricated in a powder form, then slurried and used have been used successfully in industry for many as a washcoat on the channels of the micro- years. By their nature they are quite sensitive to the reformer (Figure 3) to be incorporated into a process conditions. In particular, they are prone to miniature fuel cell power source. sintering at temperatures above about 280 to The catalytic performance of a MSR catalyst is 300ºC, which results in a significant decline in determined by two characteristics: activity and activity, and also deteriorate both mechanically and selectivity. A good MSR catalyst should provide in performance if steam condenses on them. high rates of conversion of methanol and water Besides, a Cu-Zn-Al catalyst can develop danger- into hydrogen and carbon dioxide, while side reac- ously strong exotherms if in its oxidised state it is tions should be minimised. In the MSR process, in exposed to a reducing environment, or, in its addition to the target steam reforming Reaction reduced (active) state, to an oxidising environment, (iii), several undesired side reactions can occur. In such as ambient air (10). Therefore in industrial particular, carbon monoxide can be formed via settings Cu-Zn-Al catalysts are operated under methanol decomposition, Reaction (iv): carefully controlled conditions. The operating CH3OH → CO + 2H2 (iv) cycle includes a lengthy start-up with slow reduc- and/or reverse water-gas shift, Reaction (v): tion in syngas (H2/CO) or hydrogen heavily diluted with nitrogen to minimise the reduction CO2 + H2 → CO + H2O (v) exotherm. The reduced and activated catalysts nor- mally operate under steady-state conditions. (a) By contrast, the duty cycle anticipated for the MSR catalyst in the miniature fuel cell power source is much more demanding. The miniature power source will be operated with frequent starts and stops, during which liquid (reformate) will condense and may even freeze on the cata- lyst. Besides, slow reduction in dry gas with low concentrations of a reductant will clearly be unavailable, and the catalyst will have to be acti- vated (reduced) upon direct contact with the (b) methanol/water feed mixture. The properties of Cu-Zn-Al catalysts are incompatible with these requirements, and therefore a new application- specific catalyst had to be developed. This catalyst is a further improvement over the family of palladium-zinc-based catalysts which have been developed for fuel cell applications in recent years (11–16). Pd-Zn/oxide support

2. Experimental Fig. 3 (a) The prototype microreformer (with U.S. The novel MSR catalyst has been developed quarter dollar coin for scale); (b) cross section of the microreformer with Pd-Zn/oxide support washcoated in using a combination of rapid catalytic screening and the microchannels (Reproduced with permission from detailed parametric studies simulating the duty cycle Motorola Energy Technologies Lab)

Platinum Metals Rev., 2008, 52, (3) 136 Carbon monoxide, a known catalytic poison, where SCO2 (%) is the selectivity towards CO2, and can only be tolerated by the fuel cell catalysts if its [CO2], [CO] and [CH4] are the concentrations of concentration in the reformate is low. Even for the the corresponding species. fuel cells based on polybenzimidazole (PBI) mem- branes, which operate at elevated temperatures 3. Results (~ 180ºC) and are more CO-tolerant than the fuel 3.1 Performance Testing of the Cu-Zn-Al cells with Nafion® membranes which operate at and ‘Pd-Zn/Oxide Support’ Catalysts in ~ 80ºC, the CO level in the reformate must not the Simulated Start-Stop Mode exceed 1–2%. The anticipated duty cycle of the miniature Another possible side product is methane, power source will include frequent starts and stops, which could be generated via methanation, with variable periods of steady-state operation. The Reactions (vi) and (vii), that consumes considerable catalysts to be used in the microreformer must be amounts of hydrogen, while generating large thoroughly tested under conditions simulating such amounts of heat: operation, and a special laboratory test procedure has been developed for this purpose. The test con- CO2 + 4H2 → CH4 + 2H2O (vi) sisted of the following elements as illustrated in CO + 3H2 → CH4 + H2O (vii) Figure 4: (a) initial heat-up of the reactor to the In the context of this article, the selectivity is reaction temperature, followed by starting the flow understood as the ratio of the concentration of a of the methanol/water feed mixture and (b) steady- given product at certain conversion of methanol to state operation for approximately sixty hours; (c) the sum of concentrations of all carbon-containing multiple start-stop cycles consisting of (d) cooling gas-phase products (in our catalytic tests no coke down to 40ºC with the feed flow stopped (simulat- formation was observed), for example Equation ed shutdown of the power source); (e) heating up (viii): to the reaction temperature; (f) restarting the flow

SCO2 = of the methanol/water feed mixture with steady- 100 × [CO2]/([CO2] + [CO] + [CH4]) (viii) state operation for approximately two hours.

300300 (c) Start-stop cycles

250250

200200 (a) Initial (b) Steady-state heat-up 150150 Temp

100100 Reactor temperature, ºC (d) Stop feed flow 5050 and cool down

(e) Ramp up to operating temperature (f) Restart CH3OH + H2O feed 0 02/07/050 02/07/05 02/08/0512345 02/08/05 02/09/ 05 02/09/05 02/10/05 02/10/ 05 02/11/05 02/11/05 02/12/ 05 Time,Time days

Fig. 4 Experimental temperature profile in methanol steam reforming reactor during the catalyst performance test

Platinum Metals Rev., 2008, 52, (3) 137 In the catalytic performance test using the 3.2 Mechanical Strength of the Cu-Zn-Al above protocol, the commercial Cu-Zn-Al catalyst, and ‘Pd-Zn/Oxide Support’ Catalysts initially run under steady-state conditions, showed It is known that exposure to a liquid can cause stable activity for a period of about two weeks. mechanical deterioration of particulate Cu-Zn-Al However, soon after the onset of the start-stop catalysts (9). This practically important aspect has temperature cycling the activity began decreasing, not been sufficiently addressed in the open litera- which continued for another two weeks of opera- ture. Therefore in addition to catalytic per- tion, showing no signs of stabilisation. However formance we also analysed the Cu-Zn-Al catalyst the CO2 selectivity remained very high (in excess for its mechanical strength before and after sixty of 99%) throughout the test. temperature cycles, and found that the catalyst pel- For the catalyst ‘Pd-Zn/oxide support’, tested lets lose about 80% of their initial strength as a using the same protocol, the activity under the result of the temperature cycling. The number of steady-state conditions was also stable and close to starts and stops of the future miniature power that of Cu-Zn-Al catalyst. At the beginning of the sources will certainly be much greater, and there- temperature cycling, a slight drop in the methanol fore a more significant negative impact on the conversion was registered but the activity remained mechanical strength and finally on the integrity of stable thereafter. The CO2 selectivity was also sta- the catalyst should be anticipated. This is yet anoth- ble throughout the test at 98 ± 0.6%. er reason why particulate Cu-Zn-Al catalysts

The temperature dependence of the initial CO2 cannot be used in the miniature fuel reformer, selectivity (i.e. SCO2 at low conversions of and why a new and more robust catalyst had to methanol) was further investigated in the range be developed. 230 to 320ºC, and was found to decrease with the The ‘Pd-Zn/oxide support’ catalyst was temperature from 98.2 to 94.2% (Figure 5). It was deposited on the walls of the prototype microchan- also observed that for the given reaction condi- nel reformer, with the hydraulic diameter of a tions CO2 selectivity is fairly constant over a channel measuring a few hundred microns (Figure broad range of methanol conversions; however 3). The catalyst was successfully tested in the it decreases at high conversions (above microreformer, producing hydrogen-rich reformate ~ 95 to 97%). via MSR. The same catalyst on different support

100100 95

9090 85

8080 75 selectivity (% 2

selectivity, % selectivity, 70

2 70 CO

CO 65 6060 55

5050 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290 300 310 320 330

o TemperatureTemperature, (CoC)

Fig. 5 Initial CO2 selectivity versus the methanol steam reforming reaction temperature for the catalyst ‘Pd-Zn/oxide –1 support’. Test conditions: molar ratio of feed CH3OH:H2O = 0.88; gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) = 230,000 h (powder catalyst); CH3OH conversions within 11%

Platinum Metals Rev., 2008, 52, (3) 138 structures is now used commercially in other consisted of a reagent grade methanol (Aldrich) applications. and deionised water in volume ratio MeOH:H2O = 1:1 (molar ratio 0.88:1). The feed flow rates (from 3.3 ‘Pd-ZnO/Oxide Support’ Compared 0.3 cm3 min–1 to 2.0 cm3 min–1) and the catalyst to ‘Pd-ZnO/Al2O3’, Pd/Al2O3 and temperatures (375ºC to 475ºC) were programmed

Cu/CeO2 Catalysts and controlled throughout the test as shown in

High MSR activity with high CO2 selectivity is Figures 6 to 9. The automated gas chromatograph- well documented for Pd-Zn catalysts, which were ic analysis was conducted at twenty minute first discovered by Iwasa et al. (17), and are now intervals by sampling the gas mixtures exiting the being extensively investigated for hydrogen gener- reactor. Performance of all of the catalysts ation in portable fuel cell power systems. The described above is analysed below. literature information pertaining to the MSR per- Methanol conversion and CO2 selectivity for formance of the Pd-Zn catalytic system, and the catalyst ‘Pd-ZnO/oxide support’ are plotted in available to the authors, deals with catalysts com- Figure 6 for temperatures 375ºC, 425ºC and 475ºC posed of Pd supported on zinc oxide and also and a range of flow rates. It can be seen that the Pd-ZnO compositions supported on alumina catalyst has stable activity (100% methanol conver- (12–17). sion in the first and the last segments of the run, Driven by a continuing interest in inexpensive these segments having identical experimental con- non-precious metal catalysts for MSR applications, ditions) with CO2 selectivity ranging from around new copper-based catalytic compositions are also 70% at full conversion of methanol to around 82% being developed (18, 19). To better understand the at lower conversions. strengths and possible limitations of our Pd-based Under the same experimental conditions the catalyst it is important to compare performance of sample ‘Pd-ZnO/Al2O3’ is less active, and has this catalyst with that of other Pd- and Cu-based much lower CO2 selectivity (Figure 7). This catalyst catalysts. To that end, following a procedure simi- ages, partially losing activity in the course of the lar to those described in References (14) and (16), run. This is illustrated by lower methanol conver- we prepared two Pd-ZnO catalysts on different sion in the last segment of the run as compared supports: alumina and an oxide support material with the first. The main product with this sample is used in preparation of the new Pd-based catalyst, CO; under the experimental conditions of the test, both catalysts having equivalent contents of Pd and methane is also produced with selectivity ranging ZnO. These catalysts are hereinafter referred to as from 1 to 6%. This implies significantly less effi-

‘Pd-ZnO/Al2O3’ and ‘Pd-ZnO/oxide support’, cient production of hydrogen with respectively. For comparison, alumina-supported ‘Pd-ZnO/Al2O3’, and also different reaction path- palladium catalyst (Pd/Al2O3) with the same ways for the two similar catalysts – ‘Pd-ZnO/oxide amount of palladium as in Pd-ZnO samples was support’ and ‘Pd-ZnO/Al2O3’. also prepared via the same procedure. In addition, The Pd/Al2O3 sample is even less active than a copper/ceria catalyst with 20 wt.% CuO ‘Pd-ZnO/Al2O3’, is more prone to ageing and has

(Cu/CeO2), similar to that used in (18), was pre- very poor CO2 selectivity (Figure 8). CO and pared by incipient wetness impregnation of ceria methane are the dominant carbon-containing with aqueous copper nitrate solution followed by products with the Pd/Al2O3 catalyst under the drying and calcining. All catalysts were compared experimental conditions employed, rendering this in terms of their activities and selectivities, now at catalyst composition unsuitable for hydrogen elevated temperatures typical for certain advanced generation. applications. The samples (3 g of each) were tested The Pd-free sample with Cu impregnated on in a laboratory flow reactor as granules 250 to 710 ceria has high initial activity and relatively high CO2 μm in size. This particle size ensures test condi- selectivity (up to about 75%); however it ages tions free of pore diffusion. The feed mixture rapidly with a significant loss in activity (Figure 9).

Platinum Metals Rev., 2008, 52, (3) 139 CHMeOH3OH conversion conversion 100100

9090 –1 –1 –1 –1 1.2 ml/min, –1 0.3 ml min , 0.80.8 ml/min,ml min , 2.0 ml min , 1.2 ml min , 0.3 ml min , 0.3 ml/min, 2.0 ml/min, 42 5C 0.3 ml/min, 425C425ºC 425ºC 375C375ºC 47 5C475ºC 375C375ºC 8080 2.0 ml min–1, 2.0 ml min–1, 2.0 ml/min, 2.0 ml/min, 42 5C425ºC 42 5C425ºC 7070 CO se lectivity CO22 selectivity and CO selectivities (%) 2 6060 and CO selectivities, % 2 5050

4040 COCO selectivity se lectivi ty

MeOH conversion/CO MeOH 3030

2020 OH conversion, CO 3

10

CH 10

0 2 /8 /08 5:45 PM 2/8/08 10:334 PM 2/9/08 8 3:21 AM 2/9/08 128:09 AM 2/9/0 8 16 12:5716 PM 2/9 /0 20820 5:4 5 PM TimeTime onon streamstream, (hours) hours

Fig. 6 Methanol steam reforming performance test of the catalyst ‘Pd-ZnO/oxide support’

11 0 77 CHMeOH3OH conversion conversion 10010 0 66 9090 0.30.3 ml ml/min, min– 1, 0.80.8 ml ml/min, min–1 , 2.02.0 mlml/min, min –1, 375C375ºC 42425ºC 5C 47 5C475ºC 80 80 5 –1 5 1.21.2 ml/min,ml min –1, 0.30.3 mlml/min, min , 425C 375C375ºC

425ºC CH 7070 –1

2.02.0 mlm l/m min in, , 4 COCO selectivity 42 5C425ºC 44 selectivity, % and CO selectivities (%) 60 2 60 0.60.6 ml/min,ml min –1, and CO selectivities, % 375ºC375C 2 50

50 selectivity (%)

3 4 CH44 selectivityselectivity 3 CH 4040

2 30 2 MeOH conversion/CO 30 COCO22selectivity selectivity

2020 1

OH conversion, CO 1 3 1010 CH

00 00 39519.62 39519.72 4 4 39519.82 39519.92 8 39520.02 12 12 39520.12 39520.22 16 39520.32 20 39520.4220 TimeTime on on stream, stream (hours) hours

Fig. 7 Methanol steam reforming performance test of ‘Pd-ZnO/Al2O3’ catalyst

The ageing in this case is probably due to the ther- methane, but methanation stops as the catalyst ages. mal sintering of Cu (20). The fresh catalyst at high The results of our comparative study show that temperatures also produces small amounts of the catalyst ‘Pd-Zn/oxide support’ has an

Platinum Metals Rev., 2008, 52, (3) 140 110 CH OH conversion MeOH3 conversion 100100

9090

8080 selectivities, % COCO selectivity selectivity 4 7070

6060 –1 –1 –1 –1 –1 0.4 ml/min, –1 0.30.3 ml ml/min, min , 0.80.8 ml m l/mmin in, , 2.02.0 ml m l/mmin in, , 1.21.2 ml ml/min, min , 2.0 2.0ml ml/min,min , 0.4 ml min , 37 5C 37375ºC 5C 425425ºC C 475475ºC C 42425ºC 5C 425C425ºC 375ºC 0 2 l/min N2 , CO and CH 5050 2

4040 MeOH conversion/Selectivities (%)

3030

CH4 selectivity CH 4 selectivity 2020 OH conversion, CO

3 1010 CO2 selectivity CO2 selectivity CH 00 39498.7 39498.8 44 39498.9 39499 8 8 39499.1 12 12 39499.2 39499.3 16 16 39499.4 TimeTime on on streamstream, (hours) hours

Fig. 8 Methanol steam reforming performance test of Pd/Al2O3 catalyst

110 1.11.1

MeOHCH3OH conversion conversion 100 1.01.0

9090 0.90.9 –1 –1 1.2 ml min–1, 2.0 ml min–1, 2.0 ml min–1, 0.3 ml min–1, 0.3 0.3ml ml/min, min , 0.80.8 ml/min,ml min –1, 2.02.0 ml ml/min, min , 1.2 ml/min, 2.0 ml/min, 2.0 ml/min, 0.3 ml/min, 425C425ºC 425C425ºC 425C425ºC 375C375ºC 375C375ºC 425C425ºC 475C475ºC 8080 0.80.8 CH 7070 0.70.7 4 CO2 selectivity CO2 selectivity selectivity, % 6060 0.60.6 and CO selectivities (%) and CO 2 and CO selectivities, % 2 5050 0.50.5 selectivity (%) selectivity 4 CH 4040 0.40.4 CO selectivity 3030 0.30.3 MeOH conversion/CO MeOH 2020 0.20.2 OH conversion, CO 3 CH4 selectivity 1010 0.10.1 CH

00 00.0 39490.58 39490.83 61218246 39491.08 12 39491.33 18 39491.58 24 TimeTime onon stream,stream (hours) hours

Fig. 9 Methanol steam reforming performance test of Cu/CeO2 catalyst optimum composition for the MSR reaction. It process conditions. The catalyst ‘Pd-Zn/oxide sup- possesses high and stable activity, as well as the port’ is hence the most efficient among the cat- highest CO2 selectivity over a broad range of MSR alysts tested in this study for hydrogen generation.

Platinum Metals Rev., 2008, 52, (3) 141 4. Conclusions Acknowledgements A new active Pd-based MSR catalyst has been This article contains information produced in developed for use as a washcoat in a microchannel partnership with the Motorola Energy Tech- reformer integrated to a miniature fuel cell power nologies Lab within the National Institute of source. The catalyst ‘Pd-Zn/oxide support’ with Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced proprietary additives shows stable performance Technology Program: “Hydrogen Generator for under the frequent start-stop operating conditions a Miniature Fuel-Cell Power Source”. Part of this typical of a portable fuel cell power source. The information was presented at the 31st Annual new catalyst is also thermally stable, which enables Conference of the International Precious Metals its extended operation over a broad range of tem- Institute (IPMI) (21). The authors gratefully peratures and simplifies fabrication of the acknowledge the kind permission of the IPMI to miniature power source. publish this article.

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The Authors Dr Oleg Ilinich is a Senior Chemist at Dr Ye Liu is a Senior Research Engineer BASF Catalysts LLC in Iselin, New at BASF Catalysts LLC. He received his Jersey, U.S.A. He received his M.S. in B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering Chemical Engineering from the St. from the Dalian University of Petersburg Institute of Technology in Technology, China, and his Ph.D. in Russia, which was later followed by Material Science and Engineering from Ph.D. and D.Sci. degrees in the Pennsylvania State University, U.S.A. from the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis His current work involves catalyst (Novosibirsk, Russia). His recent work development for three-way catalysis, includes catalyst development as well as partial oxidation, steam reforming and kinetic and mechanistic studies for the the autothermal reforming of water-gas shift reaction, methanol steam hydrocarbons. His past research reforming and direct methanol fuel cells. involvement has included catalytic Prior to joining BASF Catalysts, Dr Ilinich gasification, combustion, sulfur removal was involved in fundamental and applied in flue gases, and product and process research in selective heterogeneous development for carbonaceous catalysis, and catalytic and gas materials – activated carbons and separation membranes. carbon blacks.

Platinum Metals Rev., 2008, 52, (3) 142 Christopher Castellano is a Chemist at Dr Gerald Koermer received a Ph.D. BASF Catalysts LLC. He received his from the University of Wisconsin, B.S. in Ceramic Engineering from U.S.A. in Physical Organic Chemistry Rutgers University, U.S.A.; and is and a B.A. in Chemistry from Rutgers currently working on a M.S. in Material College. He has over twenty-four years Science and Engineering from of experience in catalysis and currently Columbia University, U.S.A. His current leads the Materials Science and work involves combinatorial catalyst Enabling Technology group at BASF development for environmental Catalysts LLC’s Research and applications, as well as flexible fuel Development. catalysts. His previous research involvement has included methanol

steam reforming catalysis, NH3- selective catalytic reduction Dr Robert J. Farrauto is a Research technology, light-duty diesel catalysts, Fellow at BASF Catalysts LLC. He ozone conversion and high-throughput obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from zeolite synthesis. He is also currently Manhattan College, New York City and serving as the President of the Rutgers a Ph.D. in Electrochemistry from Engineering Society. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, U.S.A. His major responsibilities have included the development of advanced automobile Dr Ahmad Moini is a Senior Research emission control catalysts and process Associate at BASF Catalysts LLC. He catalysts for the chemical industry. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry from managed an Engelhard research team Texas A&M University, U.S.A., followed that developed and commercialised by a postdoctoral appointment at diesel oxidation catalysts for the Michigan State University, U.S.A. Dr European, North American and Asian Moini started his career at Mobil markets for passenger cars and heavy- Research & Development Corporation, duty trucks. Currently he manages a where he conducted research in research team developing new catalyst microporous materials. He joined technology for the hydrogen economy, Engelhard Corporation (now BASF) in including hydrogen refueling stations 1996. His research focus is on the and fuel cells for stationary, portable synthesis and development of novel power and vehicular applications. He is catalysts and materials. also Adjunct Professor in the Earth and Environmental Engineering Department of Columbia University, in the City of New York, where he teaches a course in catalysis.

Platinum Metals Rev., 2008, 52, (3) 143