CFD modeling and simulation of benzyl alcohol oxidation coupled with hydrogen production in a continuous-flow photoelectrochemical reactor
Abstract Various conversion routes of biomass and its derivative compounds into high-value products has attracted attention from researchers recently. Among these, a solar-driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) oxidation approach of biomass alcohols to aldehydes is particularly of great interest for the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50102-7 |
| _version_ | 1797377164413239296 |
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| author | Thorfhan Hanamorn Paravee Vas-Umnuay |
| author_facet | Thorfhan Hanamorn Paravee Vas-Umnuay |
| author_sort | Thorfhan Hanamorn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Various conversion routes of biomass and its derivative compounds into high-value products has attracted attention from researchers recently. Among these, a solar-driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) oxidation approach of biomass alcohols to aldehydes is particularly of great interest for the potential applications because the reaction is selective and simultaneously accompanied with hydrogen production. Here, we propose a simulation of selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol into benzaldehyde coupled with hydrogen production in a 2-dimensional continuous-flow PEC reactor using COMSOL Multiphysics (5.6). In order to develop and fabricate a simple yet efficient reactor for a practical use, it is crucial to investigate the effects of operating and design parameters of the reactor on the reactions. Our studies demonstrated that the main contributions to product formation were the electrolyte flow velocity and the width of electrolyte channels. The optimized design parameter exhibited good photoelectrochemical performance with uniform potential distribution within the channels which served diffusion of neutral and charged species and electrochemical reaction. The maximum conversion of benzyl alcohol in this work was 48.25% with 100% selectivity of benzaldehyde. These findings are key for the design of the continuous-flow PEC reactor that can be applied to any series of biomass conversion reactions under mild conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T19:48:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d5fa56dbeaa54f06b629be17267d258d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T19:48:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-d5fa56dbeaa54f06b629be17267d258d2023-12-24T12:13:49ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-12-0113111210.1038/s41598-023-50102-7CFD modeling and simulation of benzyl alcohol oxidation coupled with hydrogen production in a continuous-flow photoelectrochemical reactorThorfhan Hanamorn0Paravee Vas-Umnuay1Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Center of Excellence in Particle and Material Processing Technology, Chulalongkorn UniversityDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Center of Excellence in Particle and Material Processing Technology, Chulalongkorn UniversityAbstract Various conversion routes of biomass and its derivative compounds into high-value products has attracted attention from researchers recently. Among these, a solar-driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) oxidation approach of biomass alcohols to aldehydes is particularly of great interest for the potential applications because the reaction is selective and simultaneously accompanied with hydrogen production. Here, we propose a simulation of selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol into benzaldehyde coupled with hydrogen production in a 2-dimensional continuous-flow PEC reactor using COMSOL Multiphysics (5.6). In order to develop and fabricate a simple yet efficient reactor for a practical use, it is crucial to investigate the effects of operating and design parameters of the reactor on the reactions. Our studies demonstrated that the main contributions to product formation were the electrolyte flow velocity and the width of electrolyte channels. The optimized design parameter exhibited good photoelectrochemical performance with uniform potential distribution within the channels which served diffusion of neutral and charged species and electrochemical reaction. The maximum conversion of benzyl alcohol in this work was 48.25% with 100% selectivity of benzaldehyde. These findings are key for the design of the continuous-flow PEC reactor that can be applied to any series of biomass conversion reactions under mild conditions.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50102-7 |
| spellingShingle | Thorfhan Hanamorn Paravee Vas-Umnuay CFD modeling and simulation of benzyl alcohol oxidation coupled with hydrogen production in a continuous-flow photoelectrochemical reactor Scientific Reports |
| title | CFD modeling and simulation of benzyl alcohol oxidation coupled with hydrogen production in a continuous-flow photoelectrochemical reactor |
| title_full | CFD modeling and simulation of benzyl alcohol oxidation coupled with hydrogen production in a continuous-flow photoelectrochemical reactor |
| title_fullStr | CFD modeling and simulation of benzyl alcohol oxidation coupled with hydrogen production in a continuous-flow photoelectrochemical reactor |
| title_full_unstemmed | CFD modeling and simulation of benzyl alcohol oxidation coupled with hydrogen production in a continuous-flow photoelectrochemical reactor |
| title_short | CFD modeling and simulation of benzyl alcohol oxidation coupled with hydrogen production in a continuous-flow photoelectrochemical reactor |
| title_sort | cfd modeling and simulation of benzyl alcohol oxidation coupled with hydrogen production in a continuous flow photoelectrochemical reactor |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50102-7 |
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