UNM Associate Professor of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Plamen Atanassov is leading a team exploring the possibility of putting biofuel into a fuel cell, research that takes a step toward hydrogen rather than petroleum based economy. Biofuels are considered a renewable energy source since they are plant-based rather than petroleum-based.
Photo: Associate Professor of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Plamen Atanassov
Atanassov, director of the Center for Emerging Energy Technologies, said, “We would link the world of biofuels with the world of fuel cells.”
A major grant from the Department of Energy’s EPSCoR program brought together research faculty from UNM, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Tech and Eastern New Mexico University as well as researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Labs to explore the possibility of making usable fuel cells from ethanol to produce electricity.
The grant is about $750,000 per year for up to six years. Students at the universities will work directly with research faculty on a cutting edge problem vital to the future of the United States. Student participation will range from undergraduates to post doctoral research.
The basic science research is divided in several ways. Atanassov is principal investigator and will coordinate the overall research activity. His group will examine the problem of direct electrochemical oxidation of ethanol. Researchers at UNM will also examine medium temperature steam reforming of ethanol. Faculty researchers involved in the project are Atanassov, Kateryna Artyushkova, Abhaya Datye, Julia Fulghum, Dimiter Petsev and Tim Ward.
At New Mexico Tech, work on high temperature partial oxidation of ethanol will be done by Corey Leclerc from the Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Department and his research group.
At New Mexico State University Physics Department faculty Boris Kiefer will work on theoretical aspects of the program and Heinz Nakotte will examine the materials with neuron diffraction techniques at LANL.
Juchao Yan from the Chemistry Department at Eastern New Mexico University will do characterization of chemical cells.
The research groups want to determine whether ethanol can be reformed to produce hydrogen. If possible, they will build on the results to explore how direct electrochemical oxidation of ethanol might work. The research is expected to result in a new family of materials.
“This is fundamental research,” says Atanassov. “Now if that can be wrapped into a portable cell, that would be say an ethanol fuel cell for cellular phones. If that could be wrapped in a stationary fuel cell, it could be in-situ power generation in homes.”
Work on the project is just beginning. It is expected to continue for several years, and will offer students throughout the state an opportunity to work on the kind of fundamental research that could change the world energy future.