3D Printing in catalytic technology

Project Group number: 21

Avanesh MP, CH20B019

Chaitanya Shinde , CH20B029
Ramana P, CH20B084
Upendra R, CH20B110
Yashashvee Meena, CH20B116

Department of Chemical Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Chennai 600 036
1/20 CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov
 Motivation
● In the field of catalytic technology and chemical
engineering the impact of additive manufacturing, also
referred to as 3D printing, is steadily increasing.
● Additive manufacturing closes the gap between theory
and experiment.
● Additive manufacturing in catalytic technology can
generating devices with an advanced design, easy
production, and great adaptation, in addition to their
catalytic functionality.
● Various processes are involved in 3D printing , we read
the processes and the heat transfer, mass
transfer,momentum transfer mechanism were some of
the topics which made us think to link this with
continuum mechanics and transportation phenomena.

2/20 CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov

 Key terms / definitions
● CAD:
involves creating computer models defined by geometrical parameters. These models
typically appear on a computer monitor as a three-dimensional representation of a part or a
system of parts, which can be readily altered by changing relevant parameters.

● Glass Transition Temperature:

Glass Transition Temperature or "Tg" represents the lowest temperature where the printing material
can start warping.

● Slicing:
Slicing in 3D printing refers to the process of dividing a shape or image into multiple layers .

● SLA:
SLA is the shortened form of Stereo Lithography - It follows an addictive manufacturing principal by
using photosensitive polymer resins instead of filaments

● FDM/FFF:
FFF (Filament Freeform Fabrication) and FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) are very similar printing
processes.
● They both use a continuous filament to build the programmed 3D structure by depositing multiple
3/20 layers. CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov
 List of resources
● We used various research papers and articles.

● Following are the some of resources, From where we took most of the information:

● https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2018/cs/c7cs00631d

● https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321045632_3D_printing_in_chemical_en
gineering_and_catalytic_technology_Structured_catalysts_mixers_and_reactors

● https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127521004809

● https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0264127521004809?token=701903B86
FAC0D6637BCBCE04588B511A8CD2F503F6162083933915F8C0BC58CF3A06
E55A33837C3856B46C019633F3C&originRegion=eu-west-1&originCreation=202
11112142557

4/20 CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov

 Why are CMTP important for this project topic
➔ Inour topic, mass transfer, energy transfer and heat transfer takes place.
when Rich H2 catalytic oxidation as a novel methodology takes place , the
evaluation of mass transport properties of 3d printing supports.
➔ Also in additive manufacturing of architectured catalytic ceramic substrates.
➔ Temperature also key factor in our topic, as many reaction takes place.
➔ So as all mass transfer, heat transfer and energy transfer takes place which is
by default transportation process.
➔ So that's why CMTP important in 3D printing in Catalytic technology.
➔ Modeling tools used in chemical engineering to characterize transport
phenomena in flowing systems. The use of computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) is introduced to characterize hydrodynamics, heat and mass transfer in
continuous flow mixers and reactors.

5/20 CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov

 Emphasis of your project
• Variables of Interest: (i)Velocity Profile,(ii) Temperature profile,(iii) Pressure,(iv) Catalytic efficiency,
(v)Catalytic geometry and (vi)product yield
• Using these governing equations and models, we can compare flow rates and efficiency for various
heterogeneously catalysed reactions.
•

• We can identify which catalyst is most effective for what reaction in specified conditions. The above
table shows a few examples of this.

6/20 CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov

 Balance equations
• Mass balance: 𝜕𝜌/𝜕t + 𝛁.𝜌V = 0

• Momentum balance: 𝜌𝜕V/𝜕t + 𝜌(V.𝛁)V = 𝜌b - 𝛁p + 𝛁.𝛕

• Species Balance: 𝜕(𝜌A)/𝜕t + 𝛁.(𝜌AV) = - 𝛁.JA + RA

• Energy Balance: 𝜌C𝜕T/𝜕t + 𝜌C(V.𝛁T) = k𝛻2T + 𝜌r + 2𝜇D:D

7/20 CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov

 Constitutive relations
•Fourier’s Law:
q = - k𝛁T
where, q local heat flux density
k is thermal conductivity of material
•Fick’s Law:
JA = -DAB𝛁CA
where JA is diffusion flux vector and
DAB is diffusion coefficient

8/20 CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov

 Ideal structure for efficient Catalyst
● After applying the concepts of CMTP using computed
technologies via CADD and CFD we can come to the
ideal catalyst structure for each reaction and reaction
condition. The below is used for electroplating of CU.
This design maximises the rate of electroplating as
well as the uniformity of it.

9/20 CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov

 Concepts / terms, to be studied
● The topics that are a huge part of this project but haven’t been
discussed in class so far are surface chemistry, digital modelling.
● The modelling and printing the structured catalyst requires certain
and certain applications just as CAD/CADD (Computer aided design
and drafting)
● Surface chemistry is required to calculate which design structure
yields the best efficiency to provide the maximum rate for the
reaction. Calculating this requires certain surface chemistry
concepts and terms such as Adsorption equilibrium constant, Turn
over number(TON) and Turn over frequency(TOF).
● TON and TOF are therms other than rate of reaction which are used
to find the efficiency of the catalyst.

10/20 CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov

 Beyond CMTP
● Eley-Rideal and Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics - Additional simulations were
conducted using the Langmuir- Hinshelwood kinetics, both for first and second
order kinetics.

● Damköhler number :- A Damköhler number (Da) is a useful ratio for determining

whether diffusion rates or reaction rates are more 'important' for defining a
steady-state chemical distribution over the length and time scales of interest

● The non-linear algebraic equations were solved with fsolve algorithm, based on
the Levenberg-Marquardt method.

● Sherwood number (Sh) :- Sh =

where R = channel radius, D = diffusion coefficient

11/20 CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov

 Future directions
● The development of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has opened a new
horizon to an almost boundary-free design of solid structures which can be used as
scaffolds for active catalyst material.
● The project can be improved in terms of design ,manufacturing and flexibility. We
can improve mass transfer through geometry optimization.
● The theory and the tools developed in this work can in future be used for cases of
arbitrary reaction kinetics to investigate and optimize the performance of solid foam
structure.
● 3D printing in the future as the exponential technology decreases in price, grows more
effective, and rises in availability. As more creative individuals from every industry
bring their ideas to the drawing board, we can expect more inventions and applications
of 3D printing with a positive impact for all in the future.

● Improvements can be done by decreasing printing costs, controlling the surface

roughness of reactor internals, standards and standardized test protocols, etc. New
fabrication approaches could help in addressing those challenges.

12/20 CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov

 Project topic(Punch Line)
“A man will be imprisoned in a
room with a door that's unlocked
and opens inwards; as long as it
does not occur to him to pull rather
than push.”

13/20 CH2012: Project presentations – July/Nov