An Thien Le

The main research interests lie in catalysis and reaction engineering, especially for sustainable energy (chemicals/fuel) production and environmental protection.

•  COx-free H2  Generation by Ammonia Decomposition

Hydrogen (H2) energy is considered a viable future replacement for fossil-fuel, with less potential effects on the climate. The emerging H2 economy faces storage and transport challenges, and the use of ammonia (NH3) as a COx-free source of H2 via NH3 decomposition has recently attracted attention. Developing novel catalysts for highly efficient NH3 decomposition with economy saving is a challenge.

•  COx-Reduction to Methane - Methanation

Currently, synthesis gas (CO/H2), methanol, ethanol, carbohydrates, CH4 and CO2 are widely researched as a major candidate intermediate or starting feedstocks to the fuels and the chemicals. In order to develop the energy-efficient chemical process based on these intermediates, the optimum catalyst with high activity and selectivity should be found.

• Catalytic Production and Upgrading Bio-Oil from Biomass

Nowadays, increases in demands for biomass exploitation as a new sustainable energy source to solve the conventional energy source depletion and alleviate global warming are bringing about developments in conversion technologies. The developed thermochemical pathways perform the fast conversion of biomass into fuels or chemicals and almost no feedstock limitation. The introduction of catalysts helps not only decreases the temperature of the biomass conversion processes for energy saving in maximizing bio-oil yields but also enhances the quality of those fuels to practical demands.