Around 400,000 years ago, when early humans first harnessed fire for warmth, it marked a pivotal moment in human history. Today, heat remains vital, especially in manufacturing industries like refining, steel, cement, and pulp and paper. However, burning fossil fuels to generate this heat releases significant greenhouse gas emissions. To combat this, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is investing heavily in alternative heat generation technologies.

As part of the Manufacturing USA initiative, the DOE has allocated $70 million to the Electrified Processes for Industry without Carbon (EPIXC) Institute, led by Arizona State University in partnership with Texas A&M University and others. This funding, managed by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office, supports the advancement of electrified heating technologies.

“Currently, much of the heat in manufacturing is generated by burning fossil fuels,” said Dr. Mark Barteau, a professor at Texas A&M University. “With abundant carbon-free energy on the horizon, we have the opportunity to transform the industry by using electrical energy for heating, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

As a core partner in EPIXC, Texas A&M, through its Energy Institute, is playing a crucial role. Researchers will create a roadmap for decarbonizing manufacturing processes, beginning with a two-year project focused on developing electrified heating technologies for propane dehydrogenation. This process, which converts propane into propylene—a key component in plastics and chemicals—currently relies on fossil fuel-based heat. Dr. Barteau’s team aims to replace this with electrified chemical processes and establish workforce training programs.

The team, which includes Dr. Micah Green and Dr. Benjamin Willhite, is working on a reactor that uses radiofrequency (RF) heating for the propane dehydrogenation catalyst. RF heating allows uniform internal heating within the reactor, enhancing efficiency and reducing emissions. Scaling this technology for large-scale industrial use is a key challenge, as facilities producing 600,000 metric tons of propylene annually will require substantial amounts of clean electricity, either generated on-site or transmitted from elsewhere.

This project has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by 0.3 metric tons per ton of propylene produced and increase propylene yields by up to 10%. Additionally, workforce development efforts led by Texas A&M Energy Institute experts Dr. Stratos Pistikopoulos and Dr. Konstantinos Pappas will ensure the industry is equipped to adopt these innovations.

As climate change intensifies, Texas A&M and its partners at EPIXC are dedicated to reducing fossil fuel dependence and decarbonizing industries through electrified heating technologies. These efforts could significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions in manufacturing, paving the way for a more sustainable industrial future. This research is supported by the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), the research agency for Texas A&M Engineering.

Source: Texas A&M Engineering