This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II program will advance the use of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) reactors to produce hydrogenated edible vegetable oils with low trans fatty acid (TFA) content. Successful completion of this program could lead to reduced incidence of coronary heart disease as a consequence of the availability of healthy, low-cost hydrogenated oils. The technology is based on a recent demonstration by Pintauro and co-workers of a new electrochemical process that substantially reduces the amount of TFA formed during oil hydrogenation. In this program, T/J Technologies, Inc. will further develop innovative electrocatalysts and membrane electrode assemblies to increase the hydrogenation rate and selectivity, and improve the durability of state-of-the-art reactors. These advances will increase the hydrogenation efficiency, limit total saturated fat content, and bring the cost of electrochemical hydrogenation into line with conventional processes. The Phase II program will also focus on larger scale system design and optimization to demonstrate the commercial viability of this technology. During the Phase III effort, system demonstration and scale-up will be carried out to advance development and demonstrate economic. The direct product from the program will be electrocatalysts and membrane electrode assemblies designed for oil hydrogenation, and process licenses to use this technology. The customers will be edible oil process equipment and catalyst manufacturers, and food processing companies. OBJECTIVES: The overall goal of this SBIR Phase II program is to further develop electrochemical processes for the hydrogenation of vegetable oil with low trans-fatty acid content. In this Phase II work, there are five technical objectives: Objective 1. Design and fabricate a larger scale PEM reactor hydrogenation system that is capable of producing 5 kg oil per day; Objective 2. Develop and evaluate highly active catalysts for electrochemical hydrogenation of soybean oil with desirable product distribution (Trans-fatty acid: < 5%; Fully saturated acid < 10% and Triene acid <3%). Objective 3. Scale up the catalyst and demonstrate a current efficiency greater than 80%. Objective 4. Attain production of hydrogenated oil in excess of 5 kg/day. Objective 5. Demonstrate reactor durability with > 1 month operation. APPROACH: In this project, we will continue to develop highly active, selective and stable hydrogenation catalysts, and demonstrate the feasibility of polymer electrolyte membrane reactors for continuous oil hydrogenation to produce a commercially desirable distribution of hydrogenated oil at a cost competitive with conventional processing. To meet the program objectives, we have developed approaches to address all the encountered or potential issues associated with each objective. First of all, highly selective cathode catalysts are needed in this program. Based on the Phase I results, we will further develop new co-catalyst formulations including Pd/C:MC catalysts to improve selectivity (MC=high surface area metal carbide). Secondly, electrochemical efficiency of the oil hydrogenation reactor needs to be further improved. We have two approaches to meet this important target. Our approaches include development of new catalysts, optimization of MEA design for oil access and efficient flow field. Finally, to demonstrate the commercial viability of this hydrogenation technology, appropriate production quantity and system durability must be demonstrated during this Phase II project. We will first design and fabricate a larger fuel cell reactor with significantly increased active area to oil which is capable of working in a continuous mode. Development of reinforced membranes and long life time catalysts are two core tasks in this project. Oil product analysis and study on reactor efficiency / polarization response behavior are the two key tools that will facilitate and ensure the success of this Phase II project.
