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The topic of my PhD study was related to the recycling of industrial wastes in advanced ceramic manufacturing. I have studied this issue in detail for four years by investigating the possibility of a circular economy with a strong emphasis on the resource efficiency of alumina ceramic products by implementing green practices to achieve sustainable operations. After completing my PhD study at the University of Zagreb, I moved to the “Jožef Stefan” Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia, as MSCA postdoctoral research fellow, where I stayed in the field of green chemistry.

The project supports Europe’s energy policy towards a decarbonised energy system by bottom-up design an additive manufacturing (AM) route for a modular, multiscale ceramic catalytic reactor for magnetically heated, COx-free hydrogen production for the fully electrified decomposition of green ammonia. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers great possibilities due to its ability to manufacture geometrically complex 3D ceramic parts without using expensive tooling and greatly reduce manufacturing costs and help protect the environment compared to conventional processes. Despite its great potential, the AM of ceramics is behind the industrially established 3D printing of metals and polymers, primarily due to the feedstock preparation and process-related limitations.

Catalysis processes are increasingly being influenced by additive manufacturing. Their connection is based on the need to intensify catalytic processes to make them more efficient and sustainable. The AM can satisfy such a need, generating materials with an advanced design, easy production, and great adaptation, in addition to their high catalytic functionality. By multidisciplinary approach, we are aiming to develop a modular, complex-shaped catalytic reactor with designed porosity and composition, enabling on-demand magnetic heating. The development of such kind of catalytic reactor has tremendous potential for catalysis. The validation of the catalytic reactor is going to be carried out with the fully electrified decomposition of ammonia to produce COx-free hydrogen. The production of hydrogen has been selected since hydrogen is becoming an important energy vector, as well as a central reactant for the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries.

Dr. Milan Vukšić

Department for Nanostructured Materials

Jozef Stefan Institute

Jamova cesta 39

SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

milan.vuksic@ijs.si

http://nano.ijs.si