Chemical Raw Materials Research Articles

Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensor Based on Tb(III) Functionalized Metal-Organic Framework for Formic Acid.

Formic acid is a common chemical raw material, the effective detection of which is of importance to food safety and environmental quality. In this work, the lanthanide functionalized dual-emission metal-organic framework (TH25) was prepared as a ratiometric fluorescent sensor for formic acid. This ratiometric sensor has a good detection performance with high selectivity, sensitivity, and reproducibility. Together with a low limit of detection of 2.1 ppm, these characters promise the ability to sense at low levels as well as a practical detection ability. This work provides ideas for the design and synthesis of effective chemical sensors for organic acids.

One Bicopper Complex with Good Affinity to Nitrate for Highly Selective Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia

Ammonia (NH3) plays an irreplaceable role in human life as a promising energy carrier and indispensable chemical raw material. Nitrate electroreduction to ammonium (NRA) not only removes nitrate pollutants, but also can be used for efficient NH3 production under ambient conditions. However, achieving high efficiency and selectivity of electrocatalysts is still a great challenge. Herein, a complex Cu2(NO3)4(BMMB)·H2O with a bicopper core is assembled by Cu(NO3)2·3H2O and 1,4-bis{[2-(2’-pyridyl)benzimidazolyl]methyl}benzene (BMMB) for NRA under alkaline conditions. The optimal sample showed excellent nitrate reduction performance with the NO3− conversion rate of 70%, Faradaic efficiency of up to 90%, and NH3 selectivity of more than 95%. The high-catalytic activity is mainly due to the ingeniously designed copper cores with strong affinity for NO3−, which accelerates the transferring rate of adsorbed nitrate on the Cu surface and increases the efficiency of rate-determining step (NO3− → NO2−) in the whole catalytic process. Therefore, the transformation of surface-exposed nitrate can be rapidly catalyzed by the Cu active sites, facilitating the conversion efficiency of nitrate.

The influence of dewatering system on groundwater regime at NLMK Lipetsk

The analysis of geological and hydrogeological conditions at the industrial site of Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant (NLMK Lipetsk) was performed. It was determined that the hydrodynamic regime of groundwater at the industrial site changed in the course of construction and operation of the metallurgical facilities, as well as during creation of the Matyrskoe reservoir. An increase in the infiltration feed of aquifers was detected due to the process water leaks, reduction of surface water runoff and backwater effect from the Matyrskoe reservoir. All of that led to increasing of groundwater levels in the aquifers at the industrial site and to underflooding of the buried structures of industrial facilities. The main elements of protection of buried buildings and structures from underflooding with groundwater of the Neogene–Quaternary aquifer are the permanent drainage sites and injectable plugging for fixing of aquifers rocks. Protection of buried structures from underflooding with groundwater is carried out using 30 dewatering wells located on four sites of permanent drainage. It was found that operation of the permanent drainage sites led to the formation of a depression funnel in the Neogene–Quaternary aquifer, to the flow of groundwater from the Devonian aquifers into the Neogene–Quaternary aquifer and to the change in the groundwater chemistry. The sources of groundwater pollution are the process water leaks from production workshops and settling tanks, chemical water treatment facilities, sewerage networks, and raw material storage sites. The main pollutants of groundwater are iron, manganese, cyanides, rhodanides, phenols, petroleum products and organic nitrogen-containing substances. It is shown that the localization of polluted waters occurs within the depression funnel, the center of which is in the location of sites of permanent drainage. The spread of polluted waters through the Neogene–Quaternary aquifer beyond the depression funnel and the Devonian aquifer contamination with seepage waters from the industrial site are eliminated.

Theoretical and experimental exploration for efficient separation of carbazole from anthracene oil with quaternary ammonium salts via forming deep eutectic solvents

Carbazole is an important organic chemical raw material with high added value, mainly derived from crude anthracene. In this research, three quaternary ammonium salts (QASs), containing triethylmethylammonium chloride (TEMAC), tetraethylammonium chloride (TEAC) and tetrapropylammonium chloride (TPAC), were innovatively used to separate carbazole from model anthracene oil by forming deep eutectic solvents (DESs). The results indicated that TEAC showed the highest separation ability among three QASs. Afterwards, the influences of mass ratio of TEAC to model anthracene oil (MO), stirring time, extraction temperature and initial concentration on the separation effect of carbazole were investigated. Under the optimized conditions (25℃, 25 min, mass ratio 1:5), the extraction efficiency (EE), distribution coefficient (DI) and selectivity (SE) of carbazole could reach up to 91.25 %, 24.26 and 66.09 %, respectively. The purity and yield of carbazole product separated from model anthracene oil were 91.02 % and 76.89 %, respectively. Moreover, carbazole with purity of 90.42 % could be separated from real crude anthracene with TEAC under the above optimized conditions. In addition, environment friendly water was used to regenerate the TEAC. After recycled for five times, the extraction ability of TEAC for carbazole did not change obviously. Finally, the hydrogen bond (NH…Cl) and van der Waals interaction (CH…π) existed between QASs and carbazole were revealed by FT-IR analysis and quantum calculations. The green and novel method presented in this work has implications for the separation of other high value-added products from coal tar.

Correlation of Brønsted acid strengths and species substituted Si in ZSM-5 and their effects on propylene polymerization in MTA reaction

Methanol to aromatics (MTA) is regarded as an efficient process to generate benzene, toluene, xylene (BTX), and other important chemical raw materials, and the polymerization of alkenes is an important reaction in MTA. In this work, the effect of different Brønsted acid strengths over ZSM-5 on propylene polymerization was studied by using the density functional theory (DFT) method. H-M-ZSM5 with different Brønsted acid strengths are formed by substituting Si atoms in ZSM-5 by Al, Ga, In, Fe, and B atoms, respectively. And three steps including the formation of propoxide, propylene dimerization, and the deprotonation of C6 hydrocarbon are investigated. The i-propoxide is most easily generated by the protonation of propylene. And the polymerization of i-propoxide with propylene is easier compared to n-propoxide in the dimerization step. Subsequently, hexoxy primary carbon dehydrogenation to generate C6 olefins is prone in the C6 hydrocarbon deprotonation step. Therefore, the optimal path is the protonation of propylene to produce i-propoxide, which in turn polymerizes with propylene to produce hexoxy (IM5), followed by a deprotonation step to produce the most favorable product 2-Methyl-pentene. Meanwhile, the enhanced strength of the Brønsted acid significantly promotes the activity of propylene protonation and C6 hydrocarbons deprotonation, while it has little effect on the propylene dimerization. Therefore, the Brønsted acid strength is proposed as an appropriate descriptor to reflect the catalytic activity of H-M-ZSM5 to the propylene protonation and C6 hydrocarbons deprotonation. And H–Al-ZSM5 and H-Ga-ZSM5 with high acid strength are found to have the best performance for the propylene polymerization to C6 olefins.

Recovery of Ni matte from Ni-bearing electroplating sludge

In this study, a novel process for the recovery of Ni from Ni-bearing electroplating sludge (ES) is proposed, which involves the carbothermic reduction stage and smelting stage. In the reduction stage, the CaSO4, Fe2O3, and NiO in the ES were reduced by carbon at 1000 °C, and the Ni3S2 and Fe4Ni5S8(Ni-rich phases) were generated. After that, the reduced ES was mixed with SiO2 and smelted at 1500 °C. During the smelting stage, Ni3S2 and Fe4Ni5S8 were melted to form liquid Ni–Fe–S matte and separated from the molten slag by gravity. Finally, 58.5%Ni-13.8%Fe-27.7%S (in weight) matte and vitrified slag were obtained. The recovery ratio of Ni (97.2%) was much higher than that of Fe (14.7%). Besides, the Ni/Fe mass ratio of the ES was 0.7, while the ratio of the prepared matte was about 4.2. Therefore, the selective recovery of Ni was achieved. The obtained Ni matte can be used as the raw material for pure Ni or Ni-bearing chemicals.

Effect of pseudo-boehmite on the aromatization performance of Zn-P-Al/ZSM-5 catalysts

At present, under the background of the excess product oil market, “reducing oil products and increasing chemical raw materials” has become the mainstream trend in the chemical industry. In recent years, ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst has been widely used in the aromatization of FCC gasoline, but its modification to improve its aromatization catalytic performance is still not perfect. Therefore, based on the existing process technology, the effect of pseudo-boehmite on the aromatization performance of Zn-P-Al/ZSM-5 catalysts was investigated on a small continuous fixed-bed reactor using 75-120 °C fractions of FCC gasoline as feedstock. The results show that the aromatization performance of Zn-P-Al/ZSM-5 catalyst is better than that of Zn-P/ZSM-5 and HZSM-5, and the best aromatization performance is obtained when the pseudo-boehmite ratio is 30%, the aromatics content and aromatics yield in liquid products are 90.82% and 54.38%, respectively. The results of catalyst characterization are consistent with those of catalyst evaluation.

Inhibiting Effects of Inhibitors on Different Temperature Oxidation of Sulfide Ores

ABSTRACT To control spontaneous combustion of sulfide ores, the compound inhibitor was prepared by selecting physical resistance raw materials(Na2CO3), chemical resistance raw materials(Melatonin), Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide(CTMAB) and hydroxyethyl cellulose(HEC). With the help of the simultaneous thermal analyzer, different concentrations of inhibitors were prepared and the thermal behavior of the ore samples with 10, 15, and 20 wt% inhibitor at four heating rates of 5, 10, 15, and 20 K/min was determined. The Flynn-Wall-Ozawa method was applied to calculate the activation energy of sulfide ores with different concentrations. The results showed that: Gradually increasing the heating rate will increase the reaction intensity of each ore sample in the first weight loss stage of thermal decomposition, and then reduce the mass of the ore samples involved in the second weight loss stage; The thermal stability of each resisted ore sample is better than that of the original ore sample; The increase in the concentration of inhibitor can inert the reaction process of ore samples in the thermal decomposition stage, weakening the exothermic effect of ore samples; The inhibitor with 15 wt% had a better effect on preventing spontaneous combustion of sulfide ores, and its property value is higher than other concentrations.

Camelina sativa. Status quo and future perspectives

Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz is an oilseed relict crop. This article recognizes camelina's current and potential future uses based on a comprehensive scientific and patent document analysis. The annual number of literature on camelina increased significantly; in the case of patent documents, this increase is most evident after 2009 and in the case of scientific publications – after 2010. We identified six main thematic groups among 1039 scientific papers analyzed: cultivation, genetics, biological characteristics, livestock feeding, energetic use, and oil extraction technology. We also showed the links between these groups. There are seven vital patent applications among 2307, which meet two conditions: they are highly cited in other patent documents and submitted for protection in many global patent jurisdictions. The current scientific research on the use of camelina focuses on: animal feed, human foodstuff, industrial chemical raw materials (glycerin, polymers, ethanol, lignin), fuels (diesel, jet fuel, biogas, energy pellet, pyrolysis oil), and compost to improve soil. The results of the analysis of scientific and patent documents point to potential future applications of camelina: as a pioneer crop in reclaimed areas, as a cover or companion crop in agriculture, and as a source for new chemical additives (to pesticides, coatings, glue, and filaments in 3D printing technology), as meat analogs, as a feedstock in construction and packaging materials production, as a source of biochar and as straw water filters.

Dry Reforming of Ethane over FeNi/Al–Ce–O Catalysts: Composition-Induced Strong Metal–Support Interactions

Dry reforming of ethane (DRE) has received significant attention because of its potential to produce chemical raw materials and reduce carbon emissions. Herein, a composition-induced strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) effect over FeNi/Al–Ce–O catalysts is revealed via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H 2 -temperature programmed reduction (TPR), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) elemental mapping. The introduction of Al into Al–Ce–O supports significantly influences the dispersion of surface active components and improves the catalytic performance for DRE over supported FeNi catalysts due to enhancement of the SMSI effect. The catalytic properties, for example, C 2 H 6 and CO 2 conversion, CO selectivity and yield, and turnover frequencies (TOFs), of supported FeNi catalysts first increase and then decrease with increasing Al content, following the same trend as the theoretical effective surface area (TESA) of the corresponding catalysts. The FeNi/Ce–Al 0.5 catalyst, with 50% Al content, exhibits the best DRE performance under steady-state conditions at 873 K. As observed by with in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, the introduction of Al not only increases the content of surface Ce 3+ and oxygen vacancies but also promotes the dispersion of surface active components, which further alters the catalytic properties for DRE over supported FeNi catalysts.

Design of a metal-oxide solid solution for selective detection of ethanol with marginal influence by humidity

Emerging nanotechnologies improved solid-state sensors design and capabilities and enabled the use of semiconducting metal oxides-based gas sensors for new and increasingly demanding applications. Among them, ethanol monitoring is of great interest because it is an important chemical raw material widely used in chemical industry, medicine, paint and cosmetics. Water vapour is the most common interferent during operating conditions, affecting the baseline stability of sensors, and reducing their sensitivity and accuracy. In this work, a strategy based on the formation of stoichiometric solid solutions of Sn, Ti and Nb oxides have been sought to address humidity dependence of sensor signals and to enhance the sensing response vs. ethanol. Powders were synthesised through sol-gel technique, by keeping the Sn:Ti ratio constant at the optimal value for ethanol detection with different Nb concentrations (1.5, 3.5 and 5 at%), and thermally treated at 650 °C and 850 °C. Such solid solutions exploited the good sensitivity of SnO2 towards most analytes and the low cross-sensitivity of TiO2 to humidity. Nb was added to lower the film resistance and to prevent grains coalescence at temperatures required for the formation of the solid solutions and the anatase-to-rutile phase transition. The results show that the niobium concentration and the heating treatment of powders are fundamental parameters to optimise the sensing features of the film towards ethanol monitoring applications and to lower the influence of humidity on its performance.

Peroxymonosulfate activation based on Co9S8@N−C: A new strategy for highly efficient hydrogen production and synchronous formaldehyde removal in wastewater

Formaldehyde (FA), as an important chemical raw material, has been widely used in many fields. However, the discharge of a large amount of FA-containing wastewater poses a serious threat to the environment and human health. Recently, the in-situ hydrogen energy release technology of hydrogen-containing stable liquid has been extensively explored due to its safe storage. Exploring a robust method to achieve FA removal and synchronous in-situ hydrogen release from FA containing wastewater is of great significant for environmental protection and energy crisis alleviation. Here, we have innovatively introduced peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation technology into FA removal and hydrogen production simultaneously. The composite of nitrogen doped carbon coating Co9S8 nanotubes (Co9S8@N−C) is employed as a proof of concept for FA decomposition and simultaneously hydrogen production based on PMS activation system. As expected, the Co9S8@N−C/PMS system presents much superior hydrogen production efficiency and satisfactory FA removal rate towards FA wastewater than those of common catalysis, photocatalysis and Fenton reaction in the basic condition in a wide range of FA concentration. The hydrogen yield reaches a value as high as 471 μmol within 60 min, corresponding to a FA degradation rate of 30% with an initial FA concentration of 0.722 mol L−1. Characterizations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that the free radical process dominated by superoxide radical (O2⋅−) and nonradical process dominated by singlet oxygen (1O2), which are induced by Co9S8@N−C/PMS system, are responsible for highly efficient hydrogen production via FA degradation. These generated O2⋅−and 1O2 can extract ⋅H from FA to form ⋅OOH intermediate, which can further combine with the ⋅H from water to produce hydrogen. This study provides an applicable technique for environmental purification and new energy development based on FA containing wastewater.

Progress in Synthesis of Glycidol

The molecular structure of glycidol contains two highly active chemical functional groups, epoxy group and hydroxyl group, so it is very active and is a very useful chemical substance. It can be used as plastics, fiber modifiers, epoxy resin diluents, halogenated hydrocarbon stabilizers, food preservatives, fungicides, etc. In the pharmaceutical field, it can be used to synthesize a series of blockers for cardiovascular diseases, HIV protease inhibitor for AIDS, antiviral drug, many lactones and glycerophospholipid, it can also be used as an important intermediate of some photoelectric materials and functional polymer materials. The partial reactivity of glycidyl depends on its epoxy ring acting as an alkylating agent. In addition, it is used in the production of flavorings and sweeteners. Glycidyl can also be used as a stabilizer, used in the production of petroleum, vinyl polymers, demulsifiers, dyeing layered agents and gelata applied in surface coatings, chemical synthesis, fungicides, solid fuels. It's also an important monomer and semi-finished product for synthetic surfactant. And its derivatives are also a kind of chemical raw materials, which are used in many fields such as resins, plastics, medicines, pesticides and auxiliaries. Therefore, more and more attention are paid to the synthesis and application of glycidol. However, the application of glycerol in our country is limited, and the industrial production is also lagging behind. In this paper, the process of glycidol synthesis form propylene alcohol and glycerol as basic raw material was reviewed, and the preparation of glycidol was systematically summarized, so as to provide reference for the subsequent research of glycidol.

Characterization of flow field of swirling flow conveying in bulk grain pipeline based on gas‐solid multiphase coupling

AbstractAn experiment was carried out to study the characteristics of swirling pneumatic conveying of grain particles in horizontal pipeline, which can provide a reference for the design and optimization of swirling pneumatic conveying system of bulk grain pipeline. The numerical simulation of swirling pneumatic conveying under the guidance of vane swirling generator was performed via CFD‐DEM coupling method. The axial velocity of grain particles was symmetrical along the radial direction, and the tangential velocity was symmetrical along the pipe axis. When the blade number of the swirling device was 6–9, the static pressure drop and standard deviation of the flow field were large, the instantaneous energy consumption of the system and the dispersion of particles were high, and the conveying effect was good. When the blade number was six, the spiral distance of the flow field in the pipe was longer with better quality of swirl flow. In accordance with the simulation results, the best effect of swirling conveying is achieved when the equivalent diameter of the grain particles is 4 mm, the multiphase flow conveying speed is 20 m/s, and the spiral blade number of the swirling flow generator with flow deflector is six.Practical applicationIn the practical application, the swirling flow generated by the swirling device can suppress the settlement of particles and the blockage of the pipeline in the straight pipe conveying, and avoid the high speed collision between particles and the pipe wall in the curved pipe conveying, slow down the impact, reduce the particle breakage and the wear of the pipe wall. The generation and maintenance of swirling flow play a key role in the long‐distance conveying of various chemical raw materials, grain, fertilizer and other granular materials. Swirling flow pneumatic conveying has the advantages of simple equipment structure, small occupation space, flexible pipeline layout, easy to automatic control, high production efficiency, recycling, environmental protection, and so on. It has become an important conveying mode in bulk material conveying.

Anchoring LiCl in the Nanopores of Metal–Organic Frameworks for Ultra‐High Uptake and Selective Separation of Ammonia

AbstractAmmonia (NH3) is an important chemical raw material and a unique carbon‐free fuel with high hydrogen energy density. Thus, NH3 capture, storage, and desorption are of significant importance. However, high capacity capture, low energy desorption, and selective separation of NH3 are still challengs so far. Here, we report high‐performance hybrid sorbents by anchoring LiCl in the nanopores of MIL‐53‐(OH)2 metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). It is found that the optimal composite shows a capture capacity of 33.9 mmol g−1 NH3 at 1.0 bar and 25 °C, which far exceeds the current record among the reported porous materials. Notably, the excellent capture capacity at low pressure and high temperature makes it possible to selectively capture NH3 from NH3/N2, NH3/CO2, and NH3/H2O. It is revealed that synergistic action of NH3 coordination to the highly dispersed Li+ in the MOF nanopores and hydrogen bonding of NH3 with Cl− account for such an excellent capture and selectivity performance.

Dynamic Simulation Analysis and Optimization of Green Ammonia Production Process under Transition State

Ammonia is an important chemical raw material and the main hydrogen energy carrier. In the context of “carbon neutrality”, green ammonia produced using renewable energy is cleaner and produces less carbon than traditional ammonia production. Raw hydrogen dynamically fluctuates during green ammonia production because it is affected by the instability and intermittency of renewable energy; the green ammonia production process has frequent variable working conditions to take into account. Therefore, studying the transition state process of green ammonia is critical to the processing device’s stable operation. In this study, a natural gas ammonia production process was modified using green ammonia, and steady-state and dynamic models were established using UniSim. The model was calibrated using actual factory data to ensure the model’s reliability. Based on the steady-state model, hydrogen feed flow disturbance was added to the dynamic model to simulate the transition state process under variable working conditions. The change in system energy consumption in the transition state process was analyzed based on the data analysis method. The proportional-integral-derivative (PID) parameter optimization method was developed to optimize energy consumption under variable conditions of green ammonia’s production process. Based on this method, process control parameters were adjusted to shorten fluctuation time and reduce energy consumption.

Anchoring LiCl in the Nanopores of Metal-Organic Frameworks for Ultra-High Uptake and Selective Separation of Ammonia.

Ammonia (NH3 ) is an important chemical raw material and a unique carbon-free fuel with high hydrogen energy density. Thus, NH3 capture, storage, and desorption are of significant importance. However, high capacity capture, low energy desorption, and selective separation of NH3 are still challengs so far. Here, we report high-performance hybrid sorbents by anchoring LiCl in the nanopores of MIL-53-(OH)2 metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). It is found that the optimal composite shows a capture capacity of 33.9 mmol g-1 NH3 at 1.0 bar and 25 °C, which far exceeds the current record among the reported porous materials. Notably, the excellent capture capacity at low pressure and high temperature makes it possible to selectively capture NH3 from NH3 /N2 , NH3 /CO2 , and NH3 /H2 O. It is revealed that synergistic action of NH3 coordination to the highly dispersed Li+ in the MOF nanopores and hydrogen bonding of NH3 with Cl- account for such an excellent capture and selectivity performance.

Efficient degradation of rice straw through a novel psychrotolerant Bacillus cereus at low temperature.

Rice straw (RS) is one of the largest sources of lignocellulosic, which is an abundant raw material for biofuels and chemicals. However, the natural degradation of RS under a low temperature environment is the biggest obstacle to returning straw to the field. In the present study, one bacillus strain W118 was isolated. Strain W118 was identified as Bacillus cereus through morphological and physiological characterization and 16S rDNA sequencing. The optimum growth temperature and pH of strain W118 were 20 °C and 6.5, respectively. Simultaneously, it was found that the strain W118 grew well at low temperature, even at a temperature of 4 °C (OD600 =1.40 ± 0.01). The decrease of various compositions of RS after the fermentation process at a temperature of 20 °C and 4 °C for 14 days was 27.00 ± 0.02% and 23.70 ± 0.04%, respectively. The composition of RS decreased to 50.71 ± 0.02% after being fermented at 4 °C for 25 days. The results of scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction of RS showed that the compositions of RS were significant decreased. This test suggests that the strain W118 is efficient for degrading RS at low temperature, which has great application potential for straw degradation in a low temperature area. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Extraction performance evaluation of amide-based deep eutectic solvents for carboxylic acid: Molecular dynamics simulations and a mini-pilot study

Carboxylic acids are important precursors of chemical raw materials produced from the bioconversion of renewable feedstocks. In these processes, the separation of carboxylic acid products from fermentation broth is of great significance and challenge. In this research, the extraction performance of carboxylic acid using novel hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (DESs) composed of amides and geraniol was studied. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have also been adopted to understand the extraction mechanism. Radial and combined distribution functions analysis shows that hydrogen bond-induced geraniol-carboxylic acid and amide-carboxylic acid multi-molecular assembly drives the separation of carboxylic acids from fermentation broth. Thermodynamics and mean square displacement calculations show that increasing temperature breaks the hydrogen bond networks, and the hydrophobic DESs can be recycled. Finally, a mini-pilot experiment for lactic acid recovery from fermentation broth verified the effectiveness of the amide-based DESs and their application to practice. These findings provide references for industrial-scale production of carboxylic acid separation.

Novel Catalyst for Methane Reforming to Synthesize Syngas and Its Application in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

The importance of methane reforming reactions is increasing due to the climbing demand of H2 and synthesis gas, which is the major feedstock for C1 chemistry and fuel cells. Reforming of methane with water or carbon dioxide is an important technology for the conversion of CH4 to H2 and syngas as chemical raw materials and fuel gas of solid oxide fuel cells. Herein, we invented a novel Pr-doped Ni/CeO2 catalyst for methane reforming with high activity and excellent coking-tolerance ability. The integration of this catalyst in a SOFC enables the direct utilization of nearly dry methane as the fuel with high electrochemical performances as well as significantly improved durability compared to the SOFC without the catalyst.