Faculty Directory
Contact Information
Office:
Goddard Hall, 122
Phone: +1-508-831-5398
Fax: +1-508-831-5853
yhma@wpi.edu
Yi (Ed) Hua Ma
- Professor, Chemical Engineering
- James H. Manning Professor Chemical Engineering
- Director, Center for Inorganic Membrane Studies
My research has been in the areas of inorganic membranes and inorganic materials, as well as their adsorptive and transport properties in gases and liquids and industrial applications, including hydrogen production with CO2 sequestration for Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) and for fuel cell applications. Currently, the research effort in our Center for Inorganic Membrane Studies is concentrated on inorganic membranes for simultaneous hydrogen separation and reaction and CO2 sequestration and process intensification. Specifically, we conduct research and development of Pd and Pd/alloy membranes for membrane applications such as water gas shift reaction for process intensification and CO2 sequestration in coal gasification. Our Pd membrane research has resulted in six US patents and a number of international European patents. Our Pd membrane work has been supported by Mobil Corporation, Shell Exploration and Production International Inc., and the US Department of Energy (DOE). We are working with DOE to develop a framework for engineering design of advanced H2–CO2 Pd and Pd/Alloy composite membrane separations and process intensification. We also work with National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) to conduct field tests of our membrane modules using a slipstream from a coal gasifier. Learn More About Professor Ma >
Research Interests
- Membrane Synthesis and Separation
Watch "Can a Membrane Make Clean Coal Feasible? " - Pd and Pd/Alloy Membranes for Hydrogen Separation and Reaction
- Mathematical Modeling
- Adsorption and Diffusion in Porous Material
- Process Intensification
Education
- BS, National Taiwan University, 1959
- MS, University of Notre Dame, 1963
- ScD, MIT, 1967
Featured Publications
- Ma, Yi Hua, Chen, Chao-Huang, Catalano, Jacopo, Guazzonea, Federico and Payzant, E. Andrew, "Synthesis, Annealing and Performances of Pd-Au Asymmetric Composite Membranes for Hydrogen Purification", I&EC Research, Accepted (2013).
- Ma, Yi Hua, Catalano, Jacopo and Guazzone, Federico, Metallic Membranes for High Temperature Hydrogen Separation, Chapter in Encyclopedia of Membrane Science and Technology, In Press (2013).
- Guazzone, Federico, Catalano, Jacopo, Mardilovich, Ivan P., Kniepb, Jay, Pande, Saurabh, Wu, Tony, Lambrecht, Robert C., Datta, Subhash, Kazantzisa, Nikolaos K., and Ma, Yi Hua, Gas permeation field tests of composite Pd and Pd-Au membranes in actual coal derived syngas atmosphere, Intl J Hydrogen Energy, 37(2012), 14557-14568.
- Augustine, Alexander S., Ma, Yi Hua, Mardilovich, Ivan P., and Kazantzis, Nikolaos K., Durability of PSS-supported Pd-membranes under mixedgas and water–gas shift conditions, J Memb. Sci., 415 - 416, 213-220 (2012).
- Koc, R., Kazantzis, N., Nuttall, W. J. and Ma, Y. H., " Economic Rationale for Safety Investment in Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine Membrane Reactor Modules", Cambridge Working Paper in Economics, No. 1226. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.(2012).
- Koc, Reyyan, Kazantzis, Nikolaos K., Ma, Yi Hua. “A Process Dynamic Modeling and Control Framework for Performance Characterization and Enhancement of Pd-Based Membrane Reactors Used in Hydrogen Production,” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 36, 4934-4951(2011).
- Pomerrantz, N., Ma, Y. H., “Novel Method for Producing High H2 Permeability Pd Membranes with a Thin Layer of the Sulfur Tolerant Pd/Cu fcc Phase”, J Memb Sci., 370, 97-108 (2011).
- Chen, Chao-Huang, Ma ,Yi Hua. “The Effect of H2S on the Performance of Pd and Pd/Au Composite Membrane,” J Memb Sci., 362(1-2), 535-544 (2010).
- Pomerantz, N., Ma, Y. H. “Isothermal Solid-State Transformation Kinetics Applied to Pd/Cu Alloy Membrane Fabrication," AIChE J., 56, 3062 – 3073 (2010).
- Samingpraia, Sutheerawat, Tantayanonb, Supawan and Ma, Yi Hua, “Chromium oxide intermetallic diffusion barrier for palladium membrane”, J Memb. Sci., 347, 8-16 (2010).
Spotlight On: Current Research
Professional Highlights
- Institute Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
- Recipient of WPI's 2012 Chairman's Exemplary Faculty Prize
- 2010 William R. Grogan Award for Support of the Mission of WPI from WPI Alumni Association.
- WPI Chapter Sigma Xi Outstanding Senior Faculty Research Award, 2008; AIChE Institute Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology, 2007.
- AIChE Fellow, 1999.
- NASA Space Act Awards for the Creative Development of a Technical Innovation for Reportable Item MFS-26480 “Activation of Carbon Dioxide on Activated Carbon and Removal from Carbon Through Direct Electrical Resistance Heating,” September 3, 1997.
- 1994 WPI Board of Trustees' Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Scholarship.
