Research Interests

Dr. Matthew M. Yung received a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame, a Ph.D. in chemical and molecular engineering from Ohio State University, and an M.B.A. from Colorado State University. He is a senior staff engineer in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's National Bioenergy Center (NBC), where he focuses on catalyst development, kinetic experiments, and materials characterization pertaining to biomass and transformation to fuels and chemicals.

As part of the NBC, Yung's projects include catalyst development for deoxygenation of pyrolysis vapors, carbon valorization via gasification and fuel synthesis from renewable and/or waste carbon sources, and support platform research and development via comprehensive reaction testing and materials characterization (e.g., kinetic experiments, spectroscopy, microscopy, and temperature-programmed techniques).

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Affiliated Research Programs

• Catalytic upgrading of biomass-derived pyrolysis vapors

• Catalytic hydrocarbon steam reforming

• Char gasification enhancement

• Heterogeneous Catalysis for Thermochemical Conversion

• Hydrodeoxygenation of bio-oil

• Operando spectroscopy of vapor phase upgrading

• Thermochemical Process Integration, Scale-Up, and Piloting

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Education

• M.B.A., Colorado State University

• Ph.D., Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Ohio State University

• B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Notre Dame

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Featured Publications

1. "Conversion of Methane into Methanol and Ethanol over Nickel Oxide on Ceria–Zirconia Catalysts in a Single Reactor," Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2017)

2. "Methane Upgrading of Acetic Acid as a Model Compound for a Biomass-Derived Liquid over a Modified Zeolite Catalyst," ACS Catalysis (2017)

3. "Role of Pt during hydrodeoxygenation of biomass pyrolysis vapors over Pt/HBEA," Catalysis Today (2017)

4. "Co-aromatization of olefin and methane over Ag-Ga/ZSM-5 catalyst at low temperature," Applied Catalysis B: Environmental (2017)

5. "Hydrodeoxygenation of Guaiacol over Ceria-Zirconia Catalysts," ChemSusChem (2015)

6. "Kinetics of Hydrogen Activation on Ceria-Zirconia," Journal of Catalysis (2015)

7. "Transformation of Sulfur Species During Steam/Air Regeneration on a Ni Biomass Conditioning Catalyst," ACS Catalysis (2012)

8. "Experimental and Computational Investigations of Sulfur-Resistant Bimetallic Catalysts for Reforming of Biomass Gasification Products," Journal of Catalysis (2011)

9. "Demonstration and Characterization of Ni/Mg/K/AD90 used for Pilot-Scale Conditioning of Biomass-Derived Syngas," Catalysis Letters (2010)

10. "Review of Catalytic Conditioning of Biomass-Derived Syngas," Energy & Fuels (2009)

11. "Cobalt-Based Catalysts Supported on Titania and Zirconia for the Oxidation of Nitric Oxide to Nitrogen Dioxide," Journal of Catalysis (2007)

View all NREL Publications for Matthew M. Yung.