Overview
Background
Biography:
Tom Rufford is an Associate Professor in the UQ School of Chemical Engineering and chief investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of CO2 (GETCO2). Tom completed his BE and PhD degrees in Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland in 2000 and 2009, respectively. Tom’s PhD thesis investigated the use of porous carbon materials derived from waste coffee grounds for energy storage via hydrogen or supercapacitors on board electric vehicles. From 2001 to 2005 he worked as a process engineer and technologist on the crude distillation columns, naptha reformers and hydrogen purification plant at Shell’s Geelong Oil Refinery. From 2010 to late 2012, Tom was a research fellow at the University of Western Australia working on natural gas processing and LNG production research projects with the UWA’s Chevron Chair in Gas Process Engineering, Prof. Eric May. He returned to UQ as a teaching and research academic in December 2012.
Dr Rufford is a chartered member of the IChemE and Engineers Australia (chemical engineering).
Dr Rufford has published more than 80 scientific papers in international journals and an edited book on carbon materials. He has been a visiting researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tsukuba, Japan, and an Endeavour Research Fellow visiting the Institute of Metals Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shenyang, China.
Research:
Associate Professor Rufford conducts research on gas processing and purification for cleaner energy production and utilization. His research interests include electrochemical processes including energy storage and CO2 reduction, natural gas process engineering, porous carbons, and solid-fluid interactions in coal seam gas reservoirs. Current and recent projects include studies on electrochemical CO2 reduction, development of gas diffusion electrode materials, helium recovery and nitrogen rejection from natural gas, low permeability coals, and the capture of methane emissions from liquefied natural gas (LNG) production plants.
Teaching and Learning:
Tom teaches into the BE and BE/ME chemical engineering programs at UQ. He's taught core chemical engineering courses such as heat and mass transfer, unit operations, and the capstone design project courses CHEE4001 and CHEE7103. In 2024 he is teaching into CHEE3004 Unit Operations in Semester 1 and CHEE7103 BE/ME Design Project in Semester 2.
Availability
- Professor Tom Rufford is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Engineering, The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
- Member, Engineers Australia, Engineers Australia
- Member, Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
- Member, International Society of Electrochemistry, International Society of Electrochemistry
Works
Search Professor Tom Rufford’s works on UQ eSpace
2022
Journal Article
How membrane characteristics influence the performance of CO<sub>2</sub> and CO electrolysis
Garg, Sahil, Giron Rodriguez, Carlos A., Rufford, Thomas E., Varcoe, John R. and Seger, Brian (2022). How membrane characteristics influence the performance of CO2 and CO electrolysis. Energy and Environmental Science, 15 (11), 4440-4469. doi: 10.1039/d2ee01818g
2022
Journal Article
Mitigating electrolyte flooding for electrochemical CO2 reduction via infiltration of hydrophobic particles in a gas diffusion layer
Wu, Yuming, Charlesworth, Liam, Maglaya, Irving, Idros, Mohamed Nazmi, Li, Mengran, Burdyny, Thomas, Wang, Geoff and Rufford, Thomas E. (2022). Mitigating electrolyte flooding for electrochemical CO2 reduction via infiltration of hydrophobic particles in a gas diffusion layer. ACS Energy Letters, 7 (9), 2884-2892. doi: 10.1021/acsenergylett.2c01555
2022
Conference Publication
Opportunities of blast furnace ironmaking to contribute to decarbonisation targets via carbon dioxide capture and utilisation.
Hu, Yichao, Hao, Liangyuan, Li, Mengran, Rufford, Tom and Wang, Geoff (2022). Opportunities of blast furnace ironmaking to contribute to decarbonisation targets via carbon dioxide capture and utilisation.. 8th European Coke and lronmaking Congress (ECIC) and the 9th International Conference on Science and Technology of Ironmaking (ICSTI), Bremen, Germany and Online, 30 August - 1 September 2022. Online: Steel Institute VDEh.
2022
Journal Article
Regulating the reaction zone of electrochemical CO2 reduction on gas-diffusion electrodes by distinctive hydrophilic-hydrophobic catalyst layers
Rabiee, Hesamoddin, Ge, Lei, Zhao, Jing, Zhang, Xueqin, Li, Mengran, Hu, Shihu, Smart, Simon, Rufford, Thomas E., Zhu, Zhonghua, Wang, Hao and Yuan, Zhiguo (2022). Regulating the reaction zone of electrochemical CO2 reduction on gas-diffusion electrodes by distinctive hydrophilic-hydrophobic catalyst layers. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 310 121362, 121362. doi: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2022.121362
2022
Journal Article
Urea-functionalized silver catalyst toward efficient and robust CO2 electrolysis with relieved reliance on alkali cations
Garg, Sahil, Li, Mengran, Hussain, Tanveer, Idros, Mohamed Nazmi, Wu, Yuming, Zhao, Xiu Song, Wang, Geoff G. X. and Rufford, Thomas E. (2022). Urea-functionalized silver catalyst toward efficient and robust CO2 electrolysis with relieved reliance on alkali cations. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 14 (31), 35504-35512. doi: 10.1021/acsami.2c05918
2022
Conference Publication
Challenges and opportunities for high current density CO2 electrolysis
Rufford, Thomas E., Wu, Yuming, Garg, Sahil, Li, Mengran, Hu, Yichao, Idros, Mohamed Nazmi and Wang, Geoff (2022). Challenges and opportunities for high current density CO2 electrolysis. 2022 International Symposium on Clean Energy Materials, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, 30 June - 2 July 2022.
2022
Conference Publication
Controlling flooding at high-current density in CO2 electrolysers
Rufford, Tom (2022). Controlling flooding at high-current density in CO2 electrolysers. E3C Electrochemical Cell Concepts Colloquium, Online, 14 May 2022.
2022
Journal Article
Integrating a top-gas recycling and CO2 electrolysis process for H2-rich gas injection and reduce CO2 emissions from an ironmaking blast furnace
Hu, Yichao, Qiu, Yinxuan, Chen, Jian, Hao, Liangyuan, Rufford, Thomas Edward, Rudolph, Victor and Wang, Geoff (2022). Integrating a top-gas recycling and CO2 electrolysis process for H2-rich gas injection and reduce CO2 emissions from an ironmaking blast furnace. Materials, 15 (6) 2008, 2008. doi: 10.3390/ma15062008
2022
Journal Article
Effects of microporous layer on electrolyte flooding in gas diffusion electrodes and selectivity of CO2 electrolysis to CO
Wu, Yuming, Garg, Sahil, Li, Mengran, Idros, Mohamed Nazmi, Li, Zhiheng, Lin, Rijia, Chen, Jian, Wang, Guoxiong and Rufford, Thomas E. (2022). Effects of microporous layer on electrolyte flooding in gas diffusion electrodes and selectivity of CO2 electrolysis to CO. Journal of Power Sources, 522 230998, 230998. doi: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2022.230998
2021
Other Outputs
Is maximising current density always the optimum strategy in electrolyser design for electrochemical CO2 conversion to chemicals?
Garg, Sahil, Li, Mengran, Idros, Mohamed Nazmi, Wu, Yuming, Wang, Geoff and Rufford, Thomas (2021). Is maximising current density always the optimum strategy in electrolyser design for electrochemical CO2 conversion to chemicals?.
2021
Conference Publication
Controlling electrolyser flooding at high-current density in electrochemical CO2 conversion to CO and ethylene
Rufford, Thomas E., Li, Mengran, Wu, Yuming, Idros, Mohamed Nazmi, Garg, Sahil and Wang, Geoff (2021). Controlling electrolyser flooding at high-current density in electrochemical CO2 conversion to CO and ethylene. 4th Energy Future Conference, Virtual, 18-20 October 2021.
2021
Conference Publication
Getting a grip on the environmental impacts of surfboard wax
Rufford, Thomas, Zhu, Ying, Maglaya, Irving, Khanolkar, Onkar and Berry, Bronwyn (2021). Getting a grip on the environmental impacts of surfboard wax. CHEMECA 2021, Virtual, 27-28 September 2021. Engineers Australia.
2021
Conference Publication
Modification on gas diffusion electrode to effectively restrain electrolyte flooding of electrochemical CO2 reduction via an infiltration method
Wu, Yuming, Li, Mengran, Wang, Geoff and Rufford, Thomas E, (2021). Modification on gas diffusion electrode to effectively restrain electrolyte flooding of electrochemical CO2 reduction via an infiltration method. CHEMECA 2021, Online, 27-28 September 2021.
2021
Conference Publication
Effect of gas diffusion electrode structure on electrolyte flooding and selectivity of electrochemical CO2 reduction
Wu, Yuming, Li, Mengran, Wang, Geoff and Rufford, Thomas E. (2021). Effect of gas diffusion electrode structure on electrolyte flooding and selectivity of electrochemical CO2 reduction. National Symposium on Advanced Materials & Sustainable Technologies, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, 3-5 September 2021.
2021
Other Outputs
LP160101531 Laboratory measurements of impact of Mg(OH)2 precipitation on permeability of coal cores
Rufford, T. E. , Maglaya, I. , Patel, Archana , Chen, Zhongwei and Ge, Lei (2021). LP160101531 Laboratory measurements of impact of Mg(OH)2 precipitation on permeability of coal cores. *:
2021
Journal Article
Cobalt electrochemical recovery from lithium cobalt oxides in deep eutectic choline chloride + urea solvents
Wang, Hongmin, Li, Mengran, Garg, Sahil, Wu, Yuming, Idros, Mohamed Nazmi, Hocking, Rosalie, Duan, Haoran, Gao, Shuai, Yago, Anya Josefa, Zhuang, Linzhou and Rufford, Thomas Edward (2021). Cobalt electrochemical recovery from lithium cobalt oxides in deep eutectic choline chloride + urea solvents. ChemSusChem, 14 (14) cssc.202100954, 2972-2983. doi: 10.1002/cssc.202100954
2021
Journal Article
Understanding the effects of anion interactions with Ag electrodes on electrochemical CO2 reduction in choline halide electrolytes
Garg, Sahil, Li, Mengran, Wu, Yuming, Idros, Mohamed Nazmi, Wang, Hongmin, Anya Josefa, Yago, Ge, Lei, Wang, Geoff G. X. and Rufford, Thomas Edward (2021). Understanding the effects of anion interactions with Ag electrodes on electrochemical CO2 reduction in choline halide electrolytes. ChemSusChem, 14 (12) cssc.202100848, 2601-2611. doi: 10.1002/cssc.202100848
2021
Journal Article
Integration of hybrid membrane-distillation processes to recover helium from pre-treated natural gas in liquefied natural gas plants
Quader, M. Abdul, Rufford, Thomas E. and Smart, Simon (2021). Integration of hybrid membrane-distillation processes to recover helium from pre-treated natural gas in liquefied natural gas plants. Separation and Purification Technology, 263 118355, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.seppur.2021.118355
2021
Other Outputs
Technical advisor group update: Selective wellbore coatings to control fines damage in coal seam gas wells, including Mg(OH)2 precipitation
Rufford, T. E. , Pate, A. , Chen, Z. and Ge, L. (2021). Technical advisor group update: Selective wellbore coatings to control fines damage in coal seam gas wells, including Mg(OH)2 precipitation. *:
2021
Conference Publication
Interaction of choline halide ions with silver electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction
Rufford, Thomas E., Garg, Sahil , Li, Mengran , Idros, Mohamed Nazmi , Wu, Yuming and Wang, Geoff (2021). Interaction of choline halide ions with silver electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction. 5th International Conference on Catalysis and Chemical Engineering, Virtual, 22-26 February 2021.
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Tom Rufford is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Synthesis of Graphene Assisted Heterojunction Photocatalysts for Conversion of CO2 to Methanol
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
CO2 electrolyser degradation mechanisms and accelerated testing methods
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Ruth Knibbe, Dr Ray Bi
-
Doctor Philosophy
Enhanced approaches to engineering the scale-up of CO2 electrolysers from bench to pilot scale
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Xiwang Zhang, Dr Mike Tebyetekerwa
-
Doctor Philosophy
Accelerated stress testing and degradation mechanisms in CO2 electrolysis cell
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Single-atom catalysts (SACs) as potential catalysts for Electrochemical CO2 reduction
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Simon Smart
-
Doctor Philosophy
Advanced imaging of CO2 electrochemical conversion materials.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Ruth Knibbe
-
Doctor Philosophy
Low emission iron and steelmaking using hydrogen to pre-reduce lump ore
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Geoff Wang, Dr Helen Tang, Dr Xiaodong Ma
-
Master Philosophy
Optimization of structured cementitious composite for sustainability: Mechanical properties and thermal properties
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Vinh Dao, Dr Shujian Chen
-
Doctor Philosophy
Polymeric Photocatalysts for Solar-Driven Hydrogen Peroxide Production
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Xiangkang Zeng
-
Doctor Philosophy
Utilising co-products of water electrolysis in wastewater treatment
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Mike Tebyetekerwa, Dr Ray Bi, Professor Xiwang Zhang
-
Doctor Philosophy
Controlling microenvironments to enable green fuels and scalable electrolysis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Christopher Leonardi, Dr Travis Mitchell
-
Doctor Philosophy
Modelling of thermal engineering management for hydrogen ironmaking in shaft furnace
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Xiaodong Ma, Professor Geoff Wang
Completed supervision
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Synthesis of Graphene Assisted Heterojunction Photocatalysts for Conversion of CO2 to Methanol
Principal Advisor
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding interaction between ionomers, particles and solvents in catalyst ink formulation for CO2 electrolysis to multicarbon products
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Tim Duignan
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Investigation of Electrolyte Flooding in a Carbon-based Gas Diffusion Electrode for CO2 Electrolysis to CO
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Geoff Wang
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Magnesium based clay stabilizers for swelling inhibition of smectites in coal seam gas reservoirs
Principal Advisor
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Optimizing Catalyst-electrolyte Interfaces for Selective Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction to CO over Ag Electrodes
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Geoff Wang
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Design and Techno-economic Evaluation of Multi-stage Membrane Processes for Helium Recovery from Natural Gas
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Simon Smart
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
The Effects of Surface Chemistry, Mineral Content and Effective Pressure on Relative Permeability using Artificial Australian Coal Cores
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Lei Ge
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
Novel Adsorbents for Natural Gas Separation and Purification
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Greg Birkett, Professor John Zhu
-
2024
Master Philosophy
Optimization of structured cementitious composite for sustainability: Thermal properties and Mechanical properties
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Vinh Dao, Dr Shujian Chen
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Carbon Footprint Mapping & Modelling for an Ironmaking Blast Furnace
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Geoff Wang
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
The experimental study of counter-current two-phase flows in annuli
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Mahshid Firouzi
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Dynamics of anisotropic permeability in coal seam gas reservoirs
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor John Zhu
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Application of Electrohydraulic Discharge (EHD) Stimulation for Unconventional Reservoir Development
Associate Advisor
-
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Foam structured carbon monoliths for gas adsorption
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Lei Ge, Professor John Zhu
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
The Effect of Water Occlusion on Gas Production in Coal
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Karen Steel
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
Design and Preparation of Novel Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor John Zhu
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials for Supercapacitors
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lianzhou Wang
-
-
2012
Doctor Philosophy
Mesoporous materials supported catalysts for removal of nitric oxide using carbon monoxide as reducing agent
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor John Zhu
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