Personal information

United States

Biography

Dr. Nicholas (Nick) Thornburg is a chemical reaction engineer in the Fuels and Combustion Science group in NREL’s Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences (CIMS). He joined CIMS in April 2020 as a postdoctoral researcher and advanced to his current role in April 2023. He originally joined NREL’s National Bioenergy Center (NBC) as a postdoctoral researcher in April 2017, where he studied particle-scale reaction engineering and multiphase chemical reactor design and optimization for biomass deconstruction. His current research interests lie in multiphase reaction engineering for renewable small-molecule chemical syntheses facilitated by multiple renewable energy reactor inputs (e.g., electrons, photons, heat, hydrogen) for deep decarbonization of the chemical industry and heavy transportation sectors.

Thornburg leads research and development projects in the following areas: renewable ammonia synthesis, separation, and utilization; electrochemical COx conversion, scale-up, and energy systems integration for the synthesis of valuable commodity chemicals; onboard fuel and hydrogen carrier reforming; and catalyst deactivation in integrated chemical process environments. Before joining NREL, he gained industrial research and development experience at The Dow Chemical Company and 3M. His doctoral research focused on heterogeneous transition metal oxide catalysts in sustainable chemical manufacturing applications. He is passionate about industrial decarbonization, entrepreneurship, and student development and welcomes outreach by interested parties.

Activities

Employment (3)

National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Golden, CO, US

2023-04-01 to present | Senior Reaction Engineer (Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences)
Employment
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Golden, Colorado, US

2020-10-01 to 2023-04-01 | Research Engineer III – Reaction Engineering (Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences)
Employment
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Golden, Colorado, US

2017-04-24 to 2020-09-30 | Postdoctoral Researcher (National Bioenergy Center)
Employment
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Education and qualifications (2)

Northwestern University: Evanston, Illinois, US

2012-09-01 to 2017-03-24 | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering (Chemical and Biological Engineering)
Education
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Washington University in St. Louis: St. Louis, Missouri, US

2008-08-20 to 2012-05-24 | Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering (Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering)
Education
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Works (19)

Model assessment of synthetic jets for turbulent combustion experiments

Flow, Turbulence and Combustion
2023-06 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 1386-6184
Part of ISSN: 1573-1987
Contributors: Nicholas E. Thornburg; Xuhui Feng; Bradley T. Zigler; Marc S. Day; Shashank Yellapantula; Sreekant Narumanchi
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Catalytic ammonia reforming: alternative routes to net-zero-carbon hydrogen and fuel

Chemical Science
2022 | Journal article | Author
Part of ISSN: 2041-6520
Part of ISSN: 2041-6539
Contributors: Luis Caballero; Nicholas E. Thornburg; Michael Nigra
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Measurement of Transport Properties of Woody Biomass Feedstock Particles Before and After Pyrolysis by Numerical Analysis of X-Ray Tomographic Reconstructions

Frontiers in Energy Research
2022-04-28 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 2296-598X
Contributors: Meagan F. Crowley; Hariswaran Sitaraman; Jordan Klinger; Francois Usseglio-Viretta; Nicholas E. Thornburg; Nicholas Brunhart-Lupo; M. Brennan Pecha; James H. Dooley; Yidong Xia; Peter N. Ciesielski
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Mass Transport Limitations and Kinetic Consequences of Corn Stover Deacetylation

Frontiers in Energy Research
2022-03-04 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 2296-598X
Contributors: Nicholas E. Thornburg; Ryan M. Ness; Meagan F. Crowley; Lintao Bu; M. Brennan Pecha; Francois L. E. Usseglio-Viretta; Vivek S. Bharadwaj; Yudong Li; Xiaowen Chen; David A. Sievers et al.
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Flow-through solvolysis enables production of native-like lignin from biomass

Green Chemistry
2021 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 1463-9262
Part of ISSN: 1463-9270
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment of a biorefinery utilizing reductive catalytic fractionation

Energy & Environmental Science
2021 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 1754-5692
Part of ISSN: 1754-5706
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Impacts of Anisotropic Porosity on Heat Transfer and Off-Gassing during Biomass Pyrolysis

Energy & Fuels
2021-12-16 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 0887-0624
Part of ISSN: 1520-5029
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Bridging Scales in Bioenergy and Catalysis: A Review of Mesoscale Modeling Applications, Methods, and Future Directions

Energy & Fuels
2021-08-31 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 0887-0624
Part of ISSN: 1520-5029
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Mesoscale Reaction–Diffusion Phenomena Governing Lignin‐First Biomass Fractionation

ChemSusChem
2020-09-07 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 1864-5631
Part of ISSN: 1864-564X
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Direct Visualization of Independent Ta Centers Supported on Two-Dimensional TiO2 Nanosheets

Nano Letters
2019-11-13 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 1530-6984
Part of ISSN: 1530-6992
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Hybrid Approach for Selective Sulfoxidation via Bioelectrochemically Derived Hydrogen Peroxide over a Niobium(V)–Silica Catalyst

ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
2018-06-04 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 2168-0485
Part of ISSN: 2168-0485
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Consequences of Confinement for Alkene Epoxidation with Hydrogen Peroxide on Highly Dispersed Group 4 and 5 Metal Oxide Catalysts

ACS Catalysis
2018-04-06 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 2155-5435
Part of ISSN: 2155-5435
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Rate and Selectivity Control in Thioether and Alkene Oxidation with H 2 O 2 over Phosphonate‐Modified Niobium(V)–Silica Catalysts

ChemCatChem
2017-10-10 | Journal article
Part of ISSN: 1867-3880
Part of ISSN: 1867-3899
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg

Catalyst structure and substituent effects on epoxidation of styrenics with immobilized Mn(tmtacn) complexes

Applied Catalysis A: General
2016 | Journal article
WOSUID:

WOS:000369681000008

Contributors: Ignacio-de Leon, Patricia Anne A.; Contreras, Christian A.; Thornburg, Nicholas E.; Thompson, Anthony B.; Notestein, Justin M.
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg via ResearcherID

MOFs and their grafted analogues: regioselective epoxide ring-opening with Zr6 nodes

Catalysis Science & Technology
2016 | Journal article
WOSUID:

WOS:000382025300003

Contributors: Thornburg, Nicholas E.; Liu, Yangyang; Li, Peng; Hupp, Joseph T.; Farha, Omar K.; Notestein, Justin M.
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg via ResearcherID

Stable Metal–Organic Framework-Supported Niobium Catalysts

Inorganic Chemistry
2016 | Journal article
WOSUID:

WOS:000388548300038

Contributors: Ahn, Sol; Thornburg, Nicholas E.; Li, Zhanyong; Wang, Timothy C.; Gallington, Leighanne C.; Chapman, Karena W.; Notestein, Justin M.; Hupp, Joseph T.; Farha, Omar K.
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg via ResearcherID

Synthesis−Structure–Function Relationships of Silica-Supported Niobium(V) Catalysts for Alkene Epoxidation with H2O2

ACS Catalysis
2016 | Journal article
WOSUID:

WOS:000382714000054

Contributors: Thornburg, Nicholas E.; Nauert, Scott L.; Thompson, Anthony B.; Notestein, Justin M.
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg via ResearcherID

Periodic Trends in Highly Dispersed Groups IV and V Supported Metal Oxide Catalysts for Alkene Epoxidation with H2O2

ACS Catalysis
2015 | Journal article
WOSUID:

WOS:000361089700014

Contributors: Thornburg, Nicholas E.; Thompson, Anthony B.; Notestein, Justin M.
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg via ResearcherID

Nickel cerium olivine catalyst for catalytic gasification of biomass

Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
2013 | Journal article
WOSUID:

WOS:000316583500005

Contributors: Cheah, Singfoong; Gaston, Katherine R.; Parent, Yves O.; Jarvis, Mark W.; Vinzant, Todd B.; Smith, Kristin M.; Thornburg, Nicholas E.; Nimlos, Mark R.; Magrini-Bair, Kimberly A.
Source: Self-asserted source
Nicholas E. Thornburg via ResearcherID

Peer review (3 reviews for 2 publications/grants)

Review activity for ACS catalysis. (1)
Review activity for Industrial & engineering chemistry research. (2)