Description:

Dr. Bhavik Bakshi from Ohio State University will present a seminar on Process to Planet: A Framework for Preventing Unintended Harm and Encouraging Synergies with Nature.

History has many examples of technologies that caused unintended harm and ecological degradation. These include formation of the ozone hole by chemicals that were once thought to be miracle compounds, aquatic dead zones due to use of artificial fertilizers, and global climate change due to reliance on fossil fuels. Reasons behind the development and adoption of such unsustainable technologies include making decisions based on the narrow boundary of traditional engineering that does not consider the shifting of impacts to other parts of the life cycle, and ignoring the capacity of ecosystems to supply goods and services needed for sustaining the technology. This talk will present a framework that is being developed to address these shortcomings. This framework integrates engineering models that are at the small scale of individual processes and based on fundamental knowledge, with life cycle and economic models at coarser regional to global scales and based on empirical data. The demand and supply of specific ecosystem services are also quantified at multiple spatial scales, and the role of ecosystems is included in manufacturing processes and life cycles to encourage innovation that could keep engineering within ecological constraints. By selecting appropriate objective functions and constraints, this versatile framework can be used for designing sustainable industrial processes or for assessing macro-level environmental policies. Applications will demonstrate the ability of this framework to encourage technological innovation along with ecological restoration at local, regional and global scales.

Bhavik Bakshi is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University. He also holds appointments in Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering at OSU and as a Visiting Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, India. His research is motivated by the need for a sustainable engineering that meets societal needs without degrading ecosystems. His work is developing systematic and scientifically rigorous methods for understanding the interaction between engineering and the environment and for developing decisions and designs toward sustainability. This includes methods for analyzing the life cycle of existing and emerging technologies to avoid unexpected side-effects of engineering decisions, and for designing systems that meet human needs while benefiting from synergies between technological and ecological systems. His awards include a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, Research Excellence in Sustainable Engineering award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and several best paper awards. He received his B. Chem. Eng. from the University of Bombay, and MSCEP and Ph.D. from MIT, with a minor in technology and environmental policy from MIT.

Date & Time: Thursday, April 2nd, 9:00 am- 10:00 am

Location: Abbott Auditorium (Pancoe) 

*refreshments will be available at 8:45 am

Description:

Dr. Phillip Savage from Pennsylvania State University will present a seminar titled Under Pressure and in Hot Water – Algae Conversion to Fuels and Chemicals. Detailed information is provided below.

Abstract

There is much interest in using renewable biomass resources to meet demand for fuels and chemicals. Algal biomass is an attractive biomass feedstock because it requires less land area and has a higher photosynthetic efficiency than terrestrial biomass and it does not involve a food/feed vs. fuel competition as does corn ethanol or soy biodiesel. Microalgae grow to biomass densities of around 1 g/L in nature, so a tremendous amount of water accompanies the biomass feedstock. Conventional algal bioenergy processes (e.g., lipid extraction for biodiesel production) first remove the water and then process the dried biomass. These dewatering and drying steps are costly and energy intensive. Thus, there is a need for algal biomass conversion processes that operate in the aqueous phase. We are helping to develop the chemical kinetics and reaction engineering foundations for hydrothermal processes that can convert wet algal biomass to biofuels directly (no drying) and thereby reduce process energy demands for biofuel production. This talk will outline recent progress made in understanding and optimizing the use of hydrothermal carbonization and hydrothermal liquefaction for converting wet algal biomass into liquid fuels or to chemicals. Advancements made in the liquefaction process, the reaction pathways and kinetics, and new insights arising from reaction modeling and model compound experiments will be highlighted.

Phillip Savage is the Head of the Chemical Engineering Department at Penn State and the Walter L. Robb Family Chair. Phil is also Arthur F. Thurnau Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan. Phil is a Fellow of both the AIChE and ACS and Editor-in-Chief of I&EC Research. He is past-chair of the Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Division of ACS and a past-chair of the AIChE Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division. Phil’s professional service also includes being an expert reviewer for the U.S. EPA Report to Congress entitled “Biofuels and the Environment: First Triennial Report to Congress”.

Phil has published about 200 research articles in archival journals and given nearly 90 invited lectures at other universities and international symposia. He holds three U.S. patents, two of which have been licensed and put into practice commercially. He has two additional patent applications pending related to his work on algae biofuels. Phil’s research deals broadly with environmental sustainability in terms of green chemistry and engineering and renewable bioenergy. His work has involved both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis, and his focus is typically on catalytic reaction kinetics, pathways, and mechanisms. Phil is widely recognized as a leader in applying catalysis to reactions in near- and supercritical water. Phil has mentored 41 PhD students, nine of whom have been NSF and/or EPA STAR graduate fellows. He received the 2014 Research Excellence Award from the AIChE Sustainable Engineering Forum, the Inaugural (2009) Michigan Governor’s Award for Green Chemistry, and the 2001 National Catalyst Award from the American Chemistry Council in recognition of his outstanding teaching and contributions to chemical education.

Date & Time: Thursday, April 9th, 9:00 am- 10:00 am

Location: Tech LR5 (refreshments will be available at 8:45am)

Description:

Details of our re-occuring seminar will be available soon.

Description:

Dr. Jennifer Feeley from ExxonMobil Corporation will be our honored Hukburt Lecturer and will present a seminar on The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040. Detailed information is given below.

Abstract

Forecasting long-term energy trends begins with a simple fact: people need energy. Over the next few decades, population and income growth — and an unprecedented expansion of the global middle class — are expected to create new demands for energy. And as people’s needs and modern technologies continue to evolve, so too will the energy landscape.

The scale and nature of this challenge is readily apparent in ExxonMobil’s Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040, our long-term global forecast of energy demand and supply trends. For example:

• As global economic output more than doubles by 2040, energy demand will increase about 35 percent, even with significant efficiency gains. Energy demand in developing (Non OECD) nations will rise about two-thirds, driving nearly all of the global increase.

• Rising demand for electricity remains the single largest influence on global energy consumption. Through 2040, it will account for half of the rise in global energy demand.

• Transportation energy demand will rise about 40 percent, driven by expanding commercial activity. However, global energy used for personal vehicles will be relatively flat, as significant fuel economy gains offset growth in the worldwide fleet.

• Technology is enabling the safe development of once hard-to-produce energy resources, significantly expanding available supplies. Oil and natural gas will supply about 65 percent of the growth in energy demand to 2040. Use of nuclear power and renewable energy will also grow, while demand for coal will peak around 2025 and then decline.

• Evolving demand and supply patterns will open the door for increased global trade opportunities. The changing energy landscape, in conjunction with an abundance of free trade opportunities, will help lead to more choices and creation of value that helps fuel economic growth and improve living standards worldwide.

Ongoing progress poses the dual challenge of meeting the world’s energy needs to advance living standards while managing the environmental effects — including climate change — of energy use. There is no single or simple solution to this challenge. However, practical options to meet people’s needs for reliable, affordable energy continue to expand, and gains in efficiency worldwide will help significantly reduce demand growth. In addition, a gradual transition to less carbon-intensive energy sources like natural gas, nuclear and renewables will help curb global energy-related CO2 emissions, which are likely to peak around 2030 and then gradually decline.

Understanding the factors that drive the world’s energy needs — and likely choices to meet those needs — is the mission of The Outlook, a view that ExxonMobil uses to guide our own strategies and investments. By sharing The Outlook, we hope to broaden that understanding among individuals, businesses and governments. Energy matters to everyone, and we all play a role in shaping its future and helping advance prosperity.

Jennifer Feleey received her BA in Chemistry from DePauw University in 1987. She then went on to receive her MS and PhD in Physical Chemistry from Northwestern University working with Prof. Wolfgang Sachtler on synthesis and catalysis of bimetallic PdNi clusters in Y zeolites. After graduate school, she began her career in industry with Engelhard Corporation in 1991. At Engelhard she contributed as a primary investigator on various environmental catalysis efforts including lean NOx catalysis and catalytic combustion.

In 1991, Jennifer moved to Exxon, working initially at the Exxon Research & Development Laboratories in Baton Rouge Louisiana. During her career there, she held various program leader positions supporting Exxon’s research efforts in gas conversion. This included leading an exploratory programs on syngas production from natural gas and upgrading of syngas to liquid hydrocarbon products.

In 1996, Jennifer moved to ExxonMobil’s Corporate Strategic Research (CSR) Lab in Clinton New Jersey to lead an Active Materials group working in numerous areas including high throughput new materials discovery as well as synthesis, characterization and evaluation of a wide range of catalytic materials useful in refining and chemicals processes. After that assignment, she held downstream research and planning management roles within the R&D organization in Clinton before moving to ExxonMobil’s Refining and Supply organization in Fairfax Virginia in 2007 to serve as the corporation’s US Greenhouse Gas Issue Manager.

In 2010, she moved back to R&D in Clinton New Jersey where she resides today, initially serving as CSR’s Chemicals Lab Director and then moving into her current position as CSR’s Corporate Programs Portfolio Manager. In her current role, Jennifer manages a diverse portfolio of strategic research programs including global climate change and life cycle analysis assessment efforts as well as fundamental research on advanced biofuels.

Jennifer and her husband Owen (also a PhD Chemist from Northwestern) have two teenage children, both of whom love science!

Date & Time: Thursday, April 23rd, 9:00 - 10:00 am
Location: Tech LR 5 (refreshments will be available at 8:45 am)

Description:

Details of our re-occuring seminar will be available soon.