Lowrie Lecture II: Enrique Iglesia

Enrique Iglesia Theodore Vermeulen Chair in Chemical Engineering

All dates for this event occur in the past.

130 Koffolt Laboratories
130 Koffolt Laboratories
CBEC, 151 W Woodruff Ave
Columbus, OH 43210
United States

Enrique Iglesia

Theodore Vermeulen Chair in Chemical Engineering
University of California at Berkeley
Faculty Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Director of Berkeley Catalysis Laboratory

 

Navigating the Chemical Engineering Toolbox: The Curious

Matter of C1 Chemistry

 

Abstract

The recurring need for advantaged feedstocks as precursors to chemicals and fuels brings us once again to scientific and engineering matters pertaining to the conversion of molecules without any C-C bonds (methane, methanol, dimethyl ether).  Such C1 molecules, especially methane, present thermodynamic and kinetic challenges that bring significant complexity and costs into their chemical transformations.  We gather here some unifying concepts and, in doing so, provide guidance about the most attractive C1 conversion strategies.  These concepts include (i) thermodynamic constraints and the limitations of catalysis in circumventing them; (ii) the pre-eminence of process simplicity and inexpensive oxidants over the allure of direct conversions; (iii) principles of kinetic and thermodynamic protection (iv) the coupling of separations with reactions and of multiple catalytic functions; (v) the prevalence of kinetic bottlenecks in forming the first C-C bond; and (vi) the emergence of a C2 conversion platform as we overcome (or accept) the limits of C1 chemistries. The conclusions are sobering, as the magnitude of the challenge so warrants.

Bio

ENRIQUE IGLESIA is the Theodore Vermeulen Chair in Chemical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, a Faculty Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Director of the Berkeley Catalysis Laboratory. He received a B.S. from Princeton University (1977) and a Ph.D. from Stanford University (1982) in chemical engineering. He joined Berkeley in 1993 after 12 years as a research scientist and manager at the Exxon Corporate Research Labs. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Catalysis (1997–2010) and acted as President of the North American Catalysis Society since 2008. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2008. He is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and an Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society.

His group addresses the synthesis and the structural and functional characterization of solids used as catalysts for production of fuels and petrochemicals, for conversion of energy carriers, and for improving the energy and atom efficiency and the sustainability of chemical processes. His work combines synthetic, spectroscopic, theoretical, and mechanistic techniques to advance novel concepts and applications in heterogeneous catalysis. He has coauthored more than 300 publications and 40 U.S. patents.

His research has been recognized with the 2012 ENI Research Prize, the Somorjai and Olah Awards of the American Chemical Society, the Wilhelm and Alpha Chi Sigma Awards of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Emmett and Burwell Awards of the North American Catalysis Society, the Cross Canada Lectureship of the Chemical Institute of Canada, and the François Gault Award of the European Federation of Catalysis Societies.  He has also received the Award for Excellence in Natural Gas Conversion, the Tanabe Prize in Acid-Base Catalysis, a Humboldt Senior Scientist Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the Noyce Prize, the highest teaching honor in the sciences at Berkeley, as well as several teaching awards within the College of Chemistry.

Categories: DepartmentSeminar