Sustainability is a pretty hot
buzzword at this day and age,
and it probably conjures
up different images
for all of you-- from
recycling to solar panels
to taking shorter showers.
Sustainability is
an important concept
when we think about the
use of our resources
and, in particular, our
nonrenewable fossil resources
like oil and natural gas.
Many of the products that
we use every single day,
like shampoo or ballpoint
pens, have components in them
that are derived from
these nonrenewable sources.
A lot of those components can't
be made from renewable sources.
And so for now, we are relegated
to using nonrenewable resources
to make these chemicals.
So that's where
my work comes in.
If we truly are relegated to
using nonrenewable sources,
then it's in our best
interest as a society
to find the most efficient
and environmentally friendly
ways to use those resources.
Propylene oxide is
a chemical that's
used to make a lot of
industrial and consumer goods.
For example, it's found
in automobile interiors,
cosmetics, manufacturing,
food-safe plastics,
and airplane deicing
fluid, just to name
a few of the applications
for this chemical.
It's derived from
fossil resources that
are nonrenewable, and it's one
of those chemicals I mentioned
earlier that we can't really
make from renewable sources
right now.
However, we can strive to make
it more sustainably than we
do currently.
The chemical transformation
itself looks pretty
straightforward on paper.
You take propylene, which is
a three carbon molecule that
comes from natural gas or
oil, and you take oxygen
and add it, which is an abundant
molecule in our atmosphere.
In practice,
however, controlling
the chemical reaction to get
the product that you want
is not so trivial.
This is seen with the chemical
industry processes that
are used to make it that
generate lots of wastewater,
use lots of energy, and
use expensive reactants.
So for such a small and
simple transformation,
there must be a
better way, right?
Well, that better way is found
through the use of catalysts,
which lower the energy required
for a chemical reaction
to take place.
This results in less
wastewater, fewer byproducts,
and lower energy
usage, all of which
contribute to a more
sustainable process.
I've been using a silver
nanoparticle catalyst
to transform propylene and
oxygen into propylene oxide.
By understanding how fast
the reaction takes place
and how the reaction responds
to different conditions,
I obtain information on how
to improve that catalyst
and further increase
the productivity
and the sustainability
of the reaction.
With an industrially viable
and sustainable method
for making this really
important chemical,
we can reduce the amount
of waste generated
and the amount of energy
used in the manufacture
of everyday products, like
car seats or lipstick.
And we provide a sustainable
chemical solution
to the protection of our
resources for the future.
Thank you.
