{"529891":{"#nid":"529891","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers List \u201cSeven Chemical Separations to Change the World\u201d","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThermally-based industrial chemical separation processes such as distillation now account for 10 to 15 percent of the world\u2019s annual energy use. Slaking the global thirst for energy could therefore get a substantial boost from improved technologies for producing fuels, plastics, food and other products with reduced inputs of energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a comment article published April 26 in the journal \u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E, two researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology suggest seven energy-intensive separation processes they believe should be the top targets for research into low-energy purification technologies. Beyond cutting energy use, improved techniques for separating chemicals from mixtures would also reduce pollution, cut carbon dioxide emissions \u2013 and open up new ways to obtain critical resources the world needs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETechnologies applicable to those separation processes are at varying stages of development, the authors note. These alternative processes are now under-developed or expensive to scale up, and making them feasible for large-scale use could require a significant investment in research and development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe wanted to highlight how much of the world\u2019s energy is used for chemical separations and point to some areas where large advances could potentially be made by expanding research in these areas,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/faculty\/sholl\u0022\u003EDavid Sholl\u003C\/a\u003E, one of the article\u2019s authors, chair of Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. \u201cThese processes are largely invisible to most people, but there are large potential rewards \u2013 to both energy and the environment \u2013 for developing improved separation processes in these areas.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the United States, substituting non-thermal approaches for purifying chemicals could reduce energy costs by $4 billion per year in the petroleum, chemical and paper manufacturing sectors alone. There\u2019s also a potential for reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 100 million tons per year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cChemical separations account for about half of all U.S. industrial energy use,\u201d noted \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/faculty\/lively\u0022\u003ERyan Lively\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering and the article\u2019s second author. \u201cDeveloping alternatives that don\u2019t use heat could dramatically improve the efficiency of 80 percent of the separation processes that we now use.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDubbed the \u201cseven chemical separations to change the world,\u201d the list is not intended to be exhaustive, but includes:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHydrocarbons from crude oil\u003C\/strong\u003E. Hydrocarbons from crude oil are the main ingredients for making fuels, plastics and polymers \u2013 keys to the world\u2019s consumer economy. Each day, the article notes, refineries around the world process around 90 million barrels of crude oil, mostly using atmospheric distillation processes that consume about 230 gigawatts of energy per year, the equivalent of the total 2014 energy consumption of the United Kingdom. Distillation involves heating the oil and then capturing different compounds as they evaporate at different boiling points. Finding alternatives is difficult because oil is complex chemically and must be maintained at high temperatures to keep the thick crude flowing.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EUranium from sea water\u003C\/strong\u003E. Nuclear power could provide additional electricity without boosting carbon emissions, but the world\u2019s uranium fuel reserves are limited. However, more than four billion tons of the element exist in ocean water. Separating uranium from ocean water is complicated by the presence of metals such as vanadium and cobalt that are captured along with uranium in existing technologies. Processes to obtain uranium from sea water have been demonstrated on small scales, but those would have to be scaled up before they can make a substantial contribution to the expansion of nuclear power.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAlkenes from alkanes\u003C\/strong\u003E. Production of certain plastics requires alkenes \u2013 hydrocarbons such as ethane and propene, whose total annual production exceeds 200 million tons. The separation of ethene from ethane, for instance, typically requires high-pressure cryogenic distillation at low temperatures. Hybrid separation techniques that use a combination of membranes and distillation could reduce energy use by a factor of two or three, but large volumes of membrane materials \u2013 up to one million square meters at a single chemical plant \u2013 could be required for scale-up.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGreenhouse gases from dilute emissions\u003C\/strong\u003E. Emission of carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons such as methane contribute to global climate change. Removing these compounds from dilute sources such as power plant emissions can be done using liquid amine materials, but removing the carbon dioxide from that material requires heat. Less costly methods for removing carbon dioxide are needed.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERare earth metals from ores\u003C\/strong\u003E. Rare earth elements are used in magnets, catalysts and high-efficiency lighting. Though these materials are not really rare, obtaining them is difficult because they exist in trace quantities that must be separated from ores using complex mechanical and chemical processes.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBenzene derivatives from each other\u003C\/strong\u003E. Benzene and its derivatives are essential to production of many polymers, plastics, fibers, solvents and fuel additives. These molecules are now separated using distillation columns with combined annual energy usage of about 50 gigawatts. Advances in membranes or sorbents could significantly reduce this energy investment.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETrace contaminants from water\u003C\/strong\u003E. Desalination is already critical to meeting the need for fresh water in some parts of the world, but the process is both energy and capital intensive, regardless of whether membrane or distillation processes are used. Development of membranes that are both more productive and resistant to fouling could drive down the costs.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESholl and Lively conclude the paper by suggesting four steps that could be taken by academic researchers and policymakers to help expand the use of non-thermal separation techniques:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003EIn research, consider realistic chemical mixtures and reflect real-world conditions,\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEvaluate the economics and sustainability of any separation technique,\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EConsider the scale at which technology would have to be deployed for industry, and\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EFurther expose chemical engineers and chemists in training to separation techniques that do not require distillation.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: David S. Sholl and Ryan P. Lively, \u201cSeven chemical separations to change the world,\u201d (Nature, Vol. 532, 2016). \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nature.com\/news\/seven-chemical-separations-to-change-the-world-1.19799\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nature.com\/news\/seven-chemical-separations-to-change-the-world-1.19799\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Ben Brumfield (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETwo researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology are suggesting seven energy-intensive separation processes they believe should be the top targets for research into low-energy purification technologies. Beyond cutting energy use, improved techniques for separating chemicals from mixtures would also reduce pollution, cut carbon dioxide emissions \u2013 and open up new ways to obtain critical resourece.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers are suggesting seven energy-intensive separation processes that should be top targets for research into low-energy purification technologies."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2016-04-27 09:56:44","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:28","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-04-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-04-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"529831":{"id":"529831","type":"image","title":"David Sholl and Ryan Lively","body":null,"created":"1461895200","gmt_created":"2016-04-29 02:00:00","changed":"1475895307","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:07","alt":"David Sholl and Ryan Lively","file":{"fid":"88910","name":"separation-energy_006-horizonal.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/separation-energy_006-horizonal.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/separation-energy_006-horizonal.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1238297,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/separation-energy_006-horizonal.jpg?itok=tZj6EIdM"}},"529841":{"id":"529841","type":"image","title":"Distillation processes","body":null,"created":"1461895200","gmt_created":"2016-04-29 02:00:00","changed":"1475895307","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:07","alt":"Distillation processes","file":{"fid":"88911","name":"colonne_distillazione-horizonal.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/colonne_distillazione-horizonal.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/colonne_distillazione-horizonal.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":463112,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/colonne_distillazione-horizonal.jpg?itok=DKesUrqQ"}},"529851":{"id":"529851","type":"image","title":"David Sholl and Ryan Lively2","body":null,"created":"1461942000","gmt_created":"2016-04-29 15:00:00","changed":"1475895307","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:07","alt":"David Sholl and Ryan Lively2","file":{"fid":"88912","name":"separation-energy_005.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/separation-energy_005_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/separation-energy_005_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1378865,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/separation-energy_005_0.jpg?itok=FPF44TOx"}}},"media_ids":["529831","529841","529851"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"171976","name":"chemical separation"},{"id":"38811","name":"David Sholl"},{"id":"213","name":"energy"},{"id":"171977","name":"purification"},{"id":"96231","name":"Ryan Lively"},{"id":"169566","name":"separation"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"},{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}