A CA L L FOR ENG I NE E R S
SAV I NG T H E WOR L D I N T I ME S OF C R I S I S
A CA L L FOR ENG I NE E R S
SAV I NG T H E WOR L D I N T I ME S OF C R I S I S
Black plastics by Dr Alvin OrbaekWhite Black plastics are everywhere. They are on your shop market shelves, they can be found in the seas and oceans, and maybe even in your sea salt too. 60% of the 8.7million+ metric tonnes of plastic ever made is sat in landfill because it is not recyclable in our current system. And even those that are recyclable still go to landfill eventually.
A VALUABLE ENEMY by Dr Sandra Hernandez Aldave and Dr Enrico Andreoli
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused tremendous changes on an industrial level. The world has stopped traveling, factories are closed or on reduced throughputs and the hospitality sector has collapsed. A recent study published in Nature Climate Change, showed that from early April 2020, the daily global CO2 emissions have decreased by 17% compared to last year. Moreover, the study states that the annual global emissions of CO 2 will depend on the duration of the confinement; but a reduction of 4% is expected if the lockdown ends this summer, or a fall up to 7% if it continues until the end of the year. Although these numbers seem very positive news, they also reveal darker facts. First, these changes are temporary, and the previous estimations are dependent of governmental actions and economic incentives post-crisis. Taking into consideration previous examples, the CO 2 reductions achieved during recessions are easily offset by economic rebounds. In 2010, after the Great Recession, the CO 2 emissions rebounded by 5%. On the other hand, these numbers show us how hard it is to realise the desperately needed reduction of CO 2 emissions. Even
in the extraordinary circumstances of a pandemic, the global CO 2 reduction for 2020 will not reach the goals stablished by the United Nations in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. An agreement where the European Union has committed to achieve an economy-wide domestic target of at least 40% greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2030 and at least 80% reduction by 2050. By the same year, the UK has set an even more ambitious target of zero emissions. Targets that will help to keep global warming below 2°C but require an annual emission drop of 7.6%. In order to achieve such goals, CO 2 reductions of similar magnitude of those recorded during the lockdown will be necessary for several years; almost unthinkable in today’s society. But not all hope is lost! Those reduction targets can be achieved through developing new and efficient technologies that can mitigate CO 2 emissions. This group of technologies is known as Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU); able not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also to provide supplementary benefits. CCU technologies capture anthropogenic CO 2 , industrially emitted or airborne, then converted into added-value products, such as fuels like methane, propane or ethylene and chemicals as ethanol or formate. This conversion can be done using renewable
energy sources, achieving a sustainable circular process. This approach has the huge advantage to create value from CO 2 emissions. Our research is to make this amazing idea, a fascinating reality. At the Energy Safety Research Institute of Swansea University, we are designing and building a CCU system to help reduce carbon emissions of Welsh industries within our flagship research operation RICE (Reducing Industrial Carbon Emission). The project looks at the capture and the conversion of CO 2 . Our capture system is a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit tailored to the CO 2 separation needs of large scale industry including steelmaking, cement and glass production. The PSA unit will be available to the industry to separate CO 2 from multiple mixtures containing nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and possible contaminants. Afterwards, the CO 2 will be introduced into a customised electrolyser. Here, the CO 2 is converted electrochemically into valuable products. Although the concept is relatively easy to understand, the reality is more challenging, and it requires the consideration of thousands of factors; from multiple computational simulations to several lab scale testing. Challenges that do not intimidate our team, we believe in our vision and effort to mitigate global warming.
Plastics cannot be recycled infinitely, at least not using traditional techniques. Most are only given one new lease of life before they end up in the earth, the ocean or an incinerator. But there is hope in a different form of recycling known as chemical recycling. In my research group we develop new approaches to tackle this growing and urgent problem. We take black plastic, break it down into small molecular units, then build up new materials using a bottom- up approach. This is based on the latest techniques from the world of nanotechnology and nanoengineering. The materials I build are carbon nanotubes and we use them for electrical wiring to transmit electrical power or electrical signals. A demonstration model can be seen on YouTube (Bach through nanotubes) where we play Bach Cello through cables made of our carbon nanotubes. In order to survive comfortably into the next century and beyond, I believewe should find better ways to clean our environment, to remove rubbish from the planet as much as possible, and tomake electricity transport as efficient as possible. In our research group we are constantly thriving to find new and better ways to do this. I have also started a
company to take the science from the bench space to the marketplace too. In Swansea University I teach Heat Transfer (EG-103) to the first years who are studying Chemical Engineering. I always infuse the latest knowledge from the frontiers of research and development into my lectures. I believe it is important that students be equipped with the most up to date and relevant new information. I want them to both realise the importance of what they are learning and also be equipped with information that helps them make the best decisions when they head out into the marketplace after they graduate. Learning isn’t just about remembering, it is also about synthesising the best path forwards based on all the information you have in front of you. I make my students think and not just learn, then they can grow and create better solutions for the problems they see around them.
What areas? Dr Alvin Orbaek White’s research includes students with degrees in Aerospace, Chemical, Civil, Computational, Mechanical, and Materials Engineering, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
ENG I NE E R I NG AT SWANS E A UN I V E R S I T Y
ENG I NE E R I NG AT SWANS E A UN I V E R S I T Y
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