Chemical Engineering

ChemE Seminar with Casey O'Brien

March 30, 2021

10:30 a.m. ET

Zoom

Details

Join ChemE for a seminar by Casey O'Brien, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame. The topic is titled Catalytic “Leaves” for Integrated CO2 Capture and Conversion: Towards Artificial Carbohydrate Synthesis.

The event will be posted by CMU professor Andy Gellman.

Click the link below to join on Zoom. If you are prompted for credentials, input the following.
Meeting ID: 619 426 6332
Passcode: g_HC1X6kMs

You can also call in to the Zoom meeting by dialing 267-831-0333, inputting the meeting ID (619 426 6332 #) and then typing * 707 442 1470 #

Abstract

The agriculture industry relies on photosynthesis to supply the world’s population with macronutrients (i.e. carbohydrates). However, relying on photosynthesis to produce carbohydrates is very inefficient because it requires extensive land use (about half of the global habitable land) and significant water resources (about 70% of global freshwater). Industrial agriculture also causes massive air and water pollution [1]. The food and agriculture industries are responsible for ~26% of global greenhouse gas emissions and ~76% of water pollution from nitrogen fertilizers [1]. A recent study funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [1] estimates that these environmental impacts (natural capital) cost more than the production value of the crops. Thus, industrial agriculture is also economically inefficient. The world’s rapidly growing population and climate change will exacerbate these environmental and economic problems, leading to more pollution and more malnutrition around the world. In this talk, I will discuss a catalytic membrane technology we are developing that could enable synthetic carbohydrate (glucose) synthesis from atmospheric CO2 and H2O. The catalytic membrane contains multiple functionalities to (1) capture CO2 selectively from dilute streams such as air and facilitate CO2 transport across the membranes via carbamate/bicarbonate species, and (2) to catalyze conversion of CO2 to value added chemicals such as formic acid (HCOOH), which is a precursor to glucose synthesis. This artificial carbohydrate synthesis process could scale to gigatonne levels to increase the agricultural capacity of the planet by orders-of-magnitude, reducing malnutrition from food scarcity in developing nations. It would also reduce the amount of water for crop irrigation by orders-of-magnitude, reducing global water scarcity. The process also does not require fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides, which would reduce water pollution from nitrification. The process would also potentially capture gigatonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere annually while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. Thus, the process would have a substantial global impact at the food-water-energy-environment nexus.

[1] Natural Capital Impacts in Agriculture, Food and Agriculture, Organization of the United Nations (2015).

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