I. Green Chemical Engineering Principles & Practice

This area focuses on the implementation of the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry in chemical processes and product design.

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1. Catalysis and Reaction Engineering

• Subtopics:

  • Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Green Catalysis: Designing catalysts for increased selectivity, reduced waste, and milder reaction conditions (e.g., organocatalysis, biocatalysis).

  • Solvent-Free and Alternative Solvent Chemistry: Utilizing reactions in supercritical fluids (e.g., CO2), ionic liquids, or water as a solvent.

  • Continuous Flow Chemistry: Replacing batch processes with inherently safer, more efficient, and scalable continuous-flow reactors.

2. Feedstock Utilization and Waste Minimization

• Subtopics:

  • Atom Economy and E-Factor: Metrics for quantifying waste generation and reaction efficiency.

  • Sustainable Feedstocks: Utilizing renewable resources like biomass, CO2, and waste materials instead of fossil fuels (e.g., biorefineries).

  • Process Intensification: Combining multiple unit operations into a single step to increase efficiency and reduce equipment size and energy use.

3. Green Product Design

• Subtopics:

  • Inherently Safer Chemistry: Designing products and processes that minimize the risk of accidents, explosions, or releases.

  • Design for Degradation: Creating chemical products (e.g., polymers, surfactants) that break down into benign products after use.

  • Polymer Sustainability: Green routes to bioplastics, biodegradable polymers, and chemical/mechanical recycling techniques.

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II Energy Sustainability & Transition

This area focuses on developing and implementing cleaner energy sources and technologies to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

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1. Renewable Energy Systems

• Solar Energy (PV and Thermal): Advanced materials for more efficient solar cells (e.g., perovskites) and solar fuels generation.

• Bioenergy and Biofuels: Production of advanced biofuels (algae, cellulosic ethanol) and sustainable biomass conversion technologies (e.g., pyrolysis, gasification).

• Hydrogen Economy: Green hydrogen production (electrolysis powered by renewables), storage, and use in fuel cells.

2. Energy Storage and Efficiency

• Advanced Battery Technologies: Developing next-generation batteries (e.g., solid-state, flow batteries, sodium-ion) for grid-scale storage.

• Thermal Energy Storage (TES): Utilizing phase-change materials (PCMs) and other materials for efficient heat storage.

• Industrial Energy Efficiency: Pinch analysis, heat exchanger networks, and process integration for minimizing utility consumption in chemical plants.

3. Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS)

• Capture Technologies: Chemical absorption, membrane separation, and adsorption (e.g., MOFs) for post-combustion CO2 capture.

• CO2 Conversion (CCU): Catalytic conversion of captured CO2 into valuable products like fuels (CO2), methanol, or building materials.

• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of CCUS: Evaluating the true environmental impact and energy cost of different CCUS pathways.

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III Environmental Protection & Resource Management

This area covers the impacts of industrial activity on the environment and the methods for remediation and sustainable resource use.

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1. Water and Wastewater Treatment

• Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs): Using ozone, or photocatalysis to degrade persistent organic pollutants (e.g., PFAS, pharmaceuticals).

• Membrane Technology: Forward osmosis, reverse osmosis, and nanofiltration for water recycling and desalination.

• Resource Recovery from Wastewater: Extracting nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen) and heavy metals from industrial and municipal wastewater.

2. Air Quality and Pollution Control

• Control of NO2 and SO2 Emissions: Novel sorbents and catalytic converters for industrial flue gas cleaning.

• Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Abatement: Thermal oxidation, biofiltration, and adsorption techniques for controlling air toxics.

• Indoor Air Quality: Chemical engineering approaches to filtration and air purification.

3. Sustainable Systems and Economics

• Industrial Ecology and Circular Economy: Designing industrial systems where the waste of one process is the input for another (zero-waste concepts).

• Process Modeling and Simulation: Using advanced software to model the environmental footprint of chemical processes before they are built.

• Regulatory Frameworks and Policy: The role of government policy (e.g., carbon taxes, renewable energy standards) in driving green engineering adoption.