Environmentally Conscious Chemical Process Design

New Technology

The course includes (guest) lectures on new technology for pollution prevention being developed at Notre Dame and elsewhere. Topics include

Alternative Feedstocks, Intermediates and Catalysts

• A new route to adipic acid using D-glucose that eliminates the use of petroleum feedstocks and the production of hazardous by-products like NO_x
• A process that replaces phosgene with CO₂ in the production of urethanes and polyurethanes
• The use of solid acid catalysts instead of hazardous liquid acids

Alternative Solvents

• The UNICARB process that replaces VOC's with CO₂ for spray-painting
• The use of liquid and supercritical CO₂ as a solvent to replace organics

Improbed Selectivities in Reactors and Reaction/Separation

• Optimal catalyst design to improve selectivity
• Complete oxidation catalysts that reduce NO_x production
• Multiphase and reverse flow reactors that improve selectivity
• Membrane reactors that can improve both selectivity and conversion

Ecological Modeling to Understand the Impact of Pollutants Released