Challenges and Opportunities for Chemical Manufacturing vis-à-vis Renewable Electricity

Rakesh Agrawal

Winthrop E. Stone Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University

Abstract

Direct availability of primary energy as renewable electricity rather than the historical availability of energy as heat via fossil fuel combustion is expected to have a profound impact on chemical manufacturing. Here, we will discuss, the various levels at which chemical plants will be impacted and contribute to the sustainable production of chemicals and also the harvesting of energy.

We will first examine how renewable energy in general, and solar in particular, when used as a heat source, could impact the design and operation of various unit operations such as reactors and separators. Next, the potential impact, due to the intermittent availability of solar and wind energy through a twenty-four-hour day, on the equipment design and energy storage requirement will be presented. We will discuss renewable power integration in the context of the valorization of shale gas to make olefins and liquid chemicals.

Under the scenario when solar energy is widely used for chemical manufacturing, a system-wide analysis showing potential land availability constraints for photovoltaic farms at most population centers will be presented. In this context, we will present some results from experiments with corn production along with electricity generation from agrivoltaic farming at Purdue University.

Finally, we will present our research on the design of thin-film inorganic solar cells using solution chemistry and discuss our recent findings related to the synthesis of stable inorganic chalcogenide perovskites.

The changing energy landscape and environmental concerns are providing an unprecedented opportunity for innovation in chemical processing and are expected to bring many new aspects to chemical manufacturing.

Bio

Rakesh Agrawal is the Winthrop E. Stone Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University. He formerly worked at Air Products and Chemicals, where he rose to the highest technical position of Air Products Fellow. His research includes novel processes for the fabrication of low-cost thin-film solar cells, energy systems analysis, shale gas processing, biomass to liquid fuel conversion, synthesis of efficient separation processes using distillation and membranes, gas separations and liquefaction, and agrivoltaics. He holds 137 U.S. patents, has published 287 technical papers, and has given 293 invited lectures. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Inventors. He received chemical engineering degrees from IIT Kanpur, the University of Delaware, and MIT. His honors include the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from the President of the United States of America.