The Chemical and Biological Engineering Department is pleased to present the 35th Annual Hugh M. Hulburt Lecture with Chau-Chyun Chen from Texas Tech University as part of our Spring 2024 ChBE Seminar Series.

Dr. Chau-Chyun Chen will present a lecture titled "Adsorption Thermodynamics for Process Simulation."

ABSTRACT: Adsorptive separation offers an energy efficient and sustainable alternative to conventional thermal separation. Recent development of tailored adsorbents for selective separation of molecules has heightened interest in adsorption applications such as air separation, trace elements and heavy metals removal, CO2 capture, direct air capture, hydrocarbons processing, aqueous organic chemicals separation, among others. However, the lack of rigorous adsorption thermodynamic models for multicomponent adsorption equilibria has hampered industrial applications of adsorption technology for decades, and practitioners remain heavily relying on expensive and time-consuming trial-and-error pilot studies to develop adsorption units. Successful process simulation and development of all separation processes, adsorption included, must be built on rigorous thermodynamic models that accurately correlate and predict thermodynamic properties and phase behaviors for concerned chemical mixtures. This presentation highlights the limits and deficiencies of commonly practiced adsorption thermodynamic models such as extended Langmuir, dual-process Langmuir, and adsorbed solution theory for mixed-gas adsorption equilibria. It further presents a thermodynamically rigorous generalization of the classical Langmuir isotherm by substituting concentrations with activities, incorporating an activity coefficient model for the adsorbed phase that explicitly counts for both adsorbent-adsorbate interactions and adsorbate-adsorbate interactions, extending for multicomponent competitive adsorption, and further extending for multicomponent multilayer adsorption. Requiring a minimum set of physically meaningful model parameters, the generalized Langmuir isotherm for multicomponent monolayer adsorption and the generalized Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm for multicomponent multilayer adsorption successfully address various adsorption thermodynamic modeling challenges including adsorbent surface heterogeneity, isosteric heats of adsorption, adsorption azeotrope formation, and multilayer formulation. For the first time since the advent of Langmuir isotherm, a rigorous and comprehensive adsorption thermodynamic model for multicomponent adsorption equilibria has been formulated to support process simulation of adsorptive separation.

Dr. Chau-Chyun Chen is a Horn Distinguished professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Jack Maddox Distinguished Chair in Sustainable Energy at the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, Texas Tech University. A co-founder of Aspen Technology, Inc., he is the inventor of the industry-leading process simulation software for electrolyte solutions, polymerization processes, small molecule drug solubility, CO2 capture with chemical absorption, and molecular characterization for petroleum assays. His current research focuses on molecular thermodynamics and process simulation for adsorptive and membrane-based separations, high salinity produced waters, energetic materials, and CO2 capture. He holds over 160 peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters, and 20 US and international patents.

Dr. Chen received BS degree in chemistry from National Taiwan University and MS and ScD degrees in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a fellow of American Institute of Chemical Engineers and American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.

About Hugh M. Hulburt

A talented administrator and teacher, Hugh M. Hulburt (1917-1987) dedicated his professional career to practicing chemistry and promoting the chemical engineering profession. After receiving his PhD in 1942, he worked in various industry positions, becoming director of research and development at the Chemical Construction Corporation and later director of chemical engineering and of physical research at American Cyanamid Company.

After joining Northwestern in 1964, Hulburt served as chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1965 to 1971, associate dean of the Graduate School from 1975 to 1980, and associate dean of the Technological Institute from 1980 to 1983. He chaired the committee to establish the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and fostered closer ties between industry and the University and between science and engineering.

Hulburt was editor of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Process Design and Development from its inception in 1962 until 1986, during which time it became a highly respected journal. He also served on the editorial board of the Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data and on the National Science Foundation's Advisory Panel for Engineering Chemistry and Energetics. He was a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and was its Institute Lecturer in 1962.

The Hugh M. Hulburt Memorial Lecture brings to campus leaders in chemical engineering research and management to lecture and interact with students and faculty, and it fosters collaboration between industry & academia in the education of future chemical engineers.

A department luncheon will follow the lecture at 12:00pm on the Tech East Patio/courtyard.

*Please note that there will be no Zoom option for seminars this year.