Events

The Energy Transition for the Chemicals and Materials Industry

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Lecture / Panel
 
For NYU Community
D. Hickman Image

Speaker

Daniel A. Hickman

The DOW Chemical Company

 

Abstract

The Energy Transition for the Chemicals and Materials Industry

Steam cracking is Dow’s largest energy-consuming chemical conversion process. Dow is working to electrify steam cracking by pursuing multiple alternative technologies. This presentation will compare various approaches for CO2 mitigation of the steam cracking process technology, including CO2 electroreduction, process heating with renewable electricity, and burning green hydrogen. We will also review the relative thermodynamics and energy efficiencies of CO2 capture from concentrated point sources or ambient air. We will conclude with a brief description of some steps Dow is taking to decarbonize while continuing to grow, followed by a brief look at the global commitment required to achieve substantial worldwide decarbonization by 2050.

 

Pre-Workshop Instructions Before 10/31

We ask students to bring a laptop to the session with at least a trial version of the AthenaVisual Plus software installed. Because this is not a software training session, we encourage new users to spend a few hours gaining familiarity with the tool before the workshop. We will provide one or more tutorials to registered students to guide their independent learning prior to the workshop. Before the workshop, students should take the following steps to register and install the software for the workshop:

  1. Visit https://athenavisual.com/download-center/ to download and install the software; the accompanying Getting Started guide contains detailed installation instructions.
  2. Before October 31, open https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fYD5k13-aT6o_tmUAM7ctvQ3aA0OR1msYs1HjC2y-iA/edit and enter your name, email, site code, and MID in the Excel spreadsheet. (You obtain your site code and MID from the license dialog box that appears when you open AthenaVisual Plus.)
  3. You will receive your personal activation code via email before the workshop, enabling a free one-year license.

 

Bio

Dan Hickman is a Senior R&D Fellow in the Engineering and Process Science department of Dow’s Core Research and Development organization. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from Iowa State University (1988) and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota (1992). In 33 years with Dow, Dan has served as a subject matter expert and technical leader in reaction engineering and process development for numerous reaction systems across many Dow businesses and technologies. His industrial reaction engineering experience includes working with stirred tank reactors, fixed bed reactors, trickle bed reactors, and fluidized bed reactors. His contributions at Dow include the conceptual design of new reactor systems for three commercial processes and the development of training and resources that facilitate efficient and reliable reactor scale-up from the laboratory. Dan holds 25 patents and has authored 33 journal articles and book chapters and more than 200 internal Dow reports. Dan was named the Mid-Michigan AIChE Chemical Engineer of the Year in 2014, received the CRE Practice Award from the Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division of AIChE in 2015, was named an AIChE Fellow in 2023, and served the global reaction engineering community on the board of directors for International Symposia on Chemical Reaction Engineering, Inc., from 2012 through 2024.