COLLEGE STATION, Texas July 10, 2008 – Thomas K. Wood, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been featured on iTunes U for his research on battling infections caused by biofilms.
iTunes U is a free hosted content distribution system from Apple that enables colleges and universities to make audio and video material from lectures, interviews, audio books and other sources available to students with the ease of the iTunes Store.
Wood’s biofilm research can be downloaded free of charge as part of the “Research Quick Briefs” program that is featured in the Texas A&M section of iTunes U. The program is an audio podcast produced by Texas A&M’s Division of Research and Graduate Studies. Once at the main page for Texas A&M’s iTunes U, users can find the program under the “news and information” tab.
Examining Escherichia coli bacteria – widely considered a model organism for microbiology studies – Wood has succeeded in identifying, decoding and even modifying cell-to-cell signals so that biofilm formation is inhibited.
Wood’s work is important in addressing the widespread health issues resulting from biofilm – a protective and adhesive slime excreted by bacteria that have joined together to form a community. Highly resistant to antibiotics, bacteria in biofilms can grow on a variety of living and nonliving surfaces, including biomedical implants such as knee and hip replacements as well as teeth (as plaque) and in the ear canal, causing lingering infections.
iTunes U is used primarily by Texas A&M students, faculty and staff. However, the service is open to the public, including prospective and former students of Texas A&M. Users can download and listen to content on a personal computer or iPod through the iTunes application.
Posted in Department on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, June 11, 2008 – Understanding the way bacterial cells “talk” to each other could lead to more effective methods for fighting the often persistent and serious infections caused by the biofilms they form, says a Texas A&M University professor of chemical engineering who not only has deciphered their language but also discovered how to quell their conversation.
Examining Escherichia coli bacteria – widely considered a model organism for microbiology studies – Professor Thomas K. Wood of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M has succeeded in identifying, decoding and even modifying cell-to-cell signals so that biofilm formation is inhibited.
His findings are covered in a series of five published articles, two of which appear in “The International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal” – a member of Nature Publishing Group’s stable of scientific publications. In addition, his progress is detailed in “The Public Library of Science ONE,” “Applied and Environmental Engineering” and in “BMC Microbiology.”
Wood’s work is important in addressing the widespread health issues resulting from bacteria in its biofilm form. Put simply, biofilm is a protective and adhesive slime excreted by bacteria that have joined together to form a community. The substance can grow on a variety of living and nonliving surfaces, including submerged rocks, food, teeth (as plaque) and biomedical implants such as knee and hip replacements.
And where there’s an infection, there is usually biofilm.
The National Institutes of Health, Wood noted, estimate that about 90 percent of infections in humans are caused by biofilm. The Centers for Disease Control estimate biofilm to be present in 65 percent of hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections. Biofilms have been linked to everything from gum diseases to cystic fibrosis. They typically are the cause for the fatal infections that develop post surgery. More commonly, biofilm is the chief culprit behind the nagging ear infections so common among children.
“It’s been only in the last few years that pediatricians have realized that children are crying day-in and day-out from ear infections because it’s a bacterial biofilm on their eardrums,” Wood said. “Prior to that, the approach was to treat the infections with drugs that got rid of bacteria but not bacteria in a biofilm, and it was completely ineffective.
“When bacteria are growing within a biofilm, that growth takes place in a different way than when bacteria are swimming freely in suspension. Pharmaceutical firms make antibiotics to kill bacteria in suspension. Those are 1,000 times less effective on a biofilm. It’s only in the last 10 years that we’ve realized people have died not because of free-floating bacteria but because of bacteria in a biofilm.”
Wood’s efforts to mitigate biofilm formation began with the recognition that construction of this substance was anything but random. To the contrary, biofilm formation is an extremely ordered process – a fact affirmed by examining biofilm structure on a microscopic level.
Though it appears as slime to the naked eye, biofilm is actually composed of several hills and valleys of varying heights and depths. These structural differences allow for nutrients to make their way to all bacteria within the biofilm community, Wood said. Despite the numerous formations present, these pillars and plateaus seldom collide with each other. The reason for that, Wood said, is that each bacterial cell is able to “talk” to one another and signal its location so that neighboring cells do not begin construction in an occupied space. If that happened, the bottom layers of the community could be sealed off from the nutrients on which they depend, Wood explained.
In-depth examination of those critical signals by Wood and his team of researchers found that E. coli relies on a compound known as autoinducer-2 (AI-2) for biofilm formation. Each E. coli bacterium produces this compound and then releases it in the cell’s external environment. Eventually a large amount of AI-2 becomes present outside of the cells, and through a process called quorum sensing each bacterium re-absorbs the AI-2 when a specific concentration has been achieved, Wood explained. When the AI-2 re-enters the cells it activates an entirely new set of behaviors for the bacterium – in this case, signaling when and how to begin building a biofilm.
“What we’re doing is examining how AI-2 is prompting the cell to make more biofilm,” Wood said. “Sugars are the mortar. We identified the specific type of mortar – the sugar known as colonic acid. We found that AI-2 helps E. coli produce more biofilm by making colonic acid, which is a kind of sugar. If you can understand how a biofilm is formed, then you can start to attack it at different stages.”
And that’s exactly what Wood has done.
Further research by Wood revealed that E. coli uses two different signals to control biofilm formation. Which signal is utilized depends on the temperature of the external environment, Wood said. In other words, these bacteria change their “language” if they are inside the body versus outside the body. Whereas AI-2 is the signal utilized by E. coli inside the body, Wood discovered that a compound known as indole is used for biofilm growth outside of the body – for instance on surgical replacement parts yet to be implanted.
“The second signal that we unraveled is indole – a derivative of amino acids,” Wood said. “Amino acids are what proteins are made out of. All living things need to make amino acids. All living things make this specific amino acid called tryptophan. It turns outs E. coli converts tryptophan into indole.”
Armed with that knowledge, Wood discovered a method for inhibiting biofilm formation by modifying the indole signal in a way that would confuse the bacteria. In lay terms, think of Wood’s achievement as adding a few extra letters to a spoken word. The resulting gibberish is not understood by other bacterial cells in the community, and the massive construction project never gets off the ground.
“Once we realized that indole was the signal, then we could slightly modify indole by putting an OH [hydroxide] molecule on it.” Wood said. “The new compound is called 7-hydroxyindole. We also found that a different type of modification would not be successful. We learned that you can trick bacteria, but you have to do it well, and another modification does not have any effect on stopping biofilm formation.
“By adding that hydroxyl group and making the 7-hydroxyindole, we turn off the bacterium’s ability to talk. We short-circuit the bacterium, and it becomes less of a bad actor.”
COLLEGE STATION, Texas May 15, 2008 – More affordable gasoline prices could potentially be on the way now that construction has begun on a demonstration-scale facility that will further validate a Texas A&M process that transforms biomass into liquid fuels.
By September, the facility is expected to be operational in Bryan, Texas. It will test the “MixAlco” technology developed by Professor Mark T. Holtzapple and Research Engineer Cesar B. Granda, both in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M.
“This demonstration plant is a major step towards relieving our nation’s dependence on expensive imported oil,” Holtzapple said.
The MixAlco technology can commercially make cellulosic ethanol and renewable gasoline, said a representative from Terrabon, LLC, the company that holds the license to the technology.
It accomplishes that by transforming biomass – trees, grass, manure, sewage sludge, garbage, agricultural residues and non-food energy crops – into mixed alcohols that can be blended into gasoline. Using additional steps, the alcohols can be converted into gasoline that is nearly identical to that which is derived from crude oil, Holtzapple explained.
For three years, testing has been underway at a smaller pilot plant in College Station. The pilot plant can process up to 100 pounds per day of biomass feedstocks, such as paper wastes and even chicken manure. The tests, Holtzapple said, have been so successful that the process is now ready to be validated at a larger scale. And that’s exactly what the new, larger demonstration plant will do, moving the entire process a step closer to commercial feasibility.
The demonstration plant will have a loading capacity of 400 tons of biomass, which equates to a digestion rate of five tons per day, stated a Terrabon representative. Sorghum will be the primary feedstock utilized. Current plans call for the process to run in 80-day cycles.
“With construction of this facility, we are one step closer to bringing cost effective, renewable energy products to consumers,” said Gary W. Luce, Terrabon’s Chief Executive Officer. “Using municipal solid waste as a feedstock at a price of $10 per ton, we believe this technology can produce fuel-grade ethanol for $1.00 per gallon and renewable gasoline for $1.65 per gallon for a facility processing around 300 tons per day of municipal solid waste.”
In the process, which has been developed during the last 17 years by Holtzapple and Granda, biomass feedstock is treated with lime and then fermented to form organic salts. Water is removed and the mixture is then heated to form ketones – which are commonly used solvents, such as nail polish remover.
At an oil refinery, hydrogen is added to the ketones to form mixed alcohols, which are then combined with existing gasoline before being transported. Unlike ethanol, which cannot be transported through pipelines because of its tendency to absorb water, mixed alcohol can be transported via pipelines to gas stations throughout the country.
A key aspect of the MixAlco process that differentiates it from more costly alternatives is its ability to rely on naturally occurring soil organisms to digest the biomass, Holtzapple said. This means that the MixAlco process doesn’t require the often costly sterile environments needed by other methods that utilize genetically engineered organisms, he explained.
In addition, the alcohol-based fuels produced from the crops used by the MixAlco process are more productive in terms of net energy per acre than the well-publicized method that involves utilizing corn to produce ethanol, Holtzapple said. In lay terms, this means less land is required to grow feedstocks. Per acre, farmers can grow two to 10 times more energy crops than if they were growing corn, he said.
What’s more, Holtzapple says his process is environmentally friendly. The combustion of biofuels doesn’t contribute to global warming because no net carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, he explained. Any carbon dioxide that is released is recycled through photosynthesis, unlike what occurs during combustion of fossil fuels. And there is less potential to damage ground water because less waste is being stored in landfills. In addition, the energy crops that the process uses require less fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides than do traditional crops such as corn, Holtzapple added.
Terrabon, LLC was organized in 1995 to commercialize three technologies that share the same suite of patented intellectual property developed at Texas A&M University. Terrabon plans to deliver this cutting-edge technology via licensing the three processes.
Contact: Mark T. Holtzapple at (979) 845–9708 or via email: m-holtzapple@tamu.edu or Ryan A. Garcia, (979) 845-9237 or via email: ryan.garcia99@tamu.edu.
Posted in Department on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 30, 2008 – One student at a time – that’s the simple but demanding philosophy adopted by Mahmoud El-Halwagi, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, as he endeavors to teach his students the complexities of process design.
It’s an incredibly time-consuming job, or as El-Halwagi puts it, “mission,” but that suits the chemical engineering professor just fine because in addition to being an internationally recognized authority in his given research area, El-Halwagi is an equally devoted teacher.
This month, that devotion to pedagogy was formally recognized when El-Halwagi, holder of the McFerrin Professorship, received a college-level Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching from The Association of Former Students. The announcement came at the 2007-2008 Dwight Look College of Engineering Faculty Awards.
“I’m delighted and thrilled to receive this award,” said El-Halwagi. “It’s really an honor because our students are among the very best in the nation, especially our former students who have had the chance to apply what they have learned and can attest to the value of the education they receive here.
“Teaching has always been something that I have felt very strongly about.”
Beginning in 1982 and presented annually, the Distinguished Achievement Awards for teaching recognize outstanding faculty members for their talent, expertise and devotion to conveying knowledge to students.
The award, said a representative from The Association of Former Students, is designed to distinguish those teachers who maintain high expectations of their students and who ensure academic rigor in their courses. Recipients of the award are individuals whose command of their respective discipline, teaching methodologies, pervasive caring, communication skills and commitment to the learning process exemplify the meaning of teacher/mentor in its highest sense.
It’s a fitting description of El-Halwagi, but as passionate as he is about the educational responsibilities his job entails, he acknowledges that a balance must be struck between teaching and the wide scope of research activities with which he is involved.
El-Halwagi is widely known for his pioneering contributions in the field of process integration. In particular, he and his co-workers have introduced two distinct fields: mass integration and property integration. His main research interests focus on process design, operation, integration and optimization.
“I have to be faithful to the teaching; I have to be faithful to the research; I have to be faithful to the service,” he said. “I try to spend my time wisely, but this is far more than a 40-hour-per-week job. I spend far more time than that, and the students appreciate that.”
Fortunately, explained El-Halwagi, he’s been able to mesh his research and teaching throughout his career. That combination has made him a more effective researcher, but it’s also translated into highly trained students, he said.
“I am in a unique position because my research is related to the courses that I teach,” El-Halwagi noted. “Most of my research is in the areas of process design, integration and optimization. These are topics that I teach both at the undergraduate level and the graduate level. So on one hand, there is continuity between my research and my teaching activities. But on the other hand, I also feel that our students get the benefit of that because they get exposed to state-of-the-art design techniques and technologies, and they are way ahead of the curve in the area of process design compared to many other institutions. I think it’s a win-win situation.”
El-Halwagi joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2002 after a spending 12 years at Auburn University where he was honored with numerous distinctions, including being named a five-time Outstanding Faculty Member from Auburn’s College of Engineering as well as receiving the National Science Foundation’s National Young Investigator Award.
At Texas A&M, he teaches senior-level undergraduate and graduate classes, covering the areas of process design, simulation, economics, integration and optimization. He also oversees a graduate research group of 14 students.
“I do it one student at a time, in the lecture and in the lab,” El-Halwagi said. “I take my time and spend a lot of time trying to answer any questions that they might have and discuss broader issues pertaining to design because design is a broad issue that contains so many different topics in chemical engineering. I build on what my colleagues here in the department have already taught them. It needs to be brought together, and that takes time.”
And El-Halwagi’s time isn’t just spent on his Aggie students. As an author of a widely used text on process integration that has been translated into several different languages, El-Halwagi frequently receives questions from students around the world via email.
“In addition to my students here, I also take pride in so many other students around the world,” he said. “I have [written] two books, and I receive questions in email regarding concepts in the books from students all over the world, so I feel that I have an extended set of students.
“And I treat them with the same respect and attention that I would treat a student that I would teach here. I feel it is part of my teaching mission. It’s not only limited to those who I might encounter personally.”
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 4, 2008 – Arthur R. “Artie” McFerrin, Jr., a 1965 graduate of Texas A&M and the man for whom the university’s chemical engineering department is named, has received the highest honor bestowed upon a former student of the institution.
McFerrin is one of four recipients of the 2008 Distinguished Alumnus Award, presented by Texas A&M University and The Association of Former Students. Joining him in receiving that notable distinction are Charles H. “Charlie” Weinbaum, Jr., Class of 1947, of Beaumont; James D. “Doug” Pitcock, Jr., Class of 1949, of Houston; and Neal W. Adams, Class of 1968, of Euless.
“Each and every one of the more than 300,000 former students of Texas A&M has a special place in our university’s history, and every year we recognize only a few with the prestigious Distinguished Alumnus Award,” said Texas A&M University President Dr. Elsa A. Murano. “This award recognizes some of the most dedicated former students, whose service to Texas A&M and lifetime personal and professional achievements truly exemplify the Aggie Spirit. I applaud this year’s recipients for their leadership and selfless service, and would like to also express my appreciation to their families for their continued support.”
This year’s recipients learned of their honor when surprised in their places of business and other locations by a group of university and Association representatives, including Murano; The Association of Former Students’ 2008 President General Hal M. Hornburg (USAF, Ret), Class of 1968; Association Executive Director Porter S. Garner III, Class of 1979; Association Assistant Executive Director Marty Holmes, Class of 1987; and a Ross Volunteer.
McFerrin received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M and went on to earn a master’s degree in the same field in 1969. As student, he was a member of Company E-1 in the Corps of Cadets, the Student Conference on National Affairs, the Society of Military Engineers, as well as the Great Issues Committee.
McFerrin began his career in 1967 with Shell Chemical, before becoming an independent plant manager in 1972. In 1975 he founded KMCO, a chemical processing and manufacturing company, and in 1990 established KMTEX, a high-volume distillation company. He purchased South Coast Terminals in 1995 and is a partner in several other chemical processing plants.
“I’m so pleased that our nominating process found Aggies such as these four wonderful individuals to be named as the 2008 recipients of the Distinguished Alumnus Award,” said Association President General Hal M. Hornburg (USAF, Ret), Class of 1968. “Each has contributed in his own unique way; yet they all posses the same common qualities: they are loyal Aggies, exemplary citizens and outstanding Americans. Their actions will inspire others to follow their example: service before self. Texas A&M and all Aggies can take great pride in the honor bestowed on these most deserving men.”
McFerrin has served Texas A&M as chairman of the Chemical Engineering Advisory Board and has served on the President’s Corps of Cadets Board of Visitors, the 12th Man Foundation Board of Trustees, Texas A&M Research Foundation, and the Chancellor’s Century Council.
In 2005, McFerrin established an endowment to support Texas A&M’s department of chemical engineering, which now bears his name. His many contributions to Texas A&M are visible throughout the campus and include the McFerrin Indoor Athletic Center and the Cox-McFerrin Basketball Center. McFerrin endowed the Becky Gates Children’s Center, the Marilyn Kent Byrne Student Success Center in the College of Education and Human Development, as well as the Byrne Chair currently held by Dr. Jim Kracht.
He has been part of the Distinguished Visiting Executive Series at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service and in 1998 was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the Department of Chemical Engineering.
Garner echoed the sentiments of Murano and Hornburg and offered his congratulations on behalf of the Aggie Network.
“Each of our 2008 Distinguished Alumni are exemplary role models and truly deserving of the highest honor bestowed upon a former student of Texas A&M University,” Garner said. “Charlie, Doug, Artie and Neal have certainly distinguished themselves in their respective professions and without fail have been lifelong advocates for Texas A&M and Texas Aggies. I am honored to know them.”
The Association of Former Students will further honor Texas A&M University’s 2008 Distinguished Alumni in formal events and ceremonies throughout the year. Recipients will be hosted for dinner by Murano and will be recognized during the May commencement ceremonies. In addition, The Association will honor all recipients of this award during its annual Distinguished Alumni Gala as well as at the Texas A&M vs. Kansas State football game in October.
McFerrin and his wife, Dorothy, have two children, Jeffrey, Class of 1992, and Jennifer.
Posted in Department on Thursday, March 20th, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Rudy Dismuke of Houston has endowed a $30,000 teaching excellence award at Texas A&M University to honor an admired chemical engineering professor.
The Kenneth R. Hall Teaching Excellence Award will be funded through the Texas A&M Foundation.
“Dr. Hall’s teaching skills inspired my interest in thermodynamics, which led to my career in the oil and gas industry,” said Dismuke, who studied under Hall in the 1970s. Dismuke is an exploration commercial advisor at ExxonMobil, which will contribute matching funds to the gift.
The recipient of the teaching excellence award will be a chemical engineering faculty member selected by a majority vote of the senior chemical engineering students based on teaching effectiveness, innovation, curriculum development and student service.
“Our faculty continually strive to excel as teachers and mentors to all our students. This award helps our students recognize those who truly shine as instructors,” said Michael Pishko, department head and holder of the Unocal Professorship.
Hall is a professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M, a Regent’s Professor and holder of the Jack E. and Frances Brown Chair in Engineering. He is associate director of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), where he emphasizes interdisciplinary research projects and oversees TEES centers and institutes.
An internationally recognized expert in the area of thermodynamics, he has 224 refereed publications and holds 12 patents in areas that include natural gas flow measurement and conversion of natural gas into liquid fuels and other chemicals.
He has been honored as a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. He received AIChE’s Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology and the Gas Processors Association’s Donald L. Katz Award.
Hall earned a bachelor’s degree in 1962 from the University of Tulsa, a master’s degree in 1964 from the University of California at Berkeley and a Ph.D. in 1967 at the University of Oklahoma. He joined the Texas A&M faculty in 1974 and has held numerous administrative roles, including four years as chemical engineering department head.
Dismuke is a Texas A&M Class of 1978 chemical engineering graduate. He joined ExxonMobil upon graduation as a gas engineer. He currently serves as a commercial advisor for ExxonMobil’s exploration activities in the United States, Canada, South America and Greenland.
At Texas A&M Dismuke previously endowed a scholarship in the C.D. Holland Scholars Program, which targets high-achieving chemical engineering undergraduates with leadership potential and financial need. He is a permanently endowed member of the Century Club.
“Mr. Dismuke’s generous gift is a testament to his appreciation for the outstanding instruction he received under Dr. Hall and signifies his desire for Texas A&M to continue to recognize and reward faculty who have made an impact on their students,” said Greg Willems, senior director of development for engineering with the Texas A&M Foundation.
The Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M is home to more than 700 undergraduate students. The Dwight Look College of Engineering, housing 12 departments and over 9,700 students, is ranked 9th in undergraduate and 8th in graduate studies among public universities in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report.
Posted in Department on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 5, 2008 - With the help of a Texas A&M University chemical engineering professor, a Dallas-based gas-to-liquids (GTL) energy firm has developed what it labels as the industry’s first commercially viable process for converting natural gas into useable fuels.
The announcement came Tuesday at a press conference held at the Synfuels research and demonstration plant in Bryan, Texas. The result could mean millions of barrels of new petroleum products - all produced more efficiently and in an environmentally friendly method that helps reduce sources of global warming.
Expanding on a process conceived by Kenneth R. Hall, a professor in the university’s Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering and the associate director of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, Synfuels International, Inc., has patented a method for refining natural gas that will enable the firm to take advantage of existing natural gas deposits.
Prior to this technology, those deposits have remained untapped for a number of reasons, said Ben R. Weber, chairman and CEO of Synfuels International. Quadrillions of cubic feet of natural gas exist globally, but because of geographical barriers, transportability, undesirable product contents, or non-existing entry points to commercial markets, those deposits lay dormant in areas such as Peruvian jungles or Indonesian islands.
In addition, World Banks estimates another 5.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas is wasted annually by either flaring or being vented, said Thomas R. Rolfe, president of Synfuels International. “Flaring” occurs when natural gas is inefficiently burned into the atmosphere during the refining process. Currently, an amount equivalent to 25 percent of the United States’ annual gas consumption is lost in this manner, he said.
Hall’s process - the result of nearly 10 years of work - will address both of those issues.
Not only will it enable Synfuels to convert natural gas to a clean-burning pipeline or tanker-ready liquid, it will do so in an efficient and environmentally friendly method, which still renders the liquid product competitive with the crude oil market, Weber said.
The breakthrough process, which was developed in cooperation with Texas A&M and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, is the result, Weber said, of “a marriage between Texas A&M and entrepreneurship.” And it all began when Hall and his colleagues were attempting to develop a method for disposing of lube oil waste in an environmentally friendly manner.
When Hall first proposed the idea of realistically converting existing natural gas into usable petroleum products, Weber said the concept sounded “almost too good to be true.” However, Texas A&M’s credentials in the area as well as the quality of its researchers were enough to convince Weber the idea was achievable, he said.
“During our research and experimentation,” Hall explained, “we saw that it was possible to convert natural gas to acetylene, which could then be converted to ethylene. And the beauty of the formula for the conversion is that every step has been verified by outside experts as both scalable and possible on a commercial level.”
The Synfuels process focuses on efficient high-temperature natural gas conversion into acetylene, which is then converted into ethylene at moderate pressures and temperatures. After the ethylene passes through a catalytic reactor, it is converted into products such as gasoline and jet fuel. Synfuels representatives state the process yields a significantly higher amount of usable products than traditional industry standards.
Utilizing Hall’s process, Synfuels - in an agreement with Aref Energy Holding - intends to develop the world’s first commercially viable GTL plant in Kuwait. The new facility, once completed, will have the capabilities to produce high-octane fuels, which may be used to power any motorized vehicle including aircraft and automobiles, with only the need to flare a small amount of gas to remove nitrogen from the process stream.
“This is undoubtedly the world’s first breakthrough for a gas-to-liquids refinery,” Rolfe said. “By cultivating these untapped resources, we will not only be able provide the world with a cleaner energy solution producing virtually no unwanted bi-products, but we will also be able to stimulate local economies where we have identified these natural resources to be available. It is truly a new day and we are thrilled to be leading the way.
“Synfuels has the opportunity to build hundreds of plants, to make it a cleaner world and to develop natural resources that could never be developed before.
“A new era in gas-processing technology has been born.”
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Contact: Kenneth R. Hall at (979) 845-3357 or via email: krhall@tamu.edu or Ryan A. Garcia, at (979) 845-9237 or via email: rgarcia99@tamu.edu.
Posted in Department on Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 30, 2008 - For most people, the name “E. coli” is synonymous with food poisoning and product recalls, but a professor in Texas A&M University’s chemical engineering department envisions the bacteria as a future source of energy, helping to power our cars, homes and more.
By genetically modifying the bacteria, Thomas Wood, a professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has “tweaked” a strain of E. coli so that it produces substantial amounts of hydrogen. Specifically, Wood’s strain produces 140 times more hydrogen than is created in a naturally occurring process, according to an article in “Microbial Biotechnology,” detailing his research.
Though Wood acknowledges that there is still much work to be done before his research translates into any kind of commercial application, his initial success could prove to be a significant stepping stone on the path to the hydrogen-based economy that many believe is in this country’s future.
Renewable, clean and efficient, hydrogen is the key ingredient in fuel-cell technology, which has the potential to power everything from portable electronics to automobiles and even entire power plants. Today, most of the hydrogen produced globally is created by a process known as “cracking water” through which hydrogen is separated from the oxygen. But the process is expensive and requires vast amounts of energy - one of the chief reasons why the technology has yet to catch on.
Wood’s work with E. coli could change that.
While the public may be used to hearing about the very specific strain that can cause food poisoning in humans, most strains are common and harmless, even helping their hosts by preventing other harmful bacteria from taking root in the human intestinal tract.
And the use of E. coli in science is nothing new, having been used in the production of human insulin and in the development of vaccines.
But as a potential energy source?
That’s new territory, and it’s being pioneered by Wood and his colleagues.
By selectively deleting six specific genes in E. coli’s DNA, Wood has basically transformed the bacterium into a mini hydrogen-producing factory that’s powered by sugar. Scientifically speaking, Wood has enhanced the bacteria’s naturally occurring glucose-conversion process on a massive scale.
“These bacteria have 5,000 genes that enable them to survive environmental changes,” Wood explained. “When we knock things out, the bacteria become less competitive. We haven’t given them an ability to do something. They don’t gain anything here; they lose. The bacteria that we’re making are less competitive and less harmful because of what’s been removed.”
With sugar as its main power source, this strain of E. coli can now take advantage of existing and ever-expanding scientific processes aimed at producing sugar from certain crops, such as corn, Wood said.
“A lot of people are working on converting something that you grow into some kind of sugar,” Wood explained. “We want to take that sugar and make it into hydrogen. We’re going to get sugar from some crop somewhere. We’re going to get some form of sugar-like molecule and use the bacteria to convert that into hydrogen.”
Biological methods such as this (E. coli produce hydrogen through a fermentative process) are likely to reduce energy costs since these processes don’t require extensive heating or electricity,” Wood said.
“One of the most difficult things about chemical engineering is how you get the product,” Wood explained. “In this case, it’s very easy because the hydrogen is a gas, and it just bubbles out of the solution. You just catch the gas as it comes out of the glass. That’s it. You have pure hydrogen.”
There also are other benefits.
As might be expected, the cost of building an entirely new pipeline to transport hydrogen is a significant deterrent in the utilization of hydrogen-based fuel cell technology. In addition, there is also increased risk when transporting hydrogen.
The solution, Wood believes, is converting hydrogen on site.
“The main thing we think is you can transport things like sugar, and if you spill the sugar there is not a huge catastrophe,” Wood said. “The idea is to make the hydrogen where you need it.”
Of course, all of this is down the road. Right now, Wood remains busy in the lab, working on refining a process that’s already hinted at its incredible potential. The goal, he said, is to continue to get more out of less.
“Take your house, for example,” Wood said. “The size of the reactor that we’d need today if we implemented this technology would be less than the size of a 250-gallon fuel tank found in the typical east-coast home. I’m not finished with this yet, but at this point if we implemented the technology right now, you or a machine would have to shovel in about the weight of a man every day so that the reactor could provide enough hydrogen to take care of the average American home for a 24-hour period.
“We’re trying to make bacteria so it’s doesn’t require 80 kilograms; it will be closer to 8 kilograms.”
Posted in Department on Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 29, 2008 - The process industry is experiencing “a tsunami of change” that is not only affecting the way companies are doing business but also demanding automation professionals become more business savvy, said Editor-in-Chief of CONTROL Magazine Walt Boyes Tuesday at Texas A&M University.
“The world is changing; we can see that constantly, and the manufacturing industries are changing rapidly, too,” said Boyes, who was the featured speaker at the university’s 63rd annual Instrumentation Symposium for the Process Industries, sponsored by the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering.
The symposium annually offers the latest developments in all categories of instrumentation, providing participants with access to specialized presentations, exhibits and workshops.
Detailing numerous changes in the social and demographic, economic and political, and technological spectrums that are shaping the industry, Boyes had a clear-cut message for his fellow professionals, both young and old.
“You’re going to have to speak business just as well as you speak process,” he said.
Specifically, automation professionals must work to be recognized as business process analysts in light of the growing divide between themselves and production and enterprise information technology,” Boyes explained.
An authority on business-to-business marketing with more than 25 years of experience in sales, sales management, marketing and product development in the controls and instrumentation industry, Boyes is widely considered an industry expert.
Among the many changes he cited, Boyes underscored the detrimental effects of a gradual but steady erosion of knowledgeable professionals from the field. The majority of professionals who were adept at running process plants were laid off in the 1980s and ‘90s, Boyes noted. Those that remained are today retiring in droves, taking their knowledge with them, he added.
“The institutional knowledge they are taking with them is irreplaceable,” Boyes said.
Compounding the problem, the best and brightest new employees don’t want to work in manufacturing, many of them considering factory work a less-than-secure career path, he said.
Because of this phenomenon, process industry companies are often unable to hire - even strategically - and, in turn, are relying on vendor companies to supply staff, services and expertise. These vendor companies however are encountering the same problems in trying to answer the increased demand for knowledgeable staff.
The ramifications of this are already being felt on an economic level, Boyes explained. Companies, he said, are changing the way they work in terms of how they’re treating their employees. The transition from viewing people as simply replaceable resources to valuable assets is well under way in the industry. Companies are starting to offer more benefits and perks similar to what occurred in the 1950s, Boyes said.
“There are trends that are converging in the next decade or so that are utterly changing the way process automation is done,” Boyes said. “And as automation professionals, we need to understand these trends. And if you do understand these trends, you can prosper in your career, and the companies you work for can prosper as well.”
In addition to Boyes’ presentation, several technical papers will be presented throughout the symposium by a host of authorities from across the country. Their presentations will cover a wide array of topics, including metering flow in utilities, compressed air and steam; using engineering automation software to document safety instrumented systems; and advanced flow diagnostics.
The symposium also will feature approximately 50 exhibits of an educational nature, which will be showcased by the leading firms in the instrumentation and control systems field. Exhibits display new and educational instrumentation equipment and are of interest to managers, operators and instrumentation personnel.
Various workshops ranging from a discussion of ethics to flow devices and liquid level/ measurement will be offered each day of the event, for which continuing education units (CEUs) will be awarded upon completion. CEUs are the nationally recognized units designed to provide a record of an individual’s continuing education achievements.
“We hope we are able to fulfill the expectations of all of the professionals and students who are attending this symposium, through our speakers, presentations, exhibits and workshops, said symposium chairman and senior lecturer Jerry Bradshaw.
Posted in Department on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 12, 2007 - Citing the potential for acts of terrorism on any of the thousands of chemical processing plants throughout the country, M. Sam Mannan, a Texas A&M University chemical engineering professor and authority on process safety and risk management, testified before a House subcommittee Wednesday and urged Congress to give the Department of Homeland Security permanent and continuing authority to regulate chemical security in the United States.
Mannan’s testimony came as part of a congressional hearing on the “Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2008,” a proposed amendment to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 that provides for the regulation of certain chemical facilities.
Addressing members of the subcommittee, Mannan, who also is director of Texas A&M’s Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center, said that while many U.S. facilities have voluntarily begun implementing appropriate security measures, he remains concerned that many have not yet adopted such measures. Because of that discrepancy, a regulation that establishes a minimum and level playing field is critical, he said.
“The fact is that chemical infrastructure and all components, including the individual sites, supply and delivery systems, were never built with terrorism in mind,” Mannan explained. “Research must be conducted to determine how me might have designed and built the chemical plants and the infrastructure had we considered these threats.”
Estimates by the Department of Homeland Security suggest that nearly 7,000 facilities - about half of all U.S. chemical plants - are considered to be at high risk of a terrorism attack or an accident.
As vital as regulation of these facilities is, Mannan explained that effective regulation must be science-based and cautioned that the proposed act or any actions resulting from the act should not create unintended consequences, which might increase the opportunities for attacks rather than mitigate them.
Providing an example of such an instance, Mannan detailed a hypothetical substitution of hydrogen fluoride with sulfuric acid for refinery alkylation processes. While sulfuric acid is less toxic than hydrogen fluoride, the amount of sulfuric acid needed to do the same amount of processing is 25 times greater than hydrogen fluoride. Because of that, a change to the less-toxic sulfuric acid would require large storage facilities and increased transportation - both of which could result in greater opportunities for terrorists as compared to a well-managed plant utilizing a smaller amount of hydrogen fluoride.
Among Mannan’s other conclusions is the particularly disturbing assertion that hazardous materials in transit throughout the United States represent a highly visible target with a far greater degree of vulnerability to an act of terrorism than stationary facilities. What’s more, this specific category of hazardous materials, Mannan said, is arguably the least prepared to deal with intentionally caused catastrophic scenarios.
Mannan also emphasized the inclusion of water processing facilities in the act as “important and necessary.” Though not traditionally considered a chemical processing plant, water processing facilities remain an attractive target to terrorists, Mannan noted.
“As the 9/11 events have shown, terrorists are more likely to use easily available materials to strike at us,” he said.
The subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, is part of the larger Committee on Homeland Security that was created by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 to provide Congressional oversight over the development of the Department of Homeland Security.
A renowned expert in process safety and risk management operations, Mannan is a professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M and is director of the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center. The center conducts programs and research activities that enhance safety in the chemical process industries.
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Contact: M. Sam Mannan at (979) 820-0036 or via email: mannan@tamu.edu or Ryan A. Garcia, communications coordinator for the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, at (979) 845-9372 or via email: ryan.garcia99@tamu.edu.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 30, 2008 - For most people, the name “E. coli” is synonymous with food poisoning and product recalls, but a professor in Texas A&M University’s chemical engineering department envisions the bacteria as a future source of energy, helping to power our cars, homes and more.
