At a December seminar hosted by the MIT Energy Initiative, Eric McFarland, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Santa Barbara, discussed his views that using current commercial alternatives to abundant and low-cost fossil fuels will not achieve significant reductions in the carbon dioxide emissions associated with power generation. The massive infrastructure and equipment changes required for such a transition would require multiple decades of work if and when a serious commitment is made and an economical transition pathway is identified. The stored chemical potential in fossil fuels from thermonuclear derived solar energy may be utilized by less conventional means without producing carbon dioxide. Chemical pathways to produce hydrogen or ammonia from hydrocarbons without co-production of carbon dioxide are possible in new process configurations. Such processes may be more cost effective than other options and more readily implemented. In his talk, McFarland highlighted areas where science and engineering innovation could have enormous impact on global use of fossil resources into the future, and showed results of recent investigations on methane conversion.

This talk was presented on December 6, 2016 as part of the IHS Markit Seminar Series.

About the speaker:

Eric McFarland is a professor of chemical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He studied nuclear engineering and received his PhD from MIT. His present research focus is in catalysis and reaction engineering related to energy conversion. McFarland has always worked closely with industry on problems related to energy and chemical production, and he has held senior management positions in several companies related to his university research and is an active advisor to industry. He served as CEO of Gas Reaction Technologies and partnered with several major energy companies in the development of methane-to-chemicals technologies. McFarland recently returned to the U.S. from a two-year position as the founding director of the Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation and Dow Chemical Chair of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland, Australia.

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The MIT Energy Initiative is MIT’s hub for energy research, education, and outreach. Learn more at http://energy.mit.edu.