The refining and petrochemicals industries are facing many challenges. Increasing usage of coal, bitumen and heavy oils creates new challenges. Simultaneously product specifications are tightening and environmental impact must be minimized. Chemists, Engineers and Material Scientists must collaborate to respond to these challenges by continually improving the technology used to produce energy, fuels and chemicals.Innovations in catlyst and process technology are emerging to meet the current trends of strong growth in demand while reducing CO2 emissions.   Reduced energy consumption and increased feedstock efficiency is needed in all segments to lower the cost of production and to reduce the environmental impact of meeting the increasing demand.Renewable feedstocks for fuels and petrochemicals are one of the greatest challenges that we will face in this century. Vegetable oils, sugars and cellulose can all be converted to liquid products, but innovation is needed to make these conversion processes economical. Examples of past and recent technology innovations and the trajectory of innovation needed to meet market and societal needs will be covered in this talk.

Award Address  (Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company Foundation). Technology challenges for building a cleaner and more prosperous future

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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