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Heather Willauer

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Heather Willauer
Willauer shows samples of synthetic fuel
Born1974 (age 49–50)
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materBerry College
University of Alabama
Known forSynthetic fuel from seawater
Scientific career
FieldsAnalytical chemistry
InstitutionsUnited States Naval Research Laboratory

Heather D. Willauer (born 1974) is an American analytical chemist and inventor working in Washington, D.C., at the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). Leading a research team, Willauer has patented a method for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from seawater, in tandem with hydrogen (H2) removed simultaneously. Willauer is researching catalysts to enable a continuous Fischer–Tropsch process to recombine carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen gases into complex hydrocarbon liquids to synthesize jet fuel for Navy and Marine aviation, and fuel for the U.S. Navy's ships at sea.

The work of Willauer's team of researchers, once the technology is incorporated into the U.S. Navy's warships in the 2020s, is expected to release such ships from their reliance on vulnerable replenishment oilers to give them indefinite time on station. Especially significant is the ability to maintain naval air operations without regular deliveries of jet fuel. A side benefit of the technology is that it will decrease harmful ocean acidification, by removing CO2 from seawater.

Education

Willauer attended Berry College in Georgia, graduating with a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1996.[1] In mid-1999 she participated in the 11th International Conference on Partitioning in Aqueous Two-Phase Systems, held in Gulf Shores, Alabama.[2] In 2002, she earned a doctorate in analytical chemistry from the University of Alabama, writing her thesis on "Fundamentals of phase behavior and solute partitioning in ABS and applications to the paper industry," the "ABS" an abbreviation for "aqueous biphasic systems".[3] She began working with the NRL as an associate, then in 2004 she advanced to the position of research chemist.[1]

Career

Willauer started researching biphasic systems and phase transitions after graduating from Berry College. In 1998 she studied aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) for the potential of recapturing valuable dyes from textile manufacturing effluent. She investigated ions and catalysts.[4]

Willauer at the NRL

In the 2000s, Willauer began researching methods for extracting CO2 and H2 from acidified seawater (seawater having a pH value below 6), for the purpose of recombining the molecules as hydrocarbon fuels.[5] She investigated modified iron (Fe) catalysts for dividing seawater into its component molecules, and she studied zeolite (nanoporous aluminosilicate) catalysts for recombining the molecules into fuel. Previous studies had concluded that CO2 was too stable to be economically removed from seawater, but by 2010 Willauer had discovered that an iron-based catalyst provided as much as a 50% conversion rate of available CO2 from seawater.[6] In January 2011, the NRL placed a prototype seawater processor at Naval Air Station Key West in Florida, while Willauer continued lab research in Washington.[7]

In 2012, Willauer estimated that jet fuel could be synthesized from seawater in quantities up to 100,000 US gal (380,000 L) per day, at a cost of three to six U.S. dollars per gallon.[8][9] As well, the Navy is interested in using the technology to power its ships.[10] In 2014, Willauer said that the catalyst could be changed to make various fuels such as methanol and natural gas, as well as the olefins that can be used as the building blocks for jet fuel. She said that about 23,000 US gal (87,000 L) of seawater must be driven through the process to result in one gallon of jet fuel. Seawater is the optimum choice because it contains 140 times more CO2 by volume than the atmosphere, and it yields usable amounts of H2 unlike the air. The equipment for processing seawater is much smaller than that for processing air. Willauer said seawater is the "best option" for a source of synthetic jet fuel.[11][12] By April 2014, Willauer's team had not yet made fuel to the standard required by military jets,[13][14] but they were able in September 2013 to use the fuel to fly a radio-controlled model airplane powered by a common two-stroke internal combustion engine.[7] Because the process requires a large input of electrical energy, a plausible first step of implementation would be for American nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (the Nimitz-class and the Gerald R. Ford-class) to manufacture their own jet fuel.[15] The U.S. Navy is expected to deploy the technology some time in the 2020s.[11]

In 2017, Willauer was granted a patent for a carbon capture device, in the form of an electrolytic-cation exchange module (E-CEM). The E-CEM is seen as a "key step" in the production of synthetic fuel from seawater. Other researchers named in the patent are Felice DiMascio, Dennis R. Hardy, Jeffrey Baldwin, Matthew Bradley, James Morris, Ramagopal Ananth and Frederick W. Williams.[16]

Publications

Papers

  • "Separation and recovery of food coloring dyes using aqueous biphasic extraction chromatographic resins". Journal of Chromatography B. 711 (1–2): 237–244. 26 June 1998. doi:10.1016/S0378-4347(97)00662-2. PMID 9699992. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "Partitioning of small organic molecules in aqueous biphasic systems". Journal of Chromatography B. 711 (1–2): 255–263. 26 June 1998. doi:10.1016/S0378-4347(97)00661-0. PMID 9699994. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "Partitioning of Aromatic Molecules in Aqueous Biphasic Solutions". Separation Science and Technology. 34 (6–7): 1069–1090. 1999. doi:10.1080/01496399908951081. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "Solvatochromic studies in polyethylene glycol–salt aqueous biphasic systems". Journal of Chromatography B. 743 (1–2): 137–149. 23 June 2000. doi:10.1016/S0378-4347(00)00230-9. PMID 10942281. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "Temperature Effects on Polymer-based Aqueous Biphasic Extraction Technology in the Paper Pulping Process". Separation Science and Technology. 36 (5–6): 835–847. 2001. doi:10.1081/SS-100103623. S2CID 96760221. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "Solvent Properties of Aqueous Biphasic Systems Composed of Polyethylene Glycol and Salt Characterized by the Free Energy of Transfer of a Methylene Group between the Phases and by a Linear Solvation Energy Relationship". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. 41 (11): 2591–2601. May 2002. doi:10.1021/ie0107800. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "23: Characterization of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Ionic Liquids: Alternatives to Volatile Organic Compounds for Liquid–Liquid Separations". Ionic Liquids. ACS Symposium Series. Vol. 818. July 2002. pp. 289–303. doi:10.1021/bk-2002-0818.ch023. ISBN 9780841237896. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "The Construction of an Improved Automated Atomizer for Evaluating Jet Fuel Flammability". Petroleum Science & Technology. January 2004. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "Recycled Soybean Cooking Oils As Blending Stocks for Diesel Fuels". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. 43 (16). 2004. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "A Critical Evaluation of An Automated Rotary Atomizer". Petroleum Science & Technology. November 2004. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "Flammability and Petroleum Based Hydraulic Fluids". Petroleum Science & Technology. January 2005. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "Instability Reactions and Recycled Soybean Derived Biodiesel Fuel Liquids. George W. Mushrush, James H. Wynne, Christopher T. Lloyd, Heather Willauer, Janet M. Hughes". Energy Sources. January 2005.
  • "Evaluation of Jet Fuel Aerosols Using a Rotary Atomizer". 4th Joint Meeting of the U.S. Sections of the Combustion Institute. March 21, 2005. Retrieved June 17, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "Synfuel from Seawater" (PDF). NRL Review. United States Naval Research Laboratory: 153–154. 2010. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "Effects of Fine Water Mist on a Confined Blast". Fire Technology. 48 (3): 641–675. 2012. doi:10.1007/s10694-010-0156-y. S2CID 109720753. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • "The feasibility and current estimated capital costs of producing jet fuel at sea using carbon dioxide and hydrogen". Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy. 4 (3): 033111. 2012. doi:10.1063/1.4719723. S2CID 109523882. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)

Patents

References

  1. ^ a b Larson, Don (June 16, 2013). "Opportunities in Nuclear – Second Annual Ohio State University Nuclear Power Forum, September 19, 2013". Energy from Thorium Foundation. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  2. ^ "List of Participants" (PDF). Gulf Shores, Alabama: 11th International Conference on Partitioning in Aqueous Two-Phase Systems. June 27 – July 2, 1999. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  3. ^ Willauer, Heather D. (2002). Fundamentals of phase behavior and solute partitioning in ABS and applications to the paper industry (Thesis). Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama, Department of Chemistry.
  4. ^ "Separation and recovery of food coloring dyes using aqueous biphasic extraction chromatographic resins". Journal of Chromatography B. 711 (1–2): 237–244. 26 June 1998. doi:10.1016/S0378-4347(97)00662-2. PMID 9699992. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Parry, Daniel (September 24, 2012). "Fueling the Fleet, Navy Looks to the Seas". Naval Research Laboratory News.
  6. ^ "Synfuel from Seawater" (PDF). NRL Review. United States Naval Research Laboratory: 153–154. 2010. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  7. ^ a b Parry, Daniel (April 7, 2014). "Scale Model WWII Craft Takes Flight With Fuel From the Sea Concept". Naval Research Laboratory News.
  8. ^ "The feasibility and current estimated capital costs of producing jet fuel at sea using carbon dioxide and hydrogen". Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy. 4 (33111): 033111. 2012. doi:10.1063/1.4719723. S2CID 109523882. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  9. ^ Szondy, David (September 26, 2012). "U.S. Navy looking at obtaining fuel from seawater". GizMag.
  10. ^ Palmer, Roxanne (December 17, 2013). "How The Navy Might Spin Seawater Into Jet Fuel". International Business Times.
  11. ^ a b Tozer, Jessica L. (April 11, 2014). "Energy Independence: Creating Fuel from Seawater". Armed with Science. U.S. Department of Defense. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  12. ^ Koren, Marina (December 13, 2013). "Guess What Could Fuel the Battleships of the Future?". National Journal.
  13. ^ Tucker, Patrick (April 10, 2014). "The Navy Just Turned Seawater Into Jet Fuel". Defense One.
  14. ^ Ernst, Douglas (April 10, 2014). "U.S. Navy to turn seawater into jet fuel". The Washington Times.
  15. ^ Putic, George (May 21, 2014). "US Navy Lab Turns Seawater Into Fuel". VOA News.
  16. ^ Parry, Daniel (October 3, 2017). "NRL Receives US Patent for Carbon Capture Device: A Key Step in Synthetic Fuel Production from Seawater". Naval Research Laboratory. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
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