Please join us this Friday, March 15, 2024 in the Alan Reece Building at the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), as NEWP Lab director Dr. Nathanial Cooper delivers the Friday “Buns” Talk, “Industrial Decarbonization in the Energy-Water Nexus.”

A key step in achieving industrial decarbonization, and the broader sustainable transition, comes through investigating the conjoined problems of accessibly providing sufficient potable water and producing (and storing) sufficient clean energy. The pursuit of industrial decarbonization is a critical challenge as engineers respond to the imminent threat of climate change. To this urgency, the application of electrochemical methods offer needed opportunities towards the practical integration of renewable energy sources in grid-scale energy storage systems, power systems, and wastewater treatment systems, and a viable path towards reducing industrial carbon loads.

This talk will explore the direction of Dr Cooper’s ongoing work related to fuel cells and electrolyzers, hydrogen production, wastewater processing, and material recovery, and in particular, highlight an ongoing study of lithium recovery from wastewater as a representative example of these broader research themes [see notes].

The Buns are followed by discussion and with refreshments to follow in the common room of the Alan Reece Building where conversation can continue. There is cake. It is free. All are welcome.

Please join us, and happy Friday!

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Update: Catch the follow-up talk!

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The “Friday Buns” are a weekly seminar series at the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) which showcase interdisciplinary research and foster innovation through collaborative exchange across engineering and applied sciences. Learn more and follow the IfM for updates.

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Notes

Edit: the study above referenced as ongoing has since been published in Desalination under the title “Viability assessement of lithium recovery from unconventional saline water sources“ in which Dr Cooper and coauthors Boreum Lee, Sohum K. Patel, Li Wang, Paul Westerhoff, Menachem Elimelech evaluate electrochemical intercalation and ion exchange pathways and across diverse feedstocks [1].

References

[1] N. J. Cooper, B. Lee, S. K. Patel, L. Wang, P. Westerhoff, and M. Elimelech, “Viability assessment of lithium recovery from unconventional saline water sources,” Desalination, vol. 614, p. 119156, Nov. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.desal.2025.119156.