EMMS Evening Lecture: Solvent Modelling for Polymer Processing – Lab to PC to Solution
Wednesday 11 December – The Bridge, Lincoln or Online
With a drive from both legislation and evolving attitudes, solvent selection has become an increasingly important area of research. The number of potential solvents to use in a process is ever-growing. Solvent selection guides can aid in choosing solvents that meet desired health, safety and environmental considerations but don’t offer ease of substitution based on activity. Choosing a small selection of solvents and trialling those in an application allows the construction of a model based on Hansen Solubility Parameters. By using the easily accessible Hansen Solubility Parameters in Practice (HSPiP), it is possible to not only screen a wide array of potential solvents but also solvent mixtures. Something that to do iteratively in the lab would take weeks if not months.
Speaker: Dr Rob McElroy gained his PhD in 2007 at Keele University working on the production of composite materials from copolymers incorporating renewable resources. In 2009 he joined Prof. Pietro Tundo’s Carbonate Chemistry Group at Ca Foscari University of Venice looking into applications of dialkyl carbonates. He joined the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, University of York as a PDRA in 2011 and stayed for 12 years working on everything from extraction and separation in supercritical CO2, greening of pharmaceutical chemistry, production of bio-derived polymers, production of bio-derived surfactants, battery recycling, polymer processing and solvent discovery and applications. He is one of the co-inventors of the bioderived solvent Cyrene as well as CTO of the startup Starbons. He joined Lincoln in 2023 where he continues to work on all things green and sustainable, with a heavy leaning towards industrial applications.
Please share with students as there is Free IOM3 student membership for East Midlands students who attend this event and attending EMMS technical meetings contributes to CPD.
Venue: The Bridge, Edgewest Road, Lincoln LN6 7EL – Directions at https://maps.app.goo.gl/6qwfihFRRBzY6dhD7.
Non-members welcome, light refreshments provided from 6.45pm. The ~1h talk starts at approx. 7pm.
Register to attend in person or online with Eventbrite:
In Person Registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/emms-technical-talk-solvent-modelling-for-polymer-processing-in-person-tickets-1079130671889?aff=oddtdtcreator
Online Registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/emms-technical-talk-solvent-modelling-for-polymer-processing-on-line-tickets-1079128445229?aff=oddtdtcreator
Full details on the EMMS website at https://www.iom3.org/group/east-midlands-materials-society-emms/meeting.html?id=825A2A34-B186-4D9A-A5070BBCBD6A3A5F
Story submitted by Matthew Thornton
mthornton@lincoln.ac.uk