Julian Ufert

Julian Ufert is a PhD student in chemical engineering whose research is focused on ethylene production, the second-highest greenhouse gas emitter in the chemical industry and ubiquitous in manufacturing around the globe. As a MathWorks Fellow, Julian aims to develop a clean, economical ethylene production process utilizing novel high- and intermediate-temperature electrochemical approaches, which may offer a way to electrify the process while also coping with byproduct and separation issues. Primary objectives of his project include conducting techno- economic analysis and life-cycle assessments of the synergistic integration of steam crackers with existing and technologically mature processes and developing two novel catalytic routes to ethylene production—electrochemical oxidative coupling of methane and electrochemically assisted ethane dehydrogenation—that are selective and inherently electrified. Julian draws on MATLAB for many aspects of this research and is creating reactor models and other MathWorks tools of prospective value for other researchers. By designing new, clean ethylene production methods that are economically competitive with incumbent technology, Julian’s research work has significant potential to help decarbonize the chemical industry.