Chemistry professor, students research green chemistry

His research projects – on his own and with students – this summer tackle treating industrial dyes to become fertilizer, growing genetically modified willows to prevent stream bank erosion and as a potential biofuel, and roasting the wood for a whole host of purposes.

Each project connects to the next – fertilizer benefitting the willows, which provide the base fuel for the wood-roasting projects.

The four students conducting research with Soriano this summer each focus on a different portion of this green industry cycle.

Charles Holjencin, a senior chemistry major from Emporium, and Matt Abplanalp, a senior chemistry major from Warren, have been working on treating water contaminated with industrial dyes.

The two perform photo-fenton reactions to break the dyes down into nitrates and sulfates that can be used as fertilizer for plants.

The pair’s work this summer was paid for by a Summer Undergraduate Research Grant from the university.

Abplanalp had a chance to discover he likes doing research and hopes to attend graduate school in chemistry.

“I like the research portion of this,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to go out and sign up to work for a company doing research if I didn’t know I liked it.”

Wray Woelfel, a junior biology major from Kersey, is performing similar work treating the campus’s coffee waste with swimming pool bleach to turn it into fertilizer.

As part of his work, Woelfel is growing black willows under a variety of conditions, applying the coffee-turned-fertilizer to some and noting the differences in growth. Some of those trees are planted along the banks of the Tunungwant Creek, which runs along the outer edge of campus.

Soriano, who holds a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, said that the black willow is ideal for the production of biofuel because it is a hardy, quick-growing tree that can be harvested and regenerated every three years. He believes it could be a natural choice for McKean County industrialists investigating the possibility of a torrefaction (wood roasting) facility.

Torrefied wood, Soriano explained, has lost its moisture as well as chemicals such as methanol and acetic acid, which can be captured for other industrial use. The result is a high-density energy that can be mixed with coal for cleaner electricity production.

A fourth student of Soriano’s, Todd Rosell, a biology student from Bradford, is experimenting with different heats and lengths for the wood-roasting process to create different characteristics in the torrefied wood.

From there, Soriano takes the research on himself, treating the wood with citric acid so that it will attract heavy metals in water. The wood can then be used as a natural filter or simply tossed into large vats of wastewater to remove heavy metals, such as iron, cobalt, copper, etc., that can harm living organisms if they are found in excessive levels.

It’s just the last step in Soriano’s quest to use his research for multiple benefits – educating students, helping the environment and creating energy solutions.

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