Wan Ru LEOW

Wan Ru Leow has developed a new electrochemical approach to refine petrochemical products using renewable electricity under environmental conditions, thereby minimizing the carbon footprint of the chemical industry.

These technologies also do not require low-carbon electricity to achieve net CO2 savings; CO2 emissions can be reduced by 39% even with electricity available from the power grid today. If adopted by chemical industries worldwide, these technologies can reduce the associated CO2 emissions by as much as 88%.

The petrochemical-derived molecules need to be activated by large electrical inputs, which cause poor selectivities and uncontrolled destruction of the reactor system.

Her strategy utilizes a redox mediator to extend the reaction space from the 2D planar electrode surface into the 3D bulk electrolyte, which buffers the molecules from uncontrolled over-oxidation at the electrode that results in unwanted CO2 formation.

Wan Ru demonstrated this strategy in the electrochemical conversion of ethylene to oxirane. Her process outperforms all prior reported electrochemical oxidation reactions in productivity by at least 200x, and offers more than 10x operating lifetime.

Importantly, her process yields ~100% oxirane selectivity and no CO2 emission, which makes it much cleaner than the current industrial process.

Another of her research focus is to develop technologies that can replace traditional petrochemical feedstocks with clean and replenishable ones. For example, she developed an electrochemical process to make oxirane from CO2, water, and electricity only.

She is spearheading a research directive to build photoelectrocatalyst: mediator assemblies that can unlock new chemistries and expand the repertoire of electrochemical reactions achievable. Her team was able to adapt the technology to achieve breakthroughs in the valorization of biomass and plastics waste to commodity chemicals.