UIUC CHBE news: The International Society of Electrochemistry has awarded DTI researcher Xiao Su, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign chemical and biomolecular engineering professor, its Elsevier Prize for Green Electrochemistry, in recognition of his achievements in the field of environmental electrochemistry.

Su is working on a DTI-funded project with fellow UIUC chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Diwaker Shukla, using machine learning for more sustainable and energy-efficient separations for water purification, resource recovery, carbon capture, and more.

“Electrification of separation processes has the potential to make a significant impact on decarbonization and environmental sustainability, by providing integration with renewable energy (green electrons) and modularity,” Su tells UIUC news. “A significant challenge is designing selective electrodes for contaminant removal and resource recovery, and we believe data science/artificial intelligence can play a tremendous role in accelerating materials discovery.”

“AI methods have tremendous potential for application in the field of energy efficiency and climate security,” adds Shukla. “Given the amount of fertilizer used in modern agriculture, efficient removal of nitrate from agricultural wastewater would save both energy and improve the climate.”

Su will receive the award at ISE’s Annual Meeting in October 2022, where he will give a lecture on redox-mediated electrochemical processes for selective separations and environmental remediation.

Read more here.