Heterogeneous Catalysis: When Academic Vision Meets Industrial Reality

Speaker

Carlos Carrero

Cariant Corporation - Energy & Sustainability Manager for Business Unit Catalysis

Abstract

In this talk, Carlos will briefly discuss about my former research activities on Raman Spectrokinetics and catalysis with 2D MXenes. Then, I will share the challenges I personally experienced in translating lab scale catalytic studies into large scale applications and where I believe some research still needs to be done to bridge the still existing nano-meso-macro scale (material) gap in catalysis. Throughout the presentation, I will also share my personal experiences in academia and industry especially for the students that are still thinking on the next steps in their careers.

Bio

Dr. Carlos Carrero is a former academic with expertise in heterogenous catalysis. He earned his Ph.D. from the Technical University of Berlin in 2012, where he conducted kinetic studies on supported catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane under Prof. Reinhard Schomäcker's guidance. Then, his postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, under Prof. Robert Schlögl's supervision, focused on mechanistic and kinetic investigations of C-H bond activation of C1-C4 hydrocarbons using solid catalysts. After several years doing research in Germany, he moved to the department of Chemistry at UW-Madison to work in Prof. Ive Herman’s group to perform kinetic and spectroscopy studies of supported catalysts for the upgrading of C1-C4 hydrocarbons via selective oxidation. Back in 2016, Dr. Carrero joined the department of chemical engineering at Auburn University as an assistant professor in the department of chemical engineering. His research group focused on establishing structure-reactivity relationships in oxidation catalysis with supported catalysts. During his +12 years in academia, he published +25 publications, primarily in kinetics and spectroscopy studies of supported metal oxides and 2D-MXenes catalysts. Finally, Dr. Carrero mentored and introduced to the “world of catalysis” several undergraduate students also graduating two PhD students during his academic tenure. After his several years in academia, Dr. Carrero returned to Germany and joined Clariant back in 2022. He initially served in the Future Technology Department, where he focused on identifying and developing breakthrough technologies to drive innovation and competitiveness during the industry's critical energy transition period. Then, he moved to the Oxidation Department to further develop the next generation of the SynDane® catalysts used to produce Maleic Anhydride. Currently, Dr. Carrero serves as the Energy & Sustainability Manager for the Business Unit Catalysis. In this position, he leads initiatives to monitor and develop projects aimed at reducing and eliminating both greenhouse gas (GHG) and non-GHG emissions across Clariant's production facilities.