ABSTRACTS
DR. THOMAS H. PARLIAMENT
“A CHEMIST’S VIEW OF FLAVORS”
The aroma of food products are quite complex with
typically hundreds of volatile components present. This talk will discuss
the origin of compounds found in aromas and will cover the contribution of
these chemicals to the overall character of a food. Examples of interesting
aroma chemicals will be presented. The aromatic composition of selected foods
will be discussed in detail and used to demonstrate how aroma research is
conducted.
DR. ANGELO TULUMELLO
“TRAVELS IN CHINA”
No Abstract
DR. E. GERALD MEYER
“ENERGY FOR THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY”
In 1998, the United States used 91.0 Q (Quads; a quadrillion BTU) and produced 69.2 Q. We exported 4.4 Q (coal), and therefore imported 26.2 Q (mostly oil). As a nation we consumed 37.1 Q of petroleum and produc- ed 13.2 Q. A Quad is 176,000,000 barrels of oil; so in 1998, we import- ed 23.9 x 176 MM = 4.2 Billion barrels of oil. At about 20 bucks a barrel that is 84 billion U.S. dollars sent overseas each year. This is not a sustainable scenario either in terms of world supplies or our balance-of-trade. What are the alternatives? First, (let’s hear the howls) petroleum products are too cheap. As a result, we have adopted a life style that is profligate in its use of petroleum products part- icularly gasoline. And things are getting worse rather than better. Second, while coal is by far the most abundant fossil fuel resource in the U.S. (and the world), we have not adopted any national policy to emphasize the use of coal. Now, more howls; coal is “dirty” and produces oxides of sulfur and nitrogen and carbon. That is conventional wisdom, and while true to a degree, an aggressive R&D program could vastly improve things. But, we are not talking about fossil fuels for the long term, only the intermediate term, a way to get from here to there. There is nuclear energy, which of course has taken a bum rap. In fact, however, the U.S. resource of U-235 is about the same as that of oil and gas, and so a breeder system is needed for the long term. There is the hydrogen system but it, like the electron system (electricity), requires a primary energy source. But these are all centralized systems. There are other choices but requiring significant societal changes. They will be discussed in terms of “cradle to grave” scenarios.
DR. E. GERALD MEYER
Coal is the most prevalent fossil fuel in the U.S. (and in the world) with a resource of some 6500 quads as compared with oil at 180 quads, gas at 210 quads, and fissionable uranium oxide at about 180 quads. In the U.S. in 2000, 3.02 quadrillion watt-hours of electricity were produced. Of this electricity generation, coal fueled 56.3%, oil fueled 2.4%, gas fueled 9.6%, hydro fueled 8.4%, and nuclear fueled 23.4%. Thus coal and nuclear account for almost 80% of the electricity generated in the U.S. With coal so prevalent, clean coal technologies are important both economically and environmentally. Coal refining is one such technology. It is similar to oil refining in that the coal is hydrodisproportionated to produce a slate of products including char (about 40%), an “oil” (about 35%) and naphtha, BTX, sulfur, and ammonia. Since about 85% of the sulfur and 70% of the nitrogen origin-
ally in the coal are recovered as saleable products, the resultant char may be burned without pollution controls. As with an oil refinery, the coal refinery may be tweaked to change the various product yields. It also has three end-use configurations, all three of which can produce very high purity diesel fuel. One configuration, which has unusually high returns (IRRs), is coupling the refinery with an Integrated Gasifier Combined Cycle (IGCC) electricity generator. The technology will be discussed including energy and material balances, flow charts and schematics, and the three end-use configurations.
DR.
CHARLES A. WILKIE
Fire retardancy of
polymers may be accomplished through vapor phase or condensed phase materials.
Vapor phase materials, notable halogen compounds, function as radical traps to
quench a fire. Condensed phase materials either change the degradation pathway,
so that non-volatiles are produced, and/or they encourage the production of char,
which acts as a thermal barrier to prevent degradation. Nanocomposites,
in which a small amount of clay is combined with a polymer, are one of the newer
condensed phase fire retardants. Two ideas have been explored to explain
how the presence of the clay can enhance the fire retardancy of polymers, barrier
properties and radical trapping. Some aspects of the preparation and characterization
of nanocomposites will be explored and the mechanism will be examined.
DR. JACK
H. STOCKER
“CHEMAGE:
ENTERTAINMENT FROM THE CHEMICAL LITERATURE”
Only
a mature discipline, secure in its self-image, can enjoy its trivia publicly.
It is the Speaker’s thesis (not to be tediously elaborated) that such a time has
only recently arrived for Chemistry, and Chemists are now disposed to be amused
by, or at least tolerant of, their colleagues’ foibles, deliberate or otherwise,
in their antiseptic professional publications. Further, there is a body of in-group
humor. Passed along by word-of-mouth like old family recipes, to each newly exposed
apprentice receiving his professional training. The Speaker has been idly collecting
and savoring this Chemage for a number of years and has, for bookkeeping convenience,
divided it into the following categories:
I.
Riddles (Visual and
Otherwise)
II.
Games Chemists Can
Play
III.
Our Very Own Guinness
Book
IV.
Merrie Pranks
V.
Acronyms and Phraseology
VI.
Authors Names and
Dedications
VII.
References and Footnotes
VIII.
There’ll Always Be
A Compound Name
IX.
And, Of Course, Miscellaneous
Developing Treatment Protocols
Using Electric Field Enhanced Molecular Delivery
Richard Gilbert
Chemical Engineering Department
College of Engineering
University of South Florida
The use of very short duration electric fields can influence tissues in humans and mediate the transport of molecules across the cell membrane. Some molecules previously restricted from the cell are transported through the membrane with ease. Complete understanding of the kinetics, thermodynamics and selection rules as well as various membrane mechanisms associated with electric field enhanced mass transport across a cell membrane is still well beyond the current state of the art understanding of the cell and/or tissue membrane behavior.
Despite this lack of fundamental knowledge, it is still possible to develop
biomedical applications for molecular transport across the cell membrane.
In this specific situation, the observation that electric fields do influence
the behavior of the cell membrane has lead to groundbreaking developments
with respect to the development of protocols for specific cancers. This seminar
will review these advances as they relate to the development of non-human
disease models for human specific pathogens as well as electrically mediated
chemotherapy and gene therapy. Biomedical applications developed at the Center
for Molecular Delivery at the University of South Florida as well as current
research efforts with in the Center will be presented.