Correa Vargas, Kevin: Energetic of Hydrothermal Synthesis
Title: Energetic of Hydrothermal Synthesis
Name: Kevin Correa Vargas
Home Institute: University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Programs: RISE program, REU – Green Energy Technology Undergraduate Program (GET UP)
Other contributors: Daniel Kopp and Richard Riman
Abstract: The low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis is a method that consists of using the properties of water under critical conditions to produce crystalline substances. At first, they did not use this methods because many of the projects failed, for a long time the scientific community started to investigate the hydrothermal processes with more attention due to its advantages in controlling the chemical and physical properties of the substances. Embodied energy is defined as the required energy to produce a material from its raw state. If they can demonstrate that low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis is sustainable and can reduce pollution with less embodied energy than other processes, it can establish a before and after in the manufacturing industry. They understood when and why low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis is used and studied the energetic requirements. They selected the low-temperature hydrothermal and traditional manufacturing (pyrothermal) processes and compared the effectiveness and energy requirements of both techniques. The collected data reflects that you can have a sustainable process from low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis depending on the material that you want to create and the embodied energy of the process.
Biography: Kevin D. Correa Vargas is from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He started to trace his path in the field of science in his freshman year starting a research under the guidance of Dr. Sonia J. Bailón-Ruiz which is based on the toxicity of copper sulfide nanostructures in aquatic environments. He is currently a rising sophomore at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez campus where he belongs to the Dean’s List. His interest goes beyond obtaining his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering; he has a long-term goal to acquire a Ph.D. in Nanotechnology/Environmental Science.