Chemistry Seminar - Sustainable Alternative for Carbon Black in Commercial Ink Production
Biomass and Coal as a Sustainable Alternative for Carbon Black in Commercial Ink ProductionDr. Scott WilliamsProfessorSchool of Chemistry and Materials Science, RITAbstract:Ink formulation and graphic communication are as old, and responsible for, our recorded time. The cave paintings in Lascaux, France date back over 40,000 years, and displays evidence of sophisticated ink development comprising more than five different natural pigments in a variety of ink binders, or vehicles, such as pine tar and honey, that have withstood the ages. The first known black pigment was produced from charcoal derived from biomass (such as wood and grass). Nearly in parallel, a vine and bone black were used. Bone black was the preferred pigment of the Renaissance Painting Masters due to the superior deep black visual quality. In modern times, however, carbon black remains the black pigment standard. Modern carbon black is a pigment produced using heavy fuel oil selected in pigmenting most of what we see as black—automobile tires, plastics, and most all black printing inks. By the next decade, nearly 20 million metric tons of carbon black will be produced valued at over $20B (USD). There is an immediate demand to offset these carbon sources that emit carbon dioxide (CO2e) during both production and end-of-life incineration. In collaboration with Professor Trabold’s group in the Golisano Institute of Sustainability (RIT), we have been exploring alternative feedstocks for the production of black ink pigment. Our recent research has demonstrated that biomass from a variety of sources can be converted to biochar; and then, converted to a pigment source for producing black printing ink. A newly funded approach targets another natural mineral getting negative press these days – coal. Simply, if we do not burn coal, there is limited CO2e emission. There are still communities, however, reliant on the Coal Economy. What if we could shift that reliance on the energy centric focus of coal to a re-purposed and world-wide growing demand that keeps the carbon sequestered – as printing ink? A presentation of the lessons learned with biochar-based ink formulation will be provided. A research roadmap into how we plan to leverage coal, and keep as much sequestered carbon as possible as black pigment will be offered.Speaker Bio:Professor Williams is currently a Professor of Inorganic Chemistry in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science at RIT. Professor Williams needs to learn not to tease Dr. Smith about additional presentations because this happens. The fabrication of new materials into printable compositions is the center focus of the Williams Group research, and we are excited about the new possibilities that this topic may bring that bridges the high art of the ancients with the communication needs of modern and emerging societies.
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