CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. Styliana Avraamidou, University of Wisconsin (Host: Prof. Paul Kenis) "Systems Engineering Approaches for the Electrification of the Chemical Industry"
- Sponsor
- Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and International Paper Company
- Contact
- Christy Bowser
- cbowser@illinois.edu
- Phone
- 217-244-9214
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- 37
- Originating Calendar
- Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering - Seminars and Events
Abstract: The power and chemical sectors are becoming increasingly interconnected through a shared interest in decarbonization. The large-scale integration of renewable energy presents a central challenge for power systems: managing supply-demand imbalances arising from the intermittency of wind and solar generation. In parallel, the chemical industry is pursuing deep emissions reductions by electrifying manufacturing processes, thereby tightly coupling operational profitability to electricity prices. This emerging interdependence creates a compelling opportunity. Electrified chemical manufacturing can provide active, real-time demand flexibility to the power grid, supporting renewable integration while unlocking new revenue streams for the chemical sector. Realizing this potential requires new systems-level methods to quantify economic value, assess operational trade-offs, and guide the design of future chemical manufacturing technologies.
This seminar introduces systems engineering and mathematical optimization approaches developed to evaluate the economic and environmental potential of participation of electrified chemical processes in different electricity markets, including day-ahead, real-time, and frequency regulation markets across the USA independent system operators (ISOs). These tools inform the design of a new generation of chemical manufacturing devices whose functionality extends beyond efficient chemical production to include the provision of grid flexibility services. The talk addresses three central questions: (i) What is the economic potential of electricity-market participation for chemical manufacturing? (ii) How does flexible operation of electrochemical devices affect utilization, degradation, and lifetime? (iii) How do uncertainty and market volatility influence the profitability and risk profile of emerging electrified chemical technologies? By bridging power systems and chemical engineering, this work highlights the role of systems engineering in enabling mutually beneficial decarbonization pathways across sectors.
Bio: Styliani Avraamidou is the Duane H. and Dorothy M. Bluemke Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds a MEng and a Ph.D. from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London. She has authored or co-authored major research publications in the areas of circular economy, food-energy-water nexus, multi-level optimization, system modeling, process control, energy and systems engineering applications. She is the co-executive director of the multi-institution “Center for Mineral and Metal Oxide Removal from Biomass (CMORE)”. She has published one book on the area of multi-level mixed-integer optimization. She has been awarded the 2023 International Society of Global Optimization Young Researcher Award.