UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Ezgi Toraman, assistant professor of energy and mineral engineering and chemical engineering at Penn State, is one of 12 early-career scientists named to Chemical & Engineering News’ (C&EN) 2023 “Talented 12” list that highlights early-career researchers in the chemical sciences who are fearlessly tackling difficult global problems. Toraman was selected for her research in technologies that turn waste into fuels, chemicals and other products.
The “Talented 12” were selected out of nearly 400 chemists nominated from around the world. C&EN said that narrowing down that number to just 12 is always a daunting task, and they are consistently impressed with the world-changing work that chemists around the globe are tackling. They said that this year's dazzling dozen have accomplished so much already, and they are excited to see where they go from here.
“I am extremely thrilled to have been chosen for this prestigious accolade alongside such an exceptional cohort of young scientists," Toraman said. "C&EN has granted us a valuable platform to communicate our scientific fervor with the wider chemistry and chemical engineering community, presenting an extraordinary chance."
Toraman's research is in the field of chemical reaction engineering and catalysis with a focus on developing new processes, materials and technologies for efficient and sustainable use of resources such as shale gas, biogas, biomass and plastic waste. Her profile on the “Talented 12” list discussed her research on recycling plastics to reduce waste. By applying the principles of chemical reaction engineering and catalysis, her aim is to improve the pyrolysis of plastics, a process that heats hard-to-recycle mixed plastics in an unreactive atmosphere, with or without catalysts, to convert them into useful products or feedstock chemicals.
In 2022, Toraman was awarded a $3.4 million contract from the REMADE Institute, a public-private partnership established by the United States Department of Energy, to fund research targeting the inefficient methods currently used to process and upcycle mixed plastic waste. Through the REMADE funding, Toraman and her team are developing a flexible, two-stage chemical recycling process that decomposes multiple types of plastic and then converts to valuable chemicals that can be used to create new products.
“This two-stage process has the potential to revolutionize plastic recycling,” Toraman said. “System designs can then be tailored to a broad range of plastic waste streams, and predictive design decisions can be implemented to reduce energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions.”
Toraman also is a co-funded faculty member in the Penn State’s Institutes of Energy and the Environment. Toraman received her bachelor and master of science degrees in chemical engineering from Middle East Technical University in Turkey. She received her doctorate in chemical engineering from Ghent University in Belgium.
Toraman will be recognized at the American Chemical Society’s annual conference in August in San Francisco.