D I S T I L L A T E S
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Indianapolis Section

Eli Lilly Corporate Center-Special Functions Dining Room

"DDT in the 60s; Dioxin in the 70s; PCBs in the 80s and now MTBE-the latest environmental problem child!"

Fresh Garden Salad, Chicken Cordon Blue with Chablis Blanc Sauce

Seasonal Vegetable, Red Skinned Potatoes, Rolls & butter

Chocolate Carmel Pecan Torte, Choice of Beverage

The price of Dinner is $25; (half price for students)

(Please call by 5 PM February 7^th)

Please park in the visitor’s lot adjacent to the McCarthy/Delaware St. entrance of the Lilly Corporate Center (pull around circular drive at water fountain). Bring identification for entry at the security checkpoint.

The past few decades have seen a number of chemicals become notorious for their long-term effects on the environment and, in some cases, the health of humans and animals. MTBE is rapidly gaining the "super star" status attached to these chemicals. MTBE (methyl-tert-butyl ether) is added to gasoline as required by government regulations in certain areas of the country to increase the oxygen content and ensure complete combustion of the gasoline. However at the time the addition of MTBE to gasoline was mandated, very little was known about the properties of the compound and its effect on the environment. As it turns out, relatively little is known about its toxicity even now. What is known is that in 1998, at least 3.1 billion gallons of MTBE were produced in the US and 1.2 billion gallons were imported. Every day in California, 43 tons of MTBE enter the atmosphere through car exhausts. Unknown amounts of MTBE leak from underground storage tanks and enter the ground water. MTBE is extremely water-soluble and migrates away from the source of the leak or spill very rapidly. Unfortunately, it is also very resistant to natural biodegradation. As a result many major ground water drinking supplies have become contaminated with MTBE. There are many problems arising from this contamination, in addition to the fact that the ground water cannot be used for drinking purposes. Firstly, how do you determine a source for the MTBE if the sample is totally dominated by only one component, namely MTBE? How can you determine if it is being removed naturally? How do you clean it up? What about degradation products such as tertiary butyl alcohol? Are these degradation products an even greater problem to the environment? All of these problems plus some answers will be discussed and finally we will answer the question as to why the corn farmers of Iowa are so excited that MTBE is fast becoming the bad guy on the block!

Dr. Philp received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Sydney (Australia) in 1972 and more recently his D.Sc. degree from the same University in 1998.

Dr. Philp then spent one and a half years as a post-doctoral fellow with Professor G. Eglinton at the University of Bristol (England) undertaking research in various aspects of organic geochemistry and the application of analytical techniques such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to this area of research. Following this, he spent four years at the University of California, Berkeley, as a research associate, directing the organic geochemistry research group of Professor Melvin Calvin. Dr. Philp returned to Sydney in 1977 to join the CSIRO, Fuel Geoscience Unit, now part of the Division of Fossil Fuels, where he was a principal research scientist studying various aspects of petroleum geochemistry.

In June 1984, he joined the faculty at the University of Oklahoma. The major theme of his research during the past 15 years has been directed at the application of organic chemistry to fossil fuel research. The second major area of research has been the characterization of source rocks, coals, and oil shales using microscale pyrolysis techniques combined directly with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. More recently, a large amount of his work has been concerned with environmental studies. In particular, he investigates the use of stable carbon isotopes as a means of monitoring and tracking pollutants in the environment.

Professional activities: associate editor of Chem. Geol.; chairman of the Geochemistry Division of the American Chemical Society, Dec. 1993

2001-2002 Meeting Schedule:

February 12, 2002 - Joint Meeting with Indianapolis American Chemical Society

Fine food and a timely presentation on a significant general concern in the chemical and environmental area; what more could a chemical engineer want? Please come to interact, network, and gain knowledge.

I have not received the February AIChE Exchange yet, so I will pass it on when it arrives. I also plan to include the February "Get To Know A Member" in that email.

Please contact me if you would like to be "introduced" in "Get To Know A Member" in future issues!

Thanks!

Our secretary/treasurer, Jim Elwood, is still in England, and will be there for the rest of the year. We have all the account information the new treasurer will need, and all the information for the secretary.

Our webmaster, Lynne DeVito has moved to the East Coast. As anyone who has attempted to visit our Indianapolis AIChE web site knows, we are in dire need of a new Webmaster. If you have skills in this area, we need your help!

What You Missed - January

Tour of Midwest Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO)

Lia M. Treffman