Featured photo: From left to right: Prof. Steven Bradshaw, Prof. Hansie Knoetze, Mr Marius Louw, Mrs Pia Nel, Prof. Jannie van Deventer and Dr Eric Horsten. The glass trophies were hand-blown by the Red Hot Glass studio. 1969 was an epic year: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the powdery surface of the moon, more than half a million hippies gathered for four days of rock and roll at Woodstock and Stellenbosch University founded its new Department of Chemical Engineering in what is now known as the Visual Arts building! On Friday, 13 September, 120 chemical engineers and their partners gathered at the Lanzerac Cellar Hall to celebrate half a century of excellence. The Department of Chemical Engineering, now the Department of Process Engineering, started out with one academic staff member – Prof. Nico Louw, who was the first chair in 1969 – and one student. Today the department has 19 academic staff members, more than 10 post-doctoral fellows, more than 20 support staff, 420 undergraduates, 85 Master’s students and 35 PhD students. In 2018 the department’s research unit output per academic was 5.5 units, more than double the institutional expectation of Stellenbosch University, which is currently the university with the highest research unit output per academic in South Africa. In the stylish surroundings of this beautiful venue, five stalwarts told the growth story of the department. Professors Hansie Knoetze, Jannie Van Deventer and Steven Bradshaw who have collectively spent eighty years at Stellenbosch University, recounted stories of pre-internet times when there were only two fax machines on campus and personal computers could only be procured as “controllers” because administration staff were the only staff members allowed to buy PCs from university funds. Marius Louw, son of the late Prof. Nico Louw, remembered his father’s extraordinary meticulousness and love of aeroplanes and flying. The open note book in the foyer, hand-written flawlessly by his dad, poignantly captured the spirit of a man who did his PhD at Karlsruhe University and then returned to South Africa to pioneer the first chemical engineering department at Stellenbosch University. Dr Eric Horsten, one of the first academics at the fledgling department, stood in for his close friend and delivered the carefully hand-written speech by Carel Nel, who had served the department for 27 years since 1971. But the evening did not just celebrate the past. Dr Margreth Tadi, who was recently awarded a FLAIR fellowship, funded by The African Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society, said she was impressed with the high quality of undergraduate teaching and research of her colleagues, and reiterated the department’s vision to be an outstanding and inclusive department. Prof. André Burger, Chairman of the department and one of its first 100 graduates, concluded the celebration by lauding the exceptional quality and passion of lecturers, support staff and students at the department. “I have no doubt this department will continue the legacy of excellence, professionalism, integrity and productivity instilled by the founding members,” he said.
Article by Dr Alec Basson Her passion for environmental sustainability has recently bagged a second-year Chemical Engineering student at Stellenbosch University (SU) a massive cash prize. Moved by a Facebook post of a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose, Leila Siljeur (19) felt she had to do something to help reduce plastic pollution. She decided to design her own brand of edible and environmentally friendly straws. She won R50 000 for her invention in a recent Allan Gray Orbis Foundation National Jamboree. Registered under the name Eat Me Straws, Siljeur’s straws come in three ranges – regular, health and vegan – and don’t become mushy when you put them in a wet substance. She believes this is an improvement on what has been done thus far with edible straws. “Even though companies are producing biodegradable straws, some still end up in the ocean posing a threat to marine life.” Siljeur says when she started designing the straws she played around with different binding, emulsifying and deglazing agents because she didn’t want sticky straws that could affect the taste of the customer’s drink. She points out that the texture of the straws is a mixture between liquorice and dry fruit. “The straws can be coloured and flavoured as per customer specifications. We use different bases for the three ranges – gelatine for regular straws, plants for vegan straws and fruit for the health variety.” “The vegan mix berry-flavoured straws have been selling well. We also have raspberry- and chocolate-flavoured straws.” Siljeur says she and her team have been selling small batches of 10 to 20 edible straws informally to SU students since last year. “The feedback from the students who have bought the straws was positive. They love the straws.” She plans to produce more straws and sell them to businesses in Stellenbosch and other parts of the country. “We want to sell a massive batch to different businesses. We ideally would like to roll out in fast food chains like KFC, McDonalds and health shops. We would like to sell it to these types of stores so that they can distribute them. Then it doesn’t come directly out of the consumer’s pocket.” Siljeur says the money she won will come in handy as they look to expand, adding that they’re partnering with SU’s Consulting Society and Accenture in Cape Town. Photo: Leila Siljeur enjoys a chocolate-flavoured straw. Photographer: Stefan Els FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES ONLY Leila Siljeur Stellenbosch University Email: 22009388@sun.ac.za ISSUED BY Martin Viljoen Manager: Media Corporate Communication, Stellenbosch University Tel: 021 808 4921 Email: viljoenm@sun.ac.za
A second international academic adventure awaits Bovinille Anye Cho in September 2019. Bovinille, who hails from Cameroon, obtained his MEng in Chemical Engineering cum laude in December 2018 at Stellenbosch University and is now ready to tackle his PhD studies at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. This bright student completed his undergraduate engineering studies at the Catholic University Institute of Buea in Cameroon and came to Stellenbosch for his master’s degree on a prestigiously awarded Mandela Rhodes Scholarship (among the only five Cameroonians to have been awarded since its establishment in 2005). The Mandela Rhodes Scholarship programme is a combination of financial support for postgraduate studies and a high-quality leadership development programme, with the intention of building exceptional leadership capacity in Africa. Bovinille says: “This prestigious bursary allows you to study for an honours or master’s degree at a South African university and I applied to the Universities of Stellenbosch and Cape Town. Mieke de Jager, postgraduate and research admin manager in the Department of Process Engineering at Stellenbosch, replied to my email query within five minutes and supplied a list of potential supervisors. Her quick response impressed me greatly and was the main reason why I came to Stellenbosch. “The topic of my master’s thesis was: The development and characterization of a thermosiphon photobioreactor for the cultivation of photosynthetic bacteria. Under the supervision of Dr Robbie Pott, this MEng work yielded an internationally recognised publication in the Chemical Engineering Journal – Elsevier (6.735 Impact Factor) titled “The development of a thermosiphon photobioreactor and analysis using Computational Fluid Dynamics”. After completing my master’s, I worked as a research assistant in the Department of Process Engineering from January this year until mid-July. He continues: “The external examiner for my master’s thesis, Dr Dongda Zhang from the University of Manchester (UoM), was impressed by my work and gladly accepted to supervise my PhD at UoM in collaborations with international leading groups in South Africa (Stellenbosch University – Dr Robbie Pott), United Kingdom (Imperial College – Dr Antonio del Rio-Chanona) and China (Xiamen University – Prof Keju Jing). I have always wanted to study in the United Kingdom and applied for, and received a Commonwealth PhD Scholarship, funded by the UK Department for International Development. These scholarships are for low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries for a full-time PhD studies at a UK university. “To come into consideration for such a scholarship, you have to be academically outstanding in terms of your grades, have a publication record, have the ability to develop solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), have a track record of leadership, and lastly, have shown a willingness to participate in volunteering activities without being paid.” Regarding his second international academic adventure in three years, Bovinille exclaims: “I am very excited about studying at the University of Manchester and look forward to my time there. My ultimate goal is to return to my country, Cameroon, and to apply my knowledge there.” Photo: High-value products and biofuel production from photosynthetic microorganisms is a promising research field. A team in the Department of Process Engineering under the supervision of Dr Robbie Pott have been involved in the design, manufacturing and testing of an Outdoor Bubble Column Photobioreactor. At the bioreactor, manufactured in the Process Engineering Workshop, are from the left Hester Stofberg (final year), Bovinille Anye Cho (2018 MEng cum laude graduate), Fred Spackman (visiting researcher from the University of East Anglia, UK) and Jos Weerdenburg (Chief Mechanician).
Members of the Department of Process Engineering’s Separations Technology research group recently attended the International Conference on Properties and Phase Equilibria for Product and Process Design (PPEPPD) held in Vancouver, Canada from 12 to 16 May 2019. The focus of the conference was on thermodynamics relevant to solving practical problems and provided both researchers and industry experts with the opportunity to learn and share. Prof Cara Schwarz presented poster sessions on her research about the phase behavior of CO2 + n alkane + 1 alcohol systems, as well as Neo Motang’s (doctoral student and lecturer at CPUT) work on the transfer properties of CO2 + alcohol systems. Poster sessions were also presented by Sonja Smith (doctoral student) on the modelling of quadrupolar species with CPA, Riccardo Swanepoel (doctoral student) on a new corresponding states theory for solvent + polyolefin phase boundaries, and Ruan Hurter (master’s student) on modelling dipolar molecules with a group contribution variant of SAFT. Dr Jamie Cripwell, co-supervisor to Sonja and Ruan, was also in attendance. Throughout the experience, our researchers were able to build new connections and gain valuable insight.
By Rozanne Engel The shocking discovery of a tumour on his brain brought Andrew Steiner’s studies to an abrupt standstill only one year into his MEng course at Stellenbosch University (SU) in 2017. But he did not allow this unplanned interruption to deter him and on Wednesday, 3 April 2019 Steiner received his MEng (Chemical Engineering) degree during SU’s graduation ceremony for the Faculty of Engineering. Steiner says that when he started his MEng course at SU in 2016, he was very optimistic and confident that he would complete his degree in the two years required. “I honestly didn’t expect that anything was there. When I was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2017, I had to take a year off for the five brain surgeries and for recovery. During my season of hospitals, meningitis, surgeries and recovery, I was very grateful for my family support and fortunately, the NRF granted me an extension bursary so that I could finish off my masters. “When I called home to tell my mom that I had passed, it was a struggle not to cry. We were all so overjoyed. My oral presentation and closed exam went seriously well. I always enjoyed maths and problem solving and chemical engineering is a discipline that draws strongly on those two. Initially I just applied for this course because I had the marks and my dad is a chemical engineer from Switzerland, but I realised I wouldn’t be happy doing anything other than chemical engineering.” Steiner’s MEng research focused on degradation of furfural, which is a platform chemical, produced from biomass such as sugarcane bagasse, corncobs or wood. His thesis shed new light on how to minimise degradation. Furfural can be processed further to produce many products from cosmetics and fragrances to nematocides and fungicides to Lycra material and rocket fuel. He essentially added a piece to the puzzle of understanding furfural production so that it can be produced more effectively (making it cheaper), which will allow more industries to turn to furfural instead of petrochemical based chemistry. Although Steiner is very happy to be done with his studies, he says he will miss the beautiful Stellenbosch mountains and wine farms. He is also grateful for the support from the SU disability unit, who helped find student volunteers to assist him when he returned to campus after his recovery. “This group of students volunteered to take turns to walk with me to and from campus. It was all organised by the disability unit of SU. Those students literally barely knew me and they signed up to help me out, which was so amazing.” Steiner says that while overcoming his illness and returning to SU to complete his studies, his faith and realising that finding his purpose and meaning in life was more important than ever. “Students seek to find purpose or meaning in a good time, achievements, success and relationships, but to put it very simply: That’s all meaningless and fades in time. The only constant and the only thing worth living for is our heavenly father. I’m not for a moment saying that God and success, relationships, etc. are mutually exclusive. I’m just saying that He is the only thing that will give satisfaction, fulfilment, peace and purpose. Seek Him first and those good things will be added to you.” Steiner advises his peers and prospective students to use every opportunity to study and advance their education. “Study something because you love it and not because you think it’ll get you into a position where you’ll earn well.” He plans on working in Switzerland in the bioresource engineering field, because he believes this industry is doing important work to mitigate climate change and would like to be involved in that. Photo caption: Andrew Steiner. Photo credit: Stefan Els (SU).
By Corporate Communications Division/Asiphe Nombewu Growing up in the dusty streets of Gankwana village in Limpopo, 25-year-old Nthabiseng Seleme says she never ever imagined herself graduating with a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Stellenbosch University (SU). “I am super excited about graduation; this shows that hard work and perseverance are indeed keys to success,” she adds. Nthabiseng arrived at Stellenbosch University in 2017 after completing her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering in 2016 at the University of Pretoria (Tuks). “I was fortunate enough to receive funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF), they paid my fees and Thermaspray (Pty) Ltd topped up the bursary by chipping in to help me as well. “Although I felt homesick at times, I found the move to Stellenbosch University very adventurous. I have always wanted to travel beyond Gauteng and the Limpopo province.” Being the first person in her family to obtain a master’s degree, Nthabiseng says her family has been a constant support system and is very excited and proud of her for all her achievements. Nthabiseng says she wouldn’t have been able to do all of this without the support and assistance of her family and supervisors, Drs Tobi Louw and Neill Goosen, for her MEng research entitled Modelling of enzymatic protein hydrolysis. “My plan is to gain as much industrial exposure as I can, and continue to learn as well as explore the industry as I am currently based and working at Samacor Chrome in Mpumalanga, Middleburg.” She describes her childhood as a “normal” one – she lived with her grandmother and aunt before moving to Pretoria to stay with her parents where she completed high school and undergraduate studies. “I think I was a very good child because I did my chores. I was nurtured a lot by my grandmother and mother, and turned out quite well.” As a top achieving student for both Mathematics and Science in high school, Nthabiseng first dreamt of becoming a medical doctor. “At the time I even thought my handwriting was a testament to that,” she says jokingly. Her love for Mathematics drew her to Actuarial Science, but she later learnt that there was more to Actuarial Science than just Mathematics. And this is what lead to her decision to follow a career in Chemical Engineering. Photo caption: Nthabiseng Seleme.
By: Rozanne Engel, Corporate Communication Dr Margreth Tadie, a lecturer in the Process Engineering Department at Stellenbosch University (SU), is one of 30 scientists in Africa to have been selected for the FLAIR (Future Leaders – African Independent Research) research fellowships. FLAIR is a two-year programme of The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and the Royal Society, with support from the United Kingdom’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), and is designed to help talented early-career researchers whose science is focused on the needs of the continent, establish independent careers at African institutions and ultimately, their own research groups. Each scientist receives £300,000 (R5 472 003) over the two-year fellowship to help them with independent research. She was part of a competitive pool of 700 applicants across the continent. “It’s such an honour to receive this fellowship from them. What they are about is supporting African research and supporting excellent researchers in Africa to be able to become leaders within their respective research fields. I’m passionate about mineral resources in Africa and I’m passionate about what they can do for the continent. There is such incredible wealth in Africa, yet when you look at Africa, we are one of the poorest continents in the world and I’m not happy with that. My heart is really into looking at what we can do better with our resources for our continent and our people.” Dr Tadie says she recognises the significant impact this fellowship will have on her teaching at SU and hopefully inspiring other young engineers in Africa. “I am very conscious of being in the minority within the mining industry, but I’m so open to that challenge, because we need more role-models. Where women have paved the way in other industries, I am very conscious of the fact that I have the opportunity to be that for those who are coming up behind me. We need more women who are brave enough to go in and who are brave enough to do cutting edge research, to be brave enough to be on the mines and do good work. I hope to impart that heart for responsible mining and responsible engineering.” Dr Tadie’s research project will specifically look at the waste left behind from gold mines in South Africa and she aims to develop a framework strategy that looks at sustainable ways to extract minerals so that less waste is created in the process. She hopes that this framework strategy will be applied to different sites and eventually influence policy change within the mining industry. In 2017, Statistics South Africa reported that the mining industry is slowly declining on a yearly basis. However, the mass amount of waste left behind continues to have a huge environmental impact on the mining communities in South Africa, and the rest of Africa. “There are tons of waste heaps that are a legacy of the success of gold mining and those waste heaps are taking up land and are creating pollution. The environmental impact is quite significant and this project is aimed at finding ways and developing a process that will deal with this waste.” For Dr Tadie, doing research on mining waste is not just motivated by her academic aspirations but it has also been fuelled by her deep personal experiences of growing up on the dusty mines in her home country of Zimbabwe. “In many ways mining is who I am. I grew up in a mining community and for the people who live within these communities the mine is their life. Your father works in the mine, you work in the mine, your children work in the mine and no matter where you are – whether you are the lowest or highest paid, the mine becomes you. Although I am in academia now and not physically on the mine, I still identify with the mine and hope that my research can help change mining policies within Africa.” Dr Tadie’s father has been working on mines for over forty years and she says being exposed to that environment all her life has had a huge impact on her motivation to help change the negative effects of the industry. “I grew up next to big heaps of mining waste and seeing all the dust that’s formed from that fine material, living in landscapes where the vegetation has deteriorated due to mining activities, stayed with me. Some of the significant negative impacts of mining can be prevented because a lot of it is policy and technical strategy.” The need for programmes such as FLAIR: FLAIR is one of six postdoctoral programmes being implemented through the African Academy of Sciences. “We recognise that well-planned postdoctoral programmes are critical in promoting scientific and research excellence and leadership in Africa,” says Professor Felix Dapare Dakora, President of the African Academy of Sciences. “We want to be catalytic in inspiring African institutions to critically think about the role of and defining postdoctoral programmes that suit their needs and purpose and can be instrumental in driving socio-economic development on the continent.” ”The scientists selected as FLAIR grantees represent the next generation of leading African scientists, and we are incredibly proud to be part of a programme that is investing in them at such a crucial point in their careers,” says Professor Richard Catlow, Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society. “Fostering science and innovation for social benefit and prosperity is key to the wellbeing of any society, and investing in Africa’s scientific talent holds the greatest potential to tackle global challenges and improve quality of life.” The next round of FLAIR applications closes on 15 May 2019. Photo caption: Dr Margreth Tadie. Photo credit: Stefan Els (SU).
By: Corporate Communications Division/Asiphe Nombewu “You never really grow if you continue staying in your comfort zone,” are the philosophical words of Kwame Donkor (29) from Ghana who hasn’t seen his family in over two years since he began his academic career at Stellenbosch University (SU). Kwame will be among the more than 3 000 students graduating at the University’s April 2019 graduation ceremonies. His research for his master’s degree in Engineering focussed on water reclamation and biofuel production from paper sludge. He completed his master’s research under the guidance and supervision of Prof Johann Görgens (Research Chair in Biofuels/BioEnergy (CoER), and co-supervisors Drs Lalitha Devi Gottumukkala and Danie Diedericks from the Department of Process Engineering. The 29-year-old Ghanaian says he was introduced to SU by colleagues who were postgraduate students during his time as an engineering teaching assistant at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. “I worked as a student assistant at the university laboratory back at home in Ghana and most of the work we did was closely related to SU; that is how the opportunity to come to Maties came about. “I think it all started in between 2009 and 2010 when oil was first discovered in Ghana. A new programme had just been introduced and I was interested in oil production. But after realising the worrying effects of fossil fuels on the environment, I felt passionate about the issue and vowed to contribute to finding alternative renewable energy sources.” Despite being away from his family for so long, Kwame says his biggest motivation in life is his uneducated mother. “She taught my five siblings and me to grab any and every opportunity in life and make something of ourselves.” He describes himself as having been an average student back in high school before his father intervened and persuaded him to spend three hours after school studying with his brother (a pharmacist today), who was an A student. “My father locked me up with my brother and that helped me a lot. I had no choice but to do my school work immediately after school and that is when I started being competitive.” Kwame, who is currently based in Idas Valley, says that although his family will not be able to make it to his graduation, he knows that they are extremely proud of him and all that he has achieved. Photo caption: Kwame Donkor. Photo credit: Stefan Els (SU).
Author: Liesel Koch George Kofi Parku, MEng student in Chemical Engineering at Stellenbosch University, was chosen as one of 25 winners in the Green Talents Science Forum, 2018. “This is a prestigious award for young researchers organised by the German Federal Ministry of Education (BMBF). The forum entails a two-week intensive research visit to top sustainability institutes in Germany and also the opportunity to meet with experts in renowned German institutions,” says Mr Parku. With his research he aims to convert plastic and non-plastic wastes into useful fuels and chemicals via pyrolysis in order to create a more sustainable energy supply. He has built a significant amount of expertise in petrochemical engineering through his experience in past research projects. BMBF hosts the prestigious Green Talents – International Forum for High Potentials in Sustainable Development to promote the international exchange of innovative green ideas. The award, under the patronage of Minister Anja Karliczek honours young researchers each year. The winners come from numerous countries and scientific disciplines and are recognised for their outstanding achievements in making societies more sustainable. Selected by a jury of German experts, the award winners are granted unique access to the country’s research elite. “The effects of climate change are becoming more and more visible around the world – even in Germany. This is something that this year’s winners of the Green Talents competition are addressing. They are making important contributions worldwide to creating a sustainable society with their work in such areas as water management, bioenergy use and alternative economic systems. I would like to thank them all for their dedication and hope that they will continue to produce many more good ideas,” said Dr Georg Schütte, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, at the award ceremony. This year the jury has chosen 25 Green Talents from 21 different countries. See Mr Parku’s profile here. See all the profiles here. The awardees in 2018 attended a two-week Science Forum from 13-27 October 2018 leading them to different hotspots of sustainability science in Germany. Furthermore, the Individual Appointments provided them a platform to personally discuss their research and lay the foundations for future collaborations. If you are interested in the Green Talents Competition 2019 please register for the Competition Alert to be informed as soon as the next submission period starts. Photograph: George Parku (right) receiving his Green Talents Award from German State Secretary, Dr Georg Schütte.
Written by Dr Kate Haigh Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Process Engineering khaigh@sun.ac.za Did you know that it is possible to print bacteria using an inkjet printer to produce biological photovoltaic cells? This is something I learnt when I attended a seminar on 17 July 2018 given by Prof Chris Howe from the University of Cambridge as part of his visit to Dr Robbie Pott at Stellenbosch University. The talk was titled “The Biotechnological Exploitation of of Cyanobacteria”. Cyanobacteria are more commonly known as blue-green algae, which are found widely in the environment. Water companies sometimes have challenges keeping their reservoirs free of blue-green algae. Some types can fix nitrogen and many can tolerate high temperatures as well as a high or low pH. This means there is a lot of potential for exploiting these bacteria. There are also some funky options for modifying cyanobacteria to allow for a wider range of applications although there is the risk that an ill judged modification will damage the bacteria. One of the earlier options that was considered for using algae was the production of low value, high volume chemicals such as triglycerides and hydrocarbons. Triglycerides can be transformed into biodiesel by means of a transesterification reaction. Hydrocarbons are also the building blocks for many fuels. The challenge with these applications is that growing the algae in such high volumes is difficult. An alternative is to focus on high value, low volume chemicals. One example is nutraceuticals such as Spirulina. Alternatively, one type, Phycocyanin is used to produce blue food colouring which was approved by the FDA in 2013. One of the most promising applications identified by Prof Chris Howe is the the direct production of electricity as a result of cyanobacteria producing electrons. Growing cyanobacteria in water means that electrons are produced and this forms the fuel cell annode (negative electrode). The flow of electrons to the cathode can produce enough electricity to power small electrical devices such as a clock. These devices are known as biological photovoltaic cells. It is envisaged that they could be used to power small off grid electonics. The next challenge is to find ways to increase the amount of power and develop useful devices. Part of this is about understanding the mechanism which leads to the transfer of electrons outside the cell walls of the bacteria. Designing more efficient devices is also being considered. This led to the development of ink-jet printed bacteria which can produce power as part of biological photo-voltaic cells.
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