Catalysts, Biofuel Synthesis, and Joy
By Vishva Nalamalapu, Office of the Chancellor
Clara Ehinger’s (’25 Chem. Eng., Math. minor) research is focused on atoms and the bonds between them. But the scale of the problem she’s trying to solve is global.
To mitigate climate change, every industry needs to transition to renewable energy. But it’s more difficult for some than others. In aerospace, for example, batteries are currently too heavy to power planes. Until they’re able to transition, it’s important for these industries to reduce the carbon footprint of the non-renewable energy sources they use. Ehinger is working with Wenda Hu, a postdoctoral research associate, in Yong Wang’s Lab to do just this. They are making the synthesis of biofuels, which are derived directly from living matter, more efficient.
Ehinger chose WSU Pullman because she wanted to do research as an undergrad and study abroad as an engineering major. Now in her final semester, she got everything she wanted — she worked in the Laboratory for Atmospheric Research with Von Walden, the O. H. Reaugh Laboratory for Oil and Gas Research with Su Ha, at the Argonne National Laboratory’s Bioprocesses and Reactive Separations Group, and she studied abroad and carried out research in both France and Sweden.
After gaining experience in a range of labs, Ehinger became interested in the catalysis research taking place in Yong Wang’s lab. “Because I didn’t understand how it worked,” she says. The research asks how substances called catalysts can increase the rate of a reaction by reducing the amount of energy required.
Ehinger is concentrated on one step of biofuel synthesis — finding a catalyst that will help add hydrogen to a double bond between carbon and oxygen to make an alcohol that can be used in biofuel. Without a catalyst, the hydrogen tends to combine with a different compound. So, she was searching for a catalyst to prevent that and promote it combining with the carbon and oxygen.
Ehinger tested catalysts by combining them with cinnamaldehyde, a compound derived from the bark of cinnamon trees, and observing whether they created cinnamyl alcohol. She then added an abundance of hydrogen and heated the mixture. Catalyst after catalyst that she tested didn’t work. But, Hu says, “she didn’t give up.”
Then, Ehinger tried platinum. The reaction produced cinnamyl alcohol, and the biofuel synthesis process took one step further.
Through this research, Ehinger has become more intentional. “Having a plan has made it so that I’m not doing experiments that aren’t worthwhile to do.” And, as a result, she gets a lot done. “Her contribution is really significant,” says Hu.
Now, Ehinger has turned to the next stage — understanding why platinum is a good catalyst for the reaction. “The real goal is to figure out why it works,” she says. Doing so could help develop catalysts for similar reactions.
Ehinger says she is able to do all this work because she loves it. “Finding enjoyment in what I do, as opposed to trying to be the best or focusing only on positive results, has helped me be a happier person, which then leads me to wanting to work more because I enjoy it,” she says.
That approach is preparing her well for graduate school and whatever comes after that. And it’s making it easier for industries to reduce their carbon footprints.