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Carl Koval

Photo of Carl Koval Koval@colorado.edu

Faculty Director Koval has been a faculty member in the Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry at CU Boulder since 1980.  As part of developing his research program in electrochemistry and membrane science, he has been the thesis advisor for 26 Ph.D. students, 5 M.S. students and 5 research associates. His research has resulted in over 110 publications, 10 patents, and has been supported by 47 separate research contracts and grants, and has included collaborations with several current and former scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Most of Prof. Koval’s research throughout his scientific career has been related to renewable or sustainable energy:

  1. His Ph.D. research at Caltech involved developing catalysts for the reduction of oxygen to water.  This is still a significant problem in the area of fuel cell development.
  2. From approximately 1985 – 2000, his research group investigated a number of fundamental issues related to electron transfer processes at the semiconductor-solution interface.   Understanding these processes is critical for the development of efficient photoelectrochemical cells.
  3. In the 1990’s, Prof. Koval collaborated with on a number of projects related to using photoelectrochemical process for the treatment of both gaseous and liquid waste streams.  These processes have the potential to be more energy-efficient than conventional technologies.
  4. As part of a longstanding collaboration with Prof. Richard Noble in Chemical and Biological Engineering, Prof. Koval investigated selective and energy-efficient membrane separation processes, primary through the use of facilitated transport membranes and, more recently, ionic liquid membranes.
  5. Another collaborative research direction involved the development of electrochemically modulated complexation (EMC), an energy efficient process that allows specific components of a mixture to be separated and concentrated.  Recently, his group showed that an EMC processes could be used to selectively remove carbon dioxide from gas mixtures.