Please share some background on yourself and your company

I am a Principal Scientist at U.S. Silica, responsible for developing silica products for the Industrial and Specialty Products division. The science surrounding silica is fascinating. For the last decade, I’ve worked with silica particles, including colloidal particles, precipitated particles, and their applications in composite materials. For the last ten months at U.S. Silica, I’ve been working with mined and processed silica particles. I’m currently developing performance-enhancing products for compounds in a range of applications, including elastomers and thermoplastics.

Per its name, one of U.S. Silica’s primary functions is the development of performance materials from mined silica. One of the new silica-based materials we’ve generated, EverWhite® Pigment™, can be a useful alternative to titanium dioxide, and I’m looking forward to discussing this during the conference. In support of this effort, U.S. Silica is building a new state-of-the-art R&D center in Rochelle, Illinois, to accelerate new product development around this technology and other innovations.

What makes silica such an important material and how is it sourced?

As a starting point, our silica is derived from mining the Earth’s crust. To that end, U.S. Silica owns and operates mines across the United States and further processes the mined silica to meet the demands of customers and applications. Silica is a crucial material across a range of industries, including construction, filtration, electronics, and thermoplastics, due in large part to its stability and inertness. This allows it to provide structural integrity and optical clarity in applications where those characteristics are paramount to success.

What are U.S. Silica’s sustainability goals?

According to our 2022 CSR report, we actively seek new opportunities to reduce fuel, electricity, and water usage at our plants and pilot new programs to engage in local conservation efforts and community initiatives. To combat climate change, we have made decreasing greenhouse gas emissions across our operations one of our top priorities for our plants and fleet. In addition, we extend sustainable benefits to our customers’ operations and communities through our products, enabling the transition to cleaner energy sources and leaving a positive impact on the environment.

What are you most looking forward to from the expo?

I am eager to showcase the latest findings and innovations from our research at U.S. Silica. This includes advancements in the application of silica in polymer compounding for white compounds that are less reliant on titanium dioxide. Additionally, I’m looking forward to connecting with fellow scientists, engineers, and industry leaders. Networking at this level provides a platform to learn about new technologies, exchange ideas, gain new perspectives, and foster potential collaborations. This experience promises to be both professionally enriching and personally fulfilling, as it aligns with my passion for advancing material science and contributing to the development of sustainable and high-performance materials.

Dr. Lifeng Chen will be speaking on Day 1 at the Compounding World Expo Theater.