PNNL

Dr. Jothi Kothandaraman joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in 2017, where she is currently a research scientist in the Separations Materials team under the Energy and Environment Directorate. She has over 10 years of experience in catalysis with an emphasis on development of green and sustainable chemical processes that are relevant to the U.S. Department of Energy and various industries. Her research focuses on carbon dioxide capture and conversion to value added chemicals, fuels and polymers, and hydrogen carriers. Before PNNL, Dr. Kothandaraman worked at GlaxoSmithKline (UK), where she focused on organic chemical synthesis for pharmaceutical applications.

• CO₂ capture and conversions
• Liquid organic hydrogen carriers
• Chemical separations
• Methane conversions
• Mechanisms of catalytic processes
• Homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis

• PhD, Chemistry, University of Southern California
• MS, Chemistry, University of Madras
• BS, Chemistry, University of Madras

• Member of American Chemical Society, 2012–present
• Editorial Board Member for Frontiers in Chemistry Journal, 2020–present
• Editorial Board Member for Sustainability Journal, 2020–present

• Phi Kappa Phi Award for Creative and Scholarly Achievements, 2017
• William P. Weber Award for Outstanding Graduate Research, 2016
• John Stauffer Endowed Fellowship, 2015
• Morris S. Smith Endowed Fellowship for Excellent Progress in Research, 2014
• GlaxoSmithKline R&D Recognition Award, 2010
• United Kingdom-India Education and Research Initiative Fellowship (UKIERI), 2009
• Gold Medal for Academic Achievement in Master’s Program, 2009

• U.S. Patent No. 11,492,302, November 8, 2022, "INTEGRATED CAPTURE AND CONVERSION OF CO2 TO METHANE, METHANOL, OR METHANOL AND GLYCOL".
• U.S. Patent No. 10,961,173, March 30, 2021, "INTEGRATED CAPTURE AND CONVERSION OF CO2 TO METHANOL PROCESS TECHNOLOGY"

2022

• Heldebrant D.J., J. Kothandaraman, N. Mac Dowell, and L. Brickett. 2022. "Next Steps for Solvent-Based CO2 Capture; Integration of Capture, Conversion, and Mineralisation." Chemical Science 13, no. 22:6445-6456. PNNL-SA-169757. doi:10.1039/d2sc00220e
• Kothandaraman J., L. Cosimbescu, and M.S. Swita. 2022. "Solvent-Induced Selectivity of Isoprene from Bio-Derived Prenol." Frontiers in Chemistry 10. PNNL-SA-169731. doi:10.3389/fchem.2022.879129

2021

• Kothandaraman J., J. Saavedra Lopez, Y. Jiang, E.D. Walter, S.D. Burton, R.A. Dagle, and D.J. Heldebrant. 2021. "Integrated Capture and Conversion of CO2 to Methane using a Water-lean, Post Combustion CO2 Capture Solvent." ChemSusChem 14, no. 21:4812-4819. PNNL-SA-162553. doi:10.1002/cssc.202101590

2020

• Grubel K., J. Su, J. Kothandaraman, K.P. Brooks, G. Somorjai, and S. Autrey. 2020. "Research Requirements to Move the Bar forward Using Aqueous Formate Salts as H₂ Carriers for Energy Storage Applications." Journal of Energy and Power Technology 2, no. 4:21. PNNL-SA-154330. doi:10.21926/jept.2004016
• Heldebrant D.J., and J. Kothandaraman. 2020. "Solvent-Based Absorption." In Carbon Capture and Storage: RSC Energy and Environment Series, edited by M. Bui and N MacDowell. 36-68. Cambridge:Royal Society of Chemistry. PNNL-SA-137049. doi:10.1039/9781788012744-00036
• Kothandaraman J., and D.J. Heldebrant. 2020. "Catalytic coproduction of methanol and glycol in one pot from epoxide, CO₂, and H₂." RSC Advances 10, no. 69:42557-42563. PNNL-SA-153614. doi:10.1039/D0RA09459E
• Kothandaraman J., and D.J. Heldebrant. 2020. "Towards environmentally benign capture and conversion: Heterogeneous metal catalyzed CO₂ hydrogenation in CO₂ capture solvents." Green Chemistry 22, no. 3:828-834. PNNL-SA-148329. doi:10.1039/C9GC03449H

2019

• Kothandaraman J., J. Zhang, V. Glezakou, M.T. Mock, and D.J. Heldebrant. 2019. "Chemical Transformations of Captured CO₂ into Cyclic and Polymeric Carbonates." Journal of CO₂ utilization 32. PNNL-SA-139496. doi:10.1016/j.jcou.2019.04.020
• Mehta H.S., Y. Chen, J.A. Sears, E.D. Walter, M. Campos, J. Kothandaraman, and D.J. Heldebrant, et al. 2019. "A Novel High-Temperature MAS Probe with Optimized Temperature Gradient across Sample Rotor for In-situ Monitoring of High-Temperature High-Pressure Chemical Reactions." Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance 102. PNNL-SA-143153. doi:10.1016/j.ssnmr.2019.06.003

2018

• Kothandaraman J., R.A. Dagle, V. Dagle, S.D. Davidson, E.D. Walter, S.D. Burton, and D.W. Hoyt, et al. 2018. "Condensed-Phase Low Temperature Heterogeneous Hydrogenation of CO₂ to Methanol." Catalysis Science & Technology 8, no. 19:5098-5103. PNNL-SA-133245. doi:10.1039/C8CY00997J