Chemical Processing Innovation Developed by Pitt and Lubrizol Recognized in 2025 Manufacturing USA Report to Congress

A University of Pittsburgh collaboration with Lubrizol, a global specialty chemical leader, was featured in the newly released 2025 Manufacturing USA Report to Congress as a model for scalable, cost-effective domestic manufacturing.

Working through RAPID – the U.S. Department of Energy–sponsored Manufacturing USA institute focused on modular chemical-process intensification – Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering and Lubrizol re-engineered a key chemical dispersant line from large-batch to continuous production, housed in a compact, shipping-container-sized module. The result was a 65% reduction in capital costs and a 60% reduction in operating costs, alongside improved product quality.

“This is the impact of translational research between industry and academia – Pitt expertise meeting an industry problem and producing a result measured in real cost and capability,” said Rob A. Rutenbar, University of Pittsburgh senior vice chancellor for research. “Seeing it recognized at the federal level affirms the value of the long-term industry partnerships we work to build.”

The work grew out of the process-intensification research of Götz Veser, the Nicholas DeCecco Professor of Chemical Engineering in the Swanson School, whose laboratory developed the prototype reactor that became the basis for new continuous-production modules at Lubrizol. The project is one chapter in a decade-long Pitt and Lubrizol research alliance spanning chemical engineering, sustainability and workforce development.

“Process intensification enables us to do more with a far smaller physical, economic, and environmental footprint, and Lubrizol was willing to collaborate and put it into practice,” said Veser. “That partnership is what turns a promising idea in the lab into a working production line.”

The collaboration reflects the partnership-driven approach at the center of the Swanson School’s strategic plan, Bridging People, Innovation and Possibility to Achieve Collective Impact, and the research-translation goals of the University’s Plan for Pitt 2028. Industry collaboration is a critical component to the plan and is symbolized in part by the Swanson School’s 13-year partnership with Lubrizol.

“This collaboration is a model for how academic-industry relationships can provide positive momentum in reinventing supply chains through modular chemical process intensification,” noted Glenn Cormack, Technical Fellow and Global Process Innovation Manager for Lubrizol. “Furthermore, the collaboration with Department of Energy and RAPID played a pivotal role in bringing step-out technology to commercial scale and building a roadmap for how to apply the learnings more broadly to specialty chemicals.”