Interview Kitty Nijmeijer
Name: Kitty Nijmeijer
Department: Chemical Engineering and chemistry
Project / Area: Membrane Materials and Processes
What is your perspective/vision about sustainability?
Sustainability for me is living in balance with what Earth provides us with.
What is your project/research about? Who are the diverse stakeholders of this project?
I do research in water purification through design and development of polymer membrane materials. I study methods to reuse and recover components (proteins, metals) from the water to be able to reuse them later on. For example, harmful substances are diluted in water, with some methods water can be extracted from the waste streams from the industry.
Capture gas using membranes
Flue gases contain 10% water, we can use membranes to capture it. This has been done in pilots.
Blue energy
Blue energy means using sea river and sea water for power generation. There is an installation in Katwijk.
TED Talks
I also give TED talks presentations to create awareness and share knowledge.
How did you convinced colleagues/departments/students to follow you on your journey through the development of this idea for sustainability?
Convincing people is not difficult, but I like to do it with clear examples that help to understand the ideas. Clear examples, down to earth examples to understand the impact.
What do you do to be more sustainable and what could it be done?
At a personal level: I have solar panels at home, I have an electric car, travel by train frequently, I cycle a lot, I do not eat much meat, I try not to waste water, energy. I separate the garbage etc.
Not going backwards but moving forwards with a new attitude
We could adapt, find ways of living more sustainably with the current level of technology without sacrificing our lifestyle or quality of life.
Short message
We can redesign the world in such a way that we move towards the future without destroying the planet. It is a huge challenge. But together we can make a transition to a more sustainable world.