Aino Nielsen (Topsoe) on CHARISMA Project and Raman Harmonisation

“Raman spectroscopy is such an easy, fast and nondestructive characterisation technique, it is definitely a good option to use in production, to ensure fast and reliable results.”

Aino Nielsen (Topsoe)

About Aino Nielsen

Aino Nielsen is a technician in the Topsoe R&D spectroscopy lab and has over 25 years of experience with catalyst synthesis and Raman spectroscopy on working catalysts. She is the de facto lab manager of the spectroscopy lab, which includes optical spectroscopies such as FTIR, Raman and Uv-vis. Since she is planning and prioritizing the daily work in the lab, and teaching visiting scientists at the professor, postdoc, PhD and MSc. levels, she is an instrumental member of the CHARISMA Consortium, and is especially engaged with the WP3 and WP6 tasks.

What is your background, and why are you at Topsoe working with the CHARISMA project?

My background is education as a laboratory technician, but my special competencies have really been developed by many years of close collaborations with many highly skilled scientists. My work at Topsoe has therefore given me a lot of versatile experiences, starting with inorganic synthesis, and catalyst preparation on to many different characterization techniques such as SEM, Raman, FTIR, and UV-Vis. I am currently contributing to the CHARISMA project due to my knowledge of the synthesis process and to do experimental Raman and FTIR in collaboration with the others in the CHARISMA project.

Could you elaborate on what you are doing in the CHARISMA project?

I do the practical spectroscopy work in our labs, using my many years of experience to get exact and reliable results. Through my experience with synthesis, I have also had the pleasure of guiding students on how we do zeolite synthesis here at Topsoe. We have done synthesis together, to ensure equivalent procedures, in order to best harmonize our results.

Topsoe is undergoing a major transition at the moment and appears to become a strong driver towards blue and later green energy and chemistry solutions. How does the CHARISMA project, Raman spectroscopy and inline monitoring fit in with the company’s overall vision?

Here at Topsoe, we are all working hard to produce materials and technologies that are more sustainable. Since Raman spectroscopy is such an easy, fast and nondestructive characterization technique, it is definitely a good option to use in production, to ensure fast and reliable results. This ultimately reduces waste. Through our work with CHARISMA, we are learning and understanding more about harmonizing and standardizing Raman spectra, which of course is a key to ensuring good and dependable results. Perhaps an even more direct impact is also the that the materials we are producing are catalytic components that are to be installed in our newest projects, where applications for producing renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are being implemented these years.

Could you specify some real-life and industrial impacts of Raman spectroscopy?

One impressive use of Raman is that it can be used to detect the early stages of cancer. Raman can be used as a non-invasive detection of the molecular differences between tumor and healthy tissue. Raman spectroscopy has also been implemented to guide oncological surgery.

Another great use of Raman is to detect phthalates in children’s toys. Even though it is toxic, phthalates are sometimes added to the PVC in plastic toys. Since small children tend to put toys in their mouths, this can be very harmful. The Raman peaks of phthalates can easily be detected using a Raman spectrometer.

I think it is great to work with such a useful and versatile tool in my daily life, and I hope that CHARISMA will be successful in divulging Raman spectroscopy as an analytical technique.