Julio Valladares

By Jeff McDonald
MC Web Editor

It’s a story that has come full-circle for Dr. Julio Valladares, professor of chemistry at Midland College, taking him from the troubled streets of El Salvador, to universities in Canada and the United States, and has now come to the halls of government, education and business back in El Salvador.

But, if it is truly a circle, it is an open-ended one that will continue to grow as Valladares’ studies, and the application of what he has learned in those studies, continue to grow.

“I am from there, from El Salvador,” said Valladares, who is now in his third year at Midland College. “During the civil war in El Salvador, I left the country and went to Canada. I went to university in Canada, and earned my Master’s and my PhD in chemistry. And after I completed my doctorate, I was offered a position here, in Texas. So, I came here. And I taught at Texas A&M International, and at University of Texas-Brownsville. And now I am here, at Midland College.”

In addition to his research, Valladares is also an educator, teaching chemistry to students who are in a position he once occupied, decades ago in El Salvador when he was first inspired to study and practice chemistry.

“In high school. I was educated in a Catholic high school, and they had a laboratory, and one of the Fathers, he taught chemistry,” he recalled. “And I think he was the one who motivated me in chemistry.”

Building on that foundation, he continued his studies in North America, and developed a technology that would soon capture the attention of leaders in government and business.

“When I did my doctoral degree, I worked in an area that used a semi-conductor – titanium dioxide – to destroy some of the contaminants in water,” he said.

Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula TiO2. It has been suggested that TiO2 offers great potential as an industrial technology for detoxification or remediation of wastewater.

Valladares’ work led to the invention of a photocatalytic reactor, for which he shares a patent (issued in 1997) with Hugo I. de Lasa. It also brought him to the attention of mining companies doing business in the country that had once been his home.

(Photo: Dr. Julio Valladares
with his patent for the photocatalytic reactor)

“In El Salvador, they have discovered several mines with gold, and there are some companies - in Canada, in the United States, elsewhere – that are trying to exploit these mines,” he said. “But it raises environmental concerns because of the use of cyanide for extracting the gold from the ore. And the techniques that have been in place for a long time are not the best ones. They make the amount of pollution to be lower, but they still leave contaminants in place.”

Gold cyanidation (also known as the cyanide process) is a metallurgical technique for extracting gold from ore. Some note that the process is controversial, due to the highly toxic nature of cyanide, especially if it should come into contact with an area’s water supplies.

“And this is a main concern to the government, to the congress that must decide to stop the mining companies, or allow them under very strict restrictions,” Valladares explained. “It is an area in which I have expertise, and that is why they invited me to a conference at one of the universities, and their association of engineers in San Salvador, and to have some meetings with the environmental committees of the congress, and the staff of the government minister for the environment.”

“Politicians and government officials have two main fears with metallic mining: water pollution and the toxicity of cyanide,” Jose Mario Gonzales Granados, of Minerales Morazon, noted in his invitation. “Dr. Valladares has been working with modern technology on the degradation of cyanide “And we would like him to present his work and its results to members of the [government ministries], and also to make a presentation at a local university.”

“They want to know more about this technology, and why it’s so clean,” said Valladares. “They want the details they need to decide to stop the mining companies, or allow them. They would address these concerns about the environment.”

Over the course of five days, Valladares conducted numerous briefings, and met with El Salvador’s ministers of mining, economy, environment and natural resources, and health.

“It was very interesting,” he concluded.

He also met with those opposed to the current state of mining in El Salvador. He described a letter he received from one woman, a representative in El Salvador’s legislature, and a mining opponent.

“She wrote that she appreciated my coming to their country, and my efforts to help,” Valladares recalled. “But she also wrote, ‘in democracy, there are many avenues, but maybe not one for mining.’ So, we will see.”

And this is not to suggest that Valladares’ research has come to an end …

“Here at the school, I am doing research into the process with Midland College students, trying to improve the performance, working to make it even better,” he pointed out.

The trip to El Salvador also provided an object lesson for students in today’s classrooms, especially those asking, “when are we ever going to use this?”

“We are applying chemistry to the real world,” said Valladares. “It is applied chemistry.”

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