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Turning waste into value through chemistry

25 August 2025 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Stephen Collett

Prof Elizabeth Erasmus during her inaugural lecture, Molecules of Change: Chemistry for a Better Tomorrow, on 20 August, highlighting how innovative chemistry can turn waste into value and promote sustainable solutions.

With climate change, resource scarcity, and environmental pollution among the most pressing challenges of our time, Prof Elizabeth (Lizette) Erasmus used her inaugural lecture on Wednesday, 20 August to show how chemistry can provide powerful, practical answers. In her lecture, Molecules of Change: Chemistry for a Better Tomorrow, she traced her journey from fundamental research to pioneering innovations that turn waste into value, protect ecosystems, and improve food security.

During her talk, Prof Erasmus – Researcher in the Department of Chemistry – recalled a moment in 2018 that reshaped her career trajectory. While preparing a Sasol research grant on copper oxide nanoparticles, an entrepreneur assisting with the proposal posed a deceptively simple challenge: “So what?” “Although upsetting at first, those two words completely reshaped my outlook,” she explained. “They inspired my journey from purely academic chemistry towards more applied, impactful research – with the mission of not only advancing science, but of also improving society and the environment.”

From fundamental science to global solutions

Prof Erasmus began her career in organometallic chemistry, preparing and characterising complex molecules to understand their reactivity and physical properties. Later, her focus shifted to heterogeneous catalysis, where she explored nanomaterials and surface chemistry.

Her research has since evolved towards developing sustainable technologies that address urgent global challenges. One example is agricultural innovation: using green solvents to extract cellulose from wattle tree bark to create biodegradable superabsorbent polymers. “Unlike the polyacrylates in baby diapers, these SAPs degrade into nutrients for soil microbes and plants,” she explained. “By loading them with fertiliser, we develop slow-release, water-retaining materials that improve agricultural sustainability.”

Other projects include producing biochar to restore degraded soils, creating natural growth enhancers such as wood vinegar, and designing an ‘ultimate fertiliser’ that combines these products for long-term soil health. Her group also works on environmental remediation, developing hydrophobic sponges to absorb oil spills, repurposing building waste to clean polluted water, and using innovative chemistry to convert carbon dioxide into valuable products.

“We are even looking at one of the fastest-growing waste streams: e-waste,” Prof Erasmus noted. “With more gold per ton than natural ore, e-waste represents both a challenge and an opportunity. By developing porous absorbent materials, we can selectively capture and reduce gold ions directly to metallic gold – recovering a precious resource from waste.”

She concluded by crediting her team and collaborators: “This, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. The bulk of the work lies beneath the surface, carried out by dedicated students, collaborators, mentors, colleagues, friends, and family. I owe them my deepest gratitude, for they are the ones who truly sustain this journey of transforming chemistry into solutions for a better world.”

About Prof Erasmus

Prof Elizabeth (Lizette) Erasmus obtained all her degrees at the University of the Free State: a BSc (2001), BSc Honours in Chemistry (2002), MSc in Chemistry (2003), and a PhD in Chemistry (2005). She has published more than 80 research papers, holds an H-index of 21, and has extensive experience in supervising MSc and PhD students.

After serving as a senior researcher at the CSIR, she returned to academia at the UFS, where her international collaborations in the Netherlands and at UC Davis broadened her focus from organometallic chemistry to heterogeneous catalysis and nanochemistry. Her expertise spans organometallic chemistry, electrochemistry, surface characterisation, and nanomaterials.

News Archive

Full week of graduation ceremonies at UFS in April

2015-04-10

Autumn always sees the UFS’s first graduation ceremony of the year on the Bloemfontein Campus.

From 14 – 17 April 2015, graduates will once again be rewarded for their hard work while top speakers will address them in the Callie Human Centre. There will be a ceremony at 09:00 and at 14:30 each day on all four days of the graduation.

The programme for the 2015 April Graduation is as follows:

Tuesday 14 April 2015:

Professor Himla Soodyall will be the speaker at both ceremonies on this day. Prof Soodyall is a Medical Scientist for the South African Institute for Medical Research. She is also a Principal Medical Scientist for the National Health Laboratory Service, and a Director for the Human Genome Diversity and Disease Research Unit at the University of Witwatersrand.

During the first ceremony of the day at 09:00, all diplomas/certificates and B degrees in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences will be awarded. Only Honours degrees in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences will be awarded at the 14:30 ceremony.

Wednesday 15 April 2015:

Wednesday will see Ndumiso Hadebe take the stage to address graduates at both ceremonies.

At the age of 23, Hadebe is the Founder and Managing Director of Master Frontiers Consulting, a firm that capacitates leaders and managers to achieve business goals through their people. He worked previously as a Researcher at Shanduka Black Umbrellas, a flagship enterprise and supplier development programme of the Shanduka Foundation.

He has been received numerous awards for excellence in leadership, such as the Sedibeng District Municipal Mayor’s Award for Service and Leadership. He is a Brand South Africa Ambassador and Read Educational Trust Ambassador.

All diplomas/certificates, B and Honours degrees in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, except B Com degrees, will be awarded during the morning ceremony at 09:00. Later, at the 14:30 ceremony, only B Com degrees in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences will be awarded.

Thursday 16 April 2015:

Multiple award winning South African TV presenter, Leanne Manas, will be the speaker at both Thursday ceremonies.

Manas has graced our screens for over a decade. Not many broadcasters can boast having had live TV experience, 5 days a week for 12 years. She is currently the anchor of SABC 2’s flagship breakfast programme, Morning Live. Leanne is a qualified Speech and Drama teacher. having studied at London Trinity College. She also has an Honours degree in English.
Diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculty of the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Communication Sciences will be awarded during the ceremony at 09:00. The 14:30 ceremony will have diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculty of the Humanities’ other qualifications except for Social Sciences and Communication Sciences.

Friday 17 April 2015:

Dr Maria Phalime will be the speaker at both ceremonies on Friday.

Phalime is a medical doctor and award-winning author. She practiced for a brief period as a general practitioner in South Africa and the United Kingdom, before leaving medical practice to pursue non-clinical interests. She has worked in trade and investment promotion, and has undertaken research and consulting in the areas of economic development and business facilitation.

Diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculty of Education (CE, NPDE and ACE excluded) will be awarded during the ceremony at 09:00. Diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculties of Health Sciences, Law, and Theology will be awarded at the 14:30 ceremony.

Click here for the simple layout of the 2015 April Graduation programme:
http://www.ufs.ac.za/adhoc-pages/2014-graduation-ceremony/graduation-ceremony

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