When biomass is used as an option and sustainable feedstock for chemical production, its chemical composition and physical residential or commercial properties are not constantly continuous, nor is energy from renewable sources consistently offered. This presents brand-new challenges for chemical process engineering, which to date has not had to deal with such fluctuations. While petrochemical processes are generally enhanced for a single operating point, circular procedures will be required in the future that can manage such variations and ensure high performance over a large operating variety.
From partial optimization to process tolerance
“Within the Research Study Training Group, we will help form this paradigm shift in chemical process engineering and establish tolerant procedures that are robust and versatile when challenged with differing operating conditions,” describes Hannsjörg Freund, Teacher for Reaction Engineering and Catalysis at the Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering and spokesperson for skill. Greater tolerance typically decreases procedure performance, which is why conquering this “Tolerance– Efficiency Issue” is the overarching objective of the skill project. The acronym stands for “Tolerant, Sustainable, Efficient: Getting Rid Of the Tolerance-Efficiency Problem for Robust and Flexible Future (Bio)Chemical Processes”.
In the very first financing phase, 18 doctoral students will perform research study on this change. In the frame of innovative tasks– for instance on the conversion of plant biomass to platform chemicals or the usage of hazardous waste streams– they will tackle the difficulties at different procedure levels. The approaches developed in the RTG will be transferable to other processes and can add to a sustainable and circular chemical market.
Strong research study environment
TALENT is hosted at the Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering, whose working groups carry out research study at the user interfaces in between chemistry, biology, chemical and bioengineering, and procedure engineering. Doctoral students gain from the researchers’ close cooperation over many years and their joint advancement and use of approaches and engineering tools. In addition, the early career scientists have the CALEDO lab facilities at TU Dortmund University at their disposal. The research structure was inaugurated at the end of 2025 and uses ideal conditions for research study into the style and innovative usage of liquid stages for environmentally friendly and unique processes in chemistry and biotechnology. Additionally, synergies exist in between the brand-new Research Training Group and large-scale international collective projects: Scientists at the Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering have been involved in research on solvent chemistry within the “RESOLV” Cluster of Quality because 2012 and at the Proving Ground Chemical Sciences and Sustainability considering that 2022. Here, the partners of the University Alliance Ruhr are pooling their top-class global research into the molecular understanding of chemical reactions, processes and products.
Participating in the brand-new RTG as task leaders, alongside Teacher Hannsjörg Freund as spokesperson, are 7 other scientists from the Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering: Dr. Marion Börnhorst (Reaction Engineering and Catalysis), Professor Alba Diéguez Alonso (Transport Processes), Teacher Norbert Kockmann (Devices Style), Teacher Sergio Lucia (Process Automation Systems), Professor Stephan Lütz (Bioprocess Engineering), Dr. Thomas Seidensticker (Technical Chemistry) and Dr. Lea Winand (Technical Biology).
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