When biomass is utilized as an alternative and sustainable feedstock for chemical production, its chemical structure and physical residential or commercial properties are not constantly consistent, nor is energy from renewable sources regularly available. This presents brand-new difficulties for chemical procedure engineering, which to date has not needed to deal with such changes. While petrochemical processes are typically optimized for a single operating point, circular procedures will be required in the future that can handle such fluctuations and guarantee high efficiency over a large operating range.
From partial optimization to procedure tolerance
“Within the Research Training Group, we will assist form this paradigm shift in chemical process engineering and develop tolerant processes that are robust and versatile when confronted with varying operating conditions,” describes Hannsjörg Freund, Teacher for Response Engineering and Catalysis at the Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering and representative for TALENT. Greater tolerance generally reduces procedure performance, which is why conquering this “Tolerance– Effectiveness Issue” is the overarching objective of the TALENT job. The acronym means “Tolerant, Sustainable, Efficient: Conquering the Tolerance-Efficiency Predicament for Robust and Flexible Future (Bio)Chemical Procedures”.
In the first funding phase, 18 doctoral students will conduct research study on this transformation. In the frame of ingenious tasks– for instance on the conversion of plant biomass to platform chemicals or the utilization of hazardous waste streams– they will take on the difficulties at numerous procedure levels. The methods established in the RTG will be transferable to other procedures and can add to a sustainable and circular chemical industry.
Strong research environment
Skill is hosted at the Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering, whose working groups conduct research study at the interfaces in between chemistry, biology, chemical and bioengineering, and procedure engineering. Doctoral trainees benefit from the scientists’ close partnership over many years and their joint development and use of techniques and engineering tools. In addition, the early career scientists have the CALEDO laboratory infrastructure at TU Dortmund University at their disposal. The research study building was inaugurated at the end of 2025 and provides ideal conditions for research study into the style and ingenious use of liquid stages for environmentally friendly and unique processes in chemistry and biotechnology. Additionally, synergies exist in between the brand-new Research study Training Group and massive global collaborative tasks: Researchers at the Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering have actually been involved in research on solvent chemistry within the “RESOLV” Cluster of Excellence considering that 2012 and at the Research Center Chemical Sciences and Sustainability since 2022. Here, the partners of the University Alliance Ruhr are pooling their top-class worldwide research study into the molecular understanding of chemical reactions, procedures and items.
Taking part in the new RTG as job leaders, alongside Teacher Hannsjörg Freund as spokesperson, are seven other scientists from the Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering: Dr. Marion Börnhorst (Reaction Engineering and Catalysis), Teacher Alba Diéguez Alonso (Transportation Procedures), Teacher Norbert Kockmann (Devices Design), Professor 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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