The ADREM team involves leading industries, university groups and research institutes in process intensification, catalytic reactor engineering and process control from 8 European countries. 

Delft University of Technology, Netherlands - a leading and internationally top ranked research university in engineering science & technology with a strong chemical and process engineering community.  TU Delft is represented by two groups.

The Chair of Intensified Reaction and Separations Systems (IRS, Prof. Dr. Andrzej Stankiewicz, ADREM Coordinator) is internationally recognized in the field of Process Intensification, and it develops fundamentally new methods and related equipment to influence and control molecular interactions (orientation, forces and energies) in relevant systems, such as reactions, distillation or crystallization. Intensification of chemical reactions and separations by means of alternative energy forms (such as microwaves, electric fields, plasma, light or acoustic fields) presents a significant part of the IRS research.

The Catalysis Engineering (CE) team (Prof. Dr. Freek Kapteijn; Prof. Dr. Jorge Gascon) focuses on the application of catalysis through smart engineering with a strong emphasis on the utilization of structured materials in multiphase and multifunctional operation. CE is currently one of the leading groups in the application of regular structures (monoliths) and advanced nanostructured materials (MOFs, zeolites) in catalysis, adsorptive processes and separations.

TU Delft is the project coordinator and the leader of reactor development of microwave heated catalytic systems for enhanced methane nonoxidative coupling processes. It is also involved in the development of plasma-activated catalytic systems for enhanced methane coupling processes and the catalyst development.

Johnson Matthey PLC, United Kingdom - a speciality chemicals company focused on its core skills in catalysis, precious metals, fine chemicals and process technology. Johnson Matthey's principal activities are the manufacture of autocatalysts, heavy duty diesel catalysts and pollution control systems, catalysts and components for fuel cells, catalysts and technologies for chemical processes, fine chemicals, chemical catalysts and active pharmaceutical ingredients and the marketing, refining, and fabrication of precious metals. Johnson Matthey’s participation in this project is through the Technology Centre (JMTC) based at Sonning Common in the UK. This central facility acts as a focal point for the development of new technologies into emerging market applications. Dr Peter Hinde, a Senior Scientist with experience in catalysts for vehicular exhaust emission control, reforming, photocatalysis and plasma hybrid catalysis, and Dr Stephen Poulston, a Senior Principal Scientist with experience in heterogeneous catalysis and sorbents, are participating in ADREM.

Johnson Matthey is the leader of the catalyst development and the TRL5 validation of the selected concepts.

Technip Benelux, Netherlands - a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry. In the Netherlands, Technip Benelux is active in the design engineering and construction and worldwide implementation of process plants and units in the oil & gas, refining, petrochemical and offshore industry. Technip Benelux has proprietary technologies and know-how in the field of ethylene and hydrogen/synthesis production plants. It also offers operational support services and proprietary operational software to operators of ethylene and hydrogen plants. Dr. Stéphane Walspurger, an expert in product development of hydrogen and syngas technologies, Dr. Marco van Goethem, a modelling and testing expert, and Koos Overwater, an expert in engineering and technologies related to hydrogen, syngas and ethylene production, are participating in ADREM.

Technip Benelux is the leader of the concept evaluation and selection.

Sairem SAS, France – is among the international leaders specialized in microwave and RF laboratory and industrial equipment for food processing, science and medicine. The key differentiator of Sairem’s knowledge is the ability to develop applications that cover the entire spectrum of electromagnetic energy and to scale up standard or custom made processes from laboratory up to industrial at power levels starting from a few watts up to several hundred watts. At present, Sairem is the only microwave specialist able to design custom-made components or engineering complete solutions, provide support for all aspects of customers’ go-to-market strategy, from prototype to production, select cost-effective components, test prototypes and assemblies, and manufacture the highest quality solutions. Sairem is represented in ADREM by Dr Marilena Radoiu, R&D Director with expertise in microwave-assisted plasma for pollution control, microwave assisted chemical synthesis and microwave assisted processing. 

Sairem is involved in the reactor development and in the concept evaluation and selection.

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium - a leading university with strengths in process engineering for sustainable systems. The Process Engineering for Sustainable Systems (ProcESS) research group (Prof. Georgios Stefanidis) in the Chemical Engineering Department works in the domain of Process Intensification. The focus here is on the use alternative energy forms (microwaves, plasma, ultrasound and light) in chemical synthesis processes and environmental technology. Special interest is given to multiphase systems, such as heterogeneous catalysis, extraction, leaching. Both experimental and modelling approaches are applied.

KU Leven is the leader of the development of plasma-activated catalytic systems for enhanced methane coupling processes.

Ghent University, Belgium – a fast growing and internationally top ranked university with strengths in chemical reaction engineering. The Laboratory for Chemical Technology (LCT, Prof. Guy B. Martin, Prof. Mark Saeys) is a unit within the Department of Chemical Engineering (IR12), Faculty of Engineering, Ghent University. A common theme of the research projects is the development of multi-scale models of the relevant reactions and reactors with emphasis on the interaction between complex chemical kinetics and complex transport phenomena. A first principles approach is combined with experimental validation whenever possible.

Ghent University is the leader of the reactor development concept: gas–solid vortex reactor in a static geometry.

University of Zaragoza, Spain - a main centre of technological innovation in the Ebro Valley with special focus on nanosciences and chemical engineering. The Institute of Nanoscience of Aragon (INA) was founded in 2003 by the University of Zaragoza with the aim to group together the growing multidisciplinary research activity in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. The group Nanostructured Films and Particles (NFP, Prof. Dr. Jesús Santamaría, Dr. Jose Luis Hueso) is now among the leading European groups in advanced Reactor Engineering and has made significant contributions in the fields of membrane reactors, zeolite membranes, microreactors and reactor safety, including several seminal works in the development of catalytic porous membrane reactors for the optimization of the Oxidative Methane Coupling (OCM) reaction.

University of Zaragoza is involved in the reactor development of microwave heated catalytic systems for enhanced methane nonoxidative coupling processes.

TU Dortmund University, Germany – a leading German technically oriented research university with particular strengths in chemical engineering and in the operation of chemical processes. The Research Support Services Team at TU Dortmund is responsible for the project management. The office supports scientists in planning and executing European research project as well as in dissemination, exploitation and innovation management.  The activities of the Process Dynamics and Operations Group (DYN, Prof. Dr. Sebastian Engell, Dr. Weihua Gao) span from process control to operations scheduling and optimization-based process design. A distinguishing feature of the group in the context of these projects is that it defines the purpose of advanced control solutions as to improve the operation of the plant from an economic and ecologic point of view, not the control of some variables in the process. The group masters a broad set of tools to develop solutions to real control problems, including e.g. combined state and parameter estimation, online economic optimizing control, iterative data and model-based control, and robust control using a multistage stochastic approach. The DYN is involved in the concept evaluation and selection, and TRL5 validation of the selected concepts.

National Institute of Chemistry, Slovenia - a leading Slovenian institute in the basic and applied research in the fields of biotechnology, environmental protection, structural, theoretical and analytical chemistry, materials research, and especially chemical engineering. Laboratory of Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering (LCCRE, Prof. Janez Levec, Assistant Prof. Blaž Likozar) is analogously to the Institute pursuing basic and applied chemical engineering research, the main fields of expertise being in biofuel and platform chemical production (batch/continuous/intensified configurations, homogeneous/heterogeneous/enzyme-catalysed transformations, and direct lignocellulosic/direct lipid/syngas routes), pyrolysis, combustion and gasification (coal, biomass, polymer waste, etc.), hydrogen production and use (sorption-enhanced steam reforming, fuel cells, hydrogenation processes, etc.), micro-process engineering (lab-on-a-chip, adaptable micro-factories, catalyst screening, etc.), separation unit operations (distillations, extractions, absorptions, etc.), process and product modelling, sensitivity analysis, optimization, intensification and economic valorisation, as well as in reaction kinetics, transport phenomena and fluid mechanics.

National Institute of Chemistry Slovenia is the leader of a reactor development concept and also tied to dissemination and exploitation activities.

Danish Technological Institute, Denmark - the largest technological service provider in Denmark; the Institute's core business lies in providing technological services to industry, especially SMEs. The Centre for Nano and Micro Analysis has within the last five years invested heavily in the development and production of novel nanomaterials through supercritical flow synthesis using custom build supercritical fluid reactors. These can produce large volumes of nanocatalyst materials using green solvents such as water or ethanol. Zachary J. Davis, Senior Consultant, will be mainly involved in the commercial exploitation of the developed nanocatalysts through the supercritical fluid flow process. Christian Kallesøe, Product Manager, and this team will work on the development and optimization of large volume production of the nanocatalysts.

DTI is involved active in the development and pilot production of tailor made nanocatalyst materials towards the chosen methane valisorations chemistries and is involved into the validation of selected concepts.

ADREM Consortium:

Ghent, 2016.

   Brussels, 2015.