22, Chemical Process Engineering

In the Faculty of Production Engineering the Chemical Process Engineering (CVT) research group is dedicated to processes in separation technology, reaction engineering and electrochemistry, to investigate heat and mass transfer phenomena as well as structure-effect relationships to recover valuable materials and save energy. In doing so, researchers are just as interested in gaining fundamental knowledge as in developing sustainable technologies in cooperation with industrial users. Results from both areas are incorporated into teaching of CVT. The research group is headed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. J. Thöming, who is also the Managing Director of the Centre for Environmental Research and Sustainable Technologies (UFT).

Current questions in research of the department deal with:

• Reaction engineering - a focus here is placed on development of novel processes for chemical energy conversion as well as storage;
• methods of electrochemistry, which are used to analyse corrosion of micro- and nanoparticles as well as to evaluate nanomaterials in their environmental friendliness;
• separation technology - new methods are developed for gas separation as well as electrokinetic fractionation of micro- and nanoparticles from colloidal solutions and for material recovery;
• Upcycling - how effectively can residual materials be used to manufacture high-quality products? As an example, insulating materials are developed based on slags and paper dust.