21^st century is going to be characterized as a transition period from a fossil past to a renewable future. Our goal is to aid towards bringing sustainable, low carbon technologies into the market. The group uses a combination of computational and experimental methods to aid towards this transition. SuPSE adopts a holistic view and a systems thinking framework to understand complex process systems. Generated results are of primary importance to facilitate decision- and policy-making for emerging technologies.

When developing new technologies, it is important to determine any technical, economic and environmental barriers and consider their implications on the technology design. SuPSE addresses these by developing software based chemical process simulations, process cost estimations and sustainability indicators from an early stage in the technology development. In this way, the feasibility of a particular process or technology can be determined, evaluations between project alternatives can be made and optimization of the design can be performed. Results of these analyses often lead back to the lab for examining new potential pathways that can lead to further optimization of the processes, as indicated by the models, and for producing new data that can be then used as inputs for improving the models.

 

Current research includes:

• Process modeling, TEA and LCA of Hydrothermal Liquefaction technology.
• Integration of Hydrothermal Liquefaction in wastewater treatment facilities.
• Thermochemical and electrochemical upgrading of biocrude.
• Hydrothermal liquefaction of a variety of biomass and waste feedstock and reaction kinetics derivation.
• Activated carbons from Hydrothermal Liquefaction solids and other waste material for wastewater treatment.
• Hydrothermal Liquefaction process water valorization.

Experimental work related to HTL research is in close collaboration with the Hydrothermal Processing group.