Our research: Chemical & process engineeringSustainability

Sustainability is the heart of future developments in materials and technologies, and the Sustainability research sluster underpins a variety of research areas, particularly

  • plastics
  • processing
  • energy

Sustainable plastics

Our research into sustainable plastics includes development and modelling of renewably-sourced bioplastics such as alginates, chitin and chitosan, nanocellulose-based materials, and polyhydroxyalkanoate composites for a range of applications, including compostable plastic packaging, and membrane technology.

Processing

To develop more sustainable processes, we work on minimising solvent waste in industrial pharmaceutical processing, where synthesis and isolation of pharmaceuticals generates disproportionately large volumes of hazardous waste, by recycling solvents within the process.

We are investigating the transition to greener solvents for the production of polymeric membranes, and developing green process routes using deep eutectic solvents and hydrogen vectors for manufacturing metals and alloys.

Advanced computational fluid dynamics modelling, plant-wide process simulations, and technoeconomic and environmental assessments are used to design more sustainable processes.

To become a sustainable society we must work towards net zero emissions and recycle or valorise waste materials, for example chemical recycling of waste polymers back to monomers for manufacturing new polymers.

Energy

We are developing innovate bioenergy technologies, such as clean combustion and pyrolysis, to produce, for example, liquid transportation fuels, green hydrogen, and advanced carbon materials, from waste plastic and biomass.

In addition, we use in situ measurements and imaging to analyse combustion, which is necessary to adapt combustion systems for alternative fuels, while minimising particulate emissions that are harmful to the climate and human health. We welcome collaborations with other researchers and industry partners to ensure our innovative work has real-world impact.

Meet the team

Dr Paul Mulheran smiling at the camera

Dr Paul Mulheran

I use the ARCHIE-WeSt supercomputer to model materials evolution. Current projects include PhD studentships on modeling the formation of porous organic gels for use as adsorbents and electrode materials.

Karen Johnston smiling at the camera

Dr Karen Johnston

My research focuses on modelling materials with interfaces, including polymer composites and polymer thin films, using a combination of quantum mechanics and classical molecular dynamics simulations.

Xiaolei Zhang

Dr Xiaolei Zhang

We work on production of advanced carbon-based materials including carbon nanotubes and mesoporous carbon from waste including plastics. Also, we work on biochar and its utilisation, activation, and functionalisation. Our work focuses on mechanism and kinetics investigation from an atomic or molecular level using Density Functional Theory and Molecular Dynamics.

Dr Jun Li smiling at the camera

Dr Jun Li

I am interested in enabling wider use of waste streams as a sustainable resource to cost-effectively produce energy and fuels, including clean bioenergy technologies, production of renewable hydrogen/hydrogen-rich syngas, decarbonising energy/chemical systems, as well as advanced computational fluid dynamics modelling of multiphase reacting fluids.

Dragos Neagu

Dr Dragos Neagu

Our focus is on electrochemical and membrane-based energy conversion devices for carbon dioxide conversion to fuels and green hydrogen production, including electrolysers, fuel cells and membrane reactors.

Dr Iain Burns smiling at the camera

Dr Iain Burns

I'm interested in laser imaging of reacting flows applied to emissions reduction from combustion. Techniques include laser-induced incandescence; laser-induced fluorescence; cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy; cavity ring-down spectroscopy. 

Chris Price smiling at the camera

Prof Chris Price

I’m working on developing technologies for continuous purification and isolation of active pharmaceutical ingredients with physical attributes suitable for continuous formulation to drug products.

Vitor Magueijo smiling at the camera

Dr Vitor Magueijo

My current research activities comprise the production of polymeric membranes using green solvents, the manufacture of biocomposite materials and the use of deep eutectic solvents for carbon capture.

sudipta roy smiling at the camera

Professor Sudipta Roy

I'm interested in the areas of electrochemical engineering and electrochemistry. The research encompasses new engineering novel chemistry and materials for electrochemical energy devices, like batteries, capacitors, and fuel cells.