Process Intensification

Work across all areas of process intensification in chemical engineering. Our research activities include:

• oscillatory baffled reactors (OBRs)
• biodiesel and biofuel production
• spinning disc reactors
• polymerisation
• nanoparticle production
• crystallisation
• organic catalysis
• High-G separation technology (rotating packed beds)
• CO2 sequestration
• pyrolysis and gasification
• plasma reactors
• intensified bioreactors
• microreactors
• compact heat exchangers
• heat pipes
• catalytic plate reactors
• fluidic oscillators
• materials structuring
• carrier-mediated separations
• membrane modules/reactors
• high shear mixing devices (eg Taylor-Couette reactors)
• tissue engineering and in vitro organ engineering

Live projects

Completed projects: from 2014

2019

• Ahmad Z., Kadir N.N.A., Bahadori A., Zhang J. Optimization study on the CO2 and H2S removal in natural gas using primary, secondary, tertiary and mixed amine. AIP Conference Proceedings 2085(1) (2019) 020060
• Ahmed SMR, Phan AN, Harvey AP. Scale-Up of Gas-Liquid Mass Transfer in Oscillatory Multiorifice Baffled Reactors (OMBRs). Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. (2019) Article In-Press. DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.8b04883
• Al-Hatrooshi A.S., Eze V.C., Harvey A.P. Production of biodiesel from waste shark liver oil for biofuel applications. Renewable Energy 145 (2020) 99-105
• Al-Saadi, LS, Alegria A, Eze VC, Harvey AP. Rapid screening of an acid-catalyzed triglyceride transesterification in a mesoscale reactor. Chemical Engineering and Technology 42(3) (2019) 539 -548
• Al-Saadi L.S., Eze V.C., Harvey A.P. A reactive coupling process for co-production of solketal and biodiesel. Green Processing and Synthesis 8(1) (2019) 516-524
• Chen Q., Yang H., Li R., Xiu W.Z., Han R., Sun Q.C., Zivkovic V. Compaction and dilatancy of irregular particles avalanche flow in rotating drum operated in slumping regime. Powder Technology (2019)
• Cong L.W., Bahadori A., Zhang J., Ahmad Z. Prediction of Water Quality Index (WQI) using Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Least Square-Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM). International Journal of River Basin Management (2019) 1-15
• Dai X, Du Y, Yang J, Wang D, Gu J, Li Y, Wang S, Xu BB, Kong J. Recoverable and selfhealing electromagnetic wave absorbing nanocomposites. Composites Science and Technology 174 (2019) 27-32
• Díaz V.H.G., Willis M.J. Ethanol production using Zymomonas mobilis: Development of a kinetic model describing glucose and xylose co-fermentation. Biomass and Bioenergy 123 (2019) 41-50
• Díaz V.H.G., Willis M.J. On the economic optimisation of ethanol production using corn stover feedstock: A new kinetic model, a green recovery system and a de-acetylation step. Energy Conversion and Management 202 (2019) 1112200
• Duong L.T., Prasertcharoensuk P., Phan A.N. Biofuel Production from Lignocellulosic Feedstock via Thermochemical Routes. Liquid Biofuel Production (2019) 89-166
• Durkin A., Taptygin I., Kong Q., Gunam Resul M.F.M., Rehman A., Fernandez M.L., Harvey A.P., Shah N., Guo M. Scale‐up and Sustainability Evaluation of Biopolymer Production from Citrus Waste Offering Carbon Capture and Utilisation Pathway [Front Cover]. Chemistry Open 8(6) (2019) 668-688
• Ekins-Coward T, Boodhoo K, Velasquez-Orta S, Caldwell G, Wallace A, Barton R, Flickinger MC. A microalgae biocomposite-integrated Spinning Disc Bioreactor (SDBR): Towards a scaleable engineering approach for bioprocess intensification in light-driven CO2 absorption applications. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. (2019). Article In-Press. DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.8b05487
• Feng R, Ramchandani N, Salih NM, Lim XYE, Tan SWB, Lee LY, Khean Teoh S, Sharratt PN, Boodhoo K. Process intensification strategies and sustainability analysis for amidation processing in the pharmaceutical industry. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 58(11) (2019) 4656-4666
• Hernandez-Garcia A, Velasquez-Orta SB, Novelo E, Yanez-Noguez I, Monje-Ramirez I, Orta Ledesma MT. Wastewater-leachate treatment by microalgae: Biomass, carbohydrate and lipid production. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 174 (2019) 435-444
• Idrees M, Liu L, Batool S, Luo H, Liang J, Xu BB, Wang S, Kong J. Cobalt-doping enhancing electrochemical performance of silicon/carbon nanocomposite as highly efficient anode materials in Lithium-ion batteries. ES Energy & Environment (2019) DOI: 10.30919/es8d798
• Laybourn A, Lopez-Fernandez AM, Thomas-Hillman I, Katrib J, Lewis W, Dodds C, Harvey AP, Kingman SW. Combining continuous flow oscillatory baffled reactors and microwave heating: Process intensification and accelerated synthesis of metal-organic frameworks. Chemical Engineering Journal 356 (2019) 170-177
• Livotov P, Sekaran APC, Law R, Reay D. Systematic Innovation in Processing Engineering: Linking TRIZ and Process Intensification. In: Advances in Systematic Creativity, pp. 27-44 (2019)
• Livotov P, Sekaran APC, Mas'udah, Law R, Reay D, Sarsenova A, Sayyareh S. Eco-innovation in process engineering: Contradictions, inventive principles and methods. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 9 (2019) 52-65
• McDonough J.R., Ahmed S.M.R., Phan A.N., Harvey A.P. The development of helical vortex pairs in oscillatory flows–A numerical and experimental study. Chemical Engineering and Processing-Process Intensification 143 (2019) 107588
• McDonough JR, Murta S, Law R, Harvey AP. Oscillatory fluid motion unlocks plug flow operation in helical tube reactors at lower Reynolds numbers (Re ≤ 10). Chemical Engineering Journal 358 (2019) 643-657
• McDonough JR, Oates MF, Law R, Harvey AP. Micromixing in oscillatory baffled flows. Chemical Engineering Journal 361 (2019) 508-518
• McDonough JR, Law R, Reay DA, Zivkovic V. Fluidization in small-scale gas-solid 3D-printed fluidized beds. Chemical Engineering Science 200 (2019) 294-309
• Miao P, Cheng K, Li H, Gu J, Chen K, Wang S, Wang D, Liu T, Xu B, Kong J. Poly(dimethylsiylene)diacetylene-guided ZIF-based heterostructures of full Ku-band electromagnetic wave adsorption. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 11 (2019) 19
• Mustaffar A, Phan A, Reay D, Boodhoo K. Concentric annular heat pipe characterization analysis for drying application. Appled Thermal Engineering 149 (2019) 275-286
• Nava Bravo I, Velasquez-Orta SB, Cuevas-Garcia R, Monje-Ramirez I, Harvey A, Orta Ledesma MT. Bio-crude oil production using catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) from native microalgae harvested by ozone-flotation. Fuel 241 (2019) 255-263
• Okoro V., Azimov U., Munoz J., Hernandez H.H., Phan A.N. Microalgae cultivation and harvesting: Growth performance and use of flocculants—A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 115 (2019) 109364
• Okot D, Bilsborrow PE, Phan AN. Briquetting characteristics of bean straw-maize cob blend. Biomass and Bioenergy 126 (2019) 150-158
• Oliveira GA, Monje-Ramirez I, Carissimi E, Rodrigues RT, Velasquez-Orta SB, Mejia ACC, Ledesma MTO. The effect of bubble size distribution in the release of microalgae proteins by ozone-flotation. Separation and Purification Technology 211 (2019) 340-347
• Prasertcharoensuk P, Bull SJ, Phan AN. Gasification of waste biomass for hydrogen production: Effects of pyrolysis parameters. Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 112-120
• Rehman A., Eze VC, Gunam Resul MFM, Harvey A. Kinetics and mechanistic investigation of epoxide/CO2 cycloaddition by a synergistic catalytic effect of pyrrolidinopyridinium iodide and zinc halides. Journal of Energy Chemistry 29 (2019) 126-133
• Rehman A., Gunam Resul M.F.M., Eze V.C., Harvey A. A kinetic study of Zn halide/TBAB-catalysed fixation of CO2 with styrene oxide in propylene carbonate. Green Processing and Synthesis 8(1) (2019) 719-729
• Rehman A., Lopez Fernandez AM, Gunam Resul MFM, Harvey A. Highly selective, sustainable synthesis of limonene cyclic carbonate from bio-based limonene oxide and CO2: A kinetic study. Journal of CO2 Utilization 29 (2019) 126-133
• Saleem F., Harris J., Zhang K., Harvey A. Non-thermal plasma as a promising route for the removal of tar from the product gas of biomass gasification—A critical review. Chemical Engineering Journal (2019) 122761
• Saleem F., Harvey A., Zhang K. Low temperature conversion of toluene to methane using dielectric barrier discharge reactor. Fuel 248 (2019) 258-261
• Saleem F., Kennedy J., Dahiru U.H., Zhang K., Harvey A. Methane conversion to H2 and higher hydrocarbons using Non-thermal plasma dielectric barrier discharge reactor. Chemical Engineering and Processing-Process Intensification (2019) 107557
• Saleem F, Zhang K, Harvey AP. Decomposition of benzene as a tar analogue in CO2 and H2 carrier gases, using a non-thermal plasma. Chemical Engineering Journal 360 (2019) 714-720
• Saleem F., Zhang K., Harvey A. Direct Conversion of Benzene as a Tar Analogue to Methane Using Non-thermal Plasma. Energy & fuels 33(3) (2019) 2598-2601
• Saleem F, Zhang K, Harvey AP. Plasma-assisted decomposition of a biomass gasification tar analogue into lower hydrocarbons in a synthetic product gas using a dielectric barrier discharge reactor. Fuel 235 (2019) 1412-1419
• Saleem F, Zhang K, Harvey AP. Removal of toluene as a tar analogue in a N2 carrier gas using a non-thermal plasma dielectric barrier discharge reactor. Energy and Fuels 33(1) (2019) 389-396
• Saleem F, Zhang K, Harvey AP. Temperature dependence of non-thermal plasma assisted hydrocracking of toluene to lower hydrocarbons in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor. Chemical Engineering Journal 356 (2019) 1062-1069
• Sana S, Boodhoo K, Zivkovic V. Production of starch nanoparticles through solvent-antisolvent precipitation in a spinning disc reactor. Green Processing and Synthesis 8 (2019) 510-518
• Tian Y., Zhang J., Chen L., Geng Y., Wang X. Selective Ensemble Based on Extreme Learning Machine for Sensor-Based Human Activity Recognition. Sensors 19(16) (2019) 3468
• Tian Y., Zhang J., Chen L., Geng Y., Wang Z. Single wearable accelerometer-based human activity recognition via kernel discriminant analysis and QPSO-KELM classifier. IEEE Access 7 (2019) 109216-109227
• Tsu J, Diaz VHG, Willis MJ. Computational approaches to kinetic model selection. Computers and Chemical Engineering 121 (2019) 618-632
• Velasquez-Orta SB, Heidrich O, Graham DW. Energy use and carbon emissions across a English wastewater network. Institute of Water Journal 3 (2019) 17-23
• Vilardi G., Stoller M., Di Palma L., Boodhoo K., Verdone N. Metallic iron nanoparticles intensified production by Spinning Disk Reactor: optimization and fluid dynamics modelling. Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification (2019) 107683
• Walls L.E., Velasquez-Orta S.B., Romero-Frasca E., Leary P., Noguez I.Y. Orta Ledesma M.T. Non-sterile heterotrophic cultivation of native wastewater yeast and microalgae for integrated municipal wastewater treatment and bioethanol production. Biochemical Engineering Journal 151 (2019) 107319
• Wang C, Xu BB, Terry JG, Smith S, Walton AJ, Wang S, Lv H, Li Y. Flexible, strain gated logic transducer arrays enabled by initializing surface instability on elastic bilayers. APL Materials 7 (2019) 031509
• Wang S, Lee W, Li C, Kuan B, Burke N, Patel J. Pyrolysis of natural gas—An investigation of effects of process variables and reactor materials on the product gas compositions. Chemical Engineering & Technology (2019) DOI: 10.1002/ceat.201800267
• Xu Y, Zhang Y, Wang S, Xu J, Yang C. Conformation-induced separation of 3-Chloropropene from 1-Chloropropane through nanoporous monolayer graphenes. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (2019) DOI: 10.1039/C9CP00137A
• Zhao J, Gulan U, Horie T, Ohmura N, Han J, Yang C, Kong J, Wang S, Xu BB. Advances in Biological Liquid Crystals. Small (2019) DOI: 10.1002/smll.201900019
• Zhu C., Zhang J. Developing Soft Sensors for Polymer Melt Index in an Industrial Polymerization Process using Deep Belief Networks. International Journal of Automation and Computing (2019)