Profile & expertise
Ghent University offers high-quality, research-based education in all academic disciplines. The mission of open and democratic education is realized by the availability of social facilities and professional guidance concerning the study career. With a view to cooperation in research and scientific service, numerous research groups, centres and institutes have been founded over the years. Several of them are renowned worldwide, in various scientific disciplines. Ghent University invests an annual amount of more than 175 million euro in research projects on behalf of public and private partners.
The Laboratory for Chemical Technology (LCT) of Ghent University conducts both fundamental and applied research in the field of chemical engineering. The challenge for chemical engineers is to bridge the gap between molecule and industrial plant. LCT is one of the few research centers in the world that covers the entire spectrum of competences that are needed to successfully connect molecular research to industrial chemical processes. A common feature of the research projects is the development of multi-scale models for the design of chemical products and processes. Experimental validation is performed whenever found appropriate.
LCT’s research supports society to address pressing challenges of our time. This is achieved in several ways: (i) providing the means for a transition from fossil to renewable feedstocks; (ii) developing innovative chemical technologies such as controlled radical polymerization and vortex reactor technology; (iii) introducing guidelines for new functional materials, in particular catalysts and polymers; and (iv) licensing of unique computer codes, allowing advanced process design.
LCT research is organized along five research themes The proposal relates to progress of the theme polymer design (coordinator: Prof. Dagmar R. D’hooge). This research theme aims among others at the design of new polymeric materials up to industrial scale, considering advanced multi-scale computational tools. Our goal is to take control over the entire molecular structure of individual polymer chains, taking into account economic and environmental constraints. Important aspects covered are a fundamental understanding of polymerization and depolymerization kinetics, sustainable scale-up of (de)polymerisation processes, and the detailed characterisation of polymer products so that structure-property relations can be identified.
Role in the Project
UGENT (LCT) is the academic partner with a twofold contribution. Firstly, a detailed mechanistic understanding of the depolymerization kinetics is targeted, including validation to experimental data obtained in collaboration with the industrial partners. Secondly, a leading role is taken regarding the dissemination of the research activities, including the training of next-generation scientists and employees with a career in the chemical recycling industry.
