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NWO Vici for Atsushi Urakawa and Valeria Garbin

Valeria Garbin and Atsushi Urakawa each have obtained an NWO Vici grant of 1.5 M Euro. This is a highly competitive and prestigious grant, which will enable them to develop an innovative line of research and further expand their own research group for a period of five years. Vici is one of the largest personal scientific grants in the Netherlands and is aimed at advanced researchers. Learn more about their research. Flow physics of Pickering emulsion reactors for sustainable chemical conversion This project aims to unravel the flow physics of multicomponent, multiphase systems with complex interfaces, which are of emerging interest in areas ranging from advanced materials, to chemical conversion, to airborne disease transmission. These systems straddle the frontier between the field of fluid mechanics, where multicomponent systems are an emerging topic, and the field of colloid & interface science, where complex interfaces formed by surfactants, proteins or colloids can completely govern the overall flow behaviour. Understanding the role of complex interfaces on multicomponent, multiphase fluid mechanics is a formidable challenge because these systems are extremely complex, their phenomenology is very rich, and quantitative measurements are difficult. To overcome this challenge, we will develop a new interdisciplinary approach pushing the boundaries of fluid mechanics, colloid & interface science, and soft matter. Building on the latest advances in these fields, we will develop and integrate novel experimental approaches including in-situ, real-time visualization of concentration fields and advanced microstructure imaging, combined with multiscale modelling. Dr. Valeria Garbin V.Garbin@tudelft.nl As proof of principle, we will apply this new approach to the case of Pickering emulsions for chemical conversion. These water/organic emulsions stabilized by solid particles hold exciting potential as platforms for sustainable chemical processing, promising higher conversion rates and selectivity, and easier catalyst recovery. Despite promising lab-scale findings, industry-scale application of Pickering emulsions is hampered by the current lack of understanding of the flow physics involved. Our new approach will fill this gap in our fundamental description of Pickering emulsion reactors, enabling the development of mechanistic models to predict reactor performance which underpins the future design of a full-scale Pickering emulsion reactor. Operando description of catalytic activity from the reactor-scale gradients Heterogeneous catalysis plays vital roles in the production of chemicals and fuels, environmental protection and as enabler of future technologies towards sustainable and circular development. Innovative catalytic technologies are widely developed; however only a minute fraction of such technologies sees the commercial light after a long R&D of a few decades. With pressing environmental and energy issues we face, acceleration of these technology development and transfer steps are crucial. One major obstacle for this step is the complexity of catalytic processes occurring on different length scales varying from atomic to reactor scales. Ideally, catalytic performance (activity and selectivity) is precisely understood qualitatively in terms of reaction mechanism and quantitatively in terms of intrinsic reaction kinetics. With this information, in theory we can rationally propose novel materials and optimal reaction conditions and reactor types, leading to speed-up and higher success probability of commercialisation. Prof. Atsushi Urakawa A.Urakawa@tudelft.nl With this background, this project aims at methodological development towards acceleration of rational catalytic material and process design based on the information about physicochemical gradients present in catalytic reactors such as the gradients of fluid concentration, catalyst state, type and concentration of surface species, and temperature on the reactor scale. Two operando infrared (IR) spectroscopic methods will be developed; far-IR spectroscopy to study critical steps and chemical bonds during catalytic transformation, and IR emission spectroscopy to study active surface sites/species at high temperatures. Furthermore, by means of operando UV-Vis-NIR hyperspectral imaging, fluid concentration, redox state of active metal and support materials and their spatiotemporal gradients will be elucidated. Combining with the gradient information gained by complementary analytical techniques (e.g. spatiotemporal gas sampling, temperature measurements, electronic/geometric structure analysis), catalytic reaction mechanisms and kinetics will be investigated for CO oxidation, CO 2 conversion and methane activation as important case studies. Read here what more is written about it

TU Delft crowns best climate and energy publication

Een algoritme dat voor een hogere energieopbrengst van windparken zorgt én een onderzoek waaruit blijkt dat niet alleen brandstofverbruik maar ook seizoenseffecten een belangrijke rol spelen bij het optimaliseren van vliegroutes en vlieghoogtes. Dit zijn – in één zin samengevat – de twee grote winnende publicaties van de Beste Climate & Energy Paper Award. De awardceremonie, die woensdag 15 maart plaatsvond op de TU Delft, stond volledig in het teken van grote en kleine innovaties die een bijdrage leveren aan het versnellen van de energietransitie en het beteugelen van klimaatverandering.

TU Delft presents the eight best Climate Action & Energy Papers

Record temperatures, floodings and melting sea ice: radical weather events are becoming more frequent and have a devastating effect on our planet and our lives. By accelerating the energy transition and climate action TU Delft, together with its partners, tries to prevent climate change and contain its consequences. With the election of the Best Climate & Energy Paper, TU Delft is highlighting a number of large and small innovations that contribute to this.

Vici for Valeria Garbin, Simon Gröblacher and Atsushi Urakawa

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded Delft researchers Valeria Garbin, Simon Gröblacher and Atsushi Urakawa a Vici grant of up to 1.5 million euros. This will enable the laureates to develop an innovative line of research and further expand their own research group for a period of five years. Vici is one of the largest personal scientific grants in the Netherlands and is aimed at advanced researchers.

3mE wins both second and fourth place in Best Tech-idea 2022

3mE researchers won second and fourth place in the Best Tech-idea 2022 competition run by Dutch science magazine, ‘KIJK’. Second place was awarded to Willem Haverkort for his work on hydrogen-production using membraneless electrolysis and fourth place goes to Farbod Alijani for his research on the use of graphene in detecting antibiotic resistant bacteria. More efficient hydrogen production Hydrogen-production by Electrolysis without using a membrane is an idea that won 3mE’s Willem Haverkort second prize in the ‘Best Tech-idea 2022’ competition run by the popular Dutch science magazine, ‘Kijk.’ “In electrolysis you make hydrogen and oxygen by applying a voltage to a salt-water mixture between two electrodes,” explains Haverkort. “This produces hydrogen at one end, and oxygen at the other end and usually there’s a membrane to stop them mixing and forming an explosive gas.” But using a membrane reduces energy efficiency by increasing resistance. So Haverkort has developed a different way to keep the hydrogen and oxygen separate using a flow system: “You make the water flow through the electrodes in opposite directions, so that the gases move away from each other without fear of them mixing.” This means that you can place the electrodes much closer together, reducing the resistance by a factor of ten, meaning more hydrogen for less energy and at lower costs. J.W. (Willem) Haverkort +31 15 27 86651 J.W.Haverkort@tudelft.nl Using graphene to listen to bacteria 3mE’s Farbod Alijani also appeared in the ‘Best Tech-idea 2022’ listing, coming in at fourth place, for his work on the use of graphene to ‘listen to bacteria’ in order to detect whether or not they are still living. Graphene is a form of carbon made up of extremely thin layers - just one-atom thick - which are very sensitive to external forces. By making a sort of ‘drum-skin’ of graphene, Alijani has been able to detect the tiniest of sounds, including the vibrations of a single living bacterium. This device can therefore be used to tell whether bacteria are still alive or not, which has great potential for health care in helping scientists detect which types of bacteria are antibiotic resistant and which are not. More KIJK Magazine - Beste Tech Idee 2022 (Dutch) Design of membraneless gas-evolving flow-through porous electrodes Dr. F. Alijani +31 15 27 86739 F.Alijani@tudelft.nl

NWO Open Technology funding to produce a versatile acid sustainably

The NWO has awarded over 5.3 million euros to six projects through the Open Technology Programme, including the research of Ludovic Jourdin to make products from CO2 and renewable electricity, based on a versatile acid. Apart from the NWO funding, companies and other organisations involved invest 1.1 million euros into the projects.

Events

May

16

Climate Action Programme lecture Herman Russchenberg
21

e-Refinery National Symposium on Electrochemical Conversion

June

13

Climate Action Programme lecture Regional Sea Level Rise
27

Van 't Hoff Lecture 2024: Decarbonization Potential of Industrial Process Heat by Electrification

September

04
06

The 28th Thermodynamics Conference