Cluster Highlights
Transforming Used Cooking Oil into Chemical Building Blocks
Worldwide, 119 million tons of used vegetable oil are generated annually, mostly from commercial kitchens. Although some is converted to biodiesel, researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) have now developed a catalyst to convert this waste into primary amines, essential compounds in pharmaceuticals and daily-use products. Doctoral student Fairoosa Poovan, under Prof. Matthias Beller, uses a cobalt-based catalyst to create these valuable chemicals with greater efficiency than conventional methods.
The catalyst enables a one-step process that minimizes resources and works at lower temperatures, making it a more sustainable alternative to traditional synthesis routes. This approach not only retains the carbon in a usable form but also supports circular carbon economy goals, as the team collaborates with the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg to find additional applications for bio-based wastes.
Dissolution of polyamide with cavitation bubbles in preparation for miniplants – an interdisciplinary collaboration of Process Systems Engineering with Soft Matter Physics
Plastics, although with many advantages, also cause problems like environmental pollution and ongoing extraction of fossil resources. Great reductions in environmental impact can be made by recycling polyamides (PAs) used in fishing nets, automobile parts, textiles, carpets, foils etc. since they are especially resource intensive in their production compared to other polymers.
In a joint cooperation of Process Systems Engineering atMax Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systemsand Soft Matter Physics atOtto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburgwe are investigating a solvent-based recycling method for PAs. We could observe cavitation bubbles caused by ultrasonic treatment to significantly enhance the dissolution rate of the polymer. Additionally, we are investigating process parameters relevant for industrial scale up making recycling even more sustainable without compromising on the quality of recovered PA.
Digital twins in Power-to-X technologies for improving conversion processes of renewable energies
A digital twin bi-directionally links a physical plant to a real-time simulation, enabling safer, more efficient and sustainable operations. In Power-to-X (PtX) technologies, digital twins are designed to operate reactors autonomously, converting renewable energy such as wind into chemical fuels that can be stored for later use. This is particularly important in offshore scenarios, where optimal operation is more challenging due to fluctuating conditions and the need for real-time adjustments.
To advance digital twins for PtX processes, the CSC group (Dr. Ion Victor Gosea and Prof. Dr. Peter Benner) and the PSE group (Luisa Peterson and Prof. Dr. Kai Sundmacher) are collaborating as part of the SmartProSys Cluster of Excellence Initiative on advanced computational tools. Conventional models based on physical principles are often too slow for real-time optimization and control, so surrogate models are used instead. These models approximate detailed simulations at much lower computational cost, allowing effective reactor management even under fluctuating power conditions.
Luisa Peterson, Ion Victor Gosea, Peter Benner, Kai Sundmacher, Digital twins in process engineering: An overview on computational and numerical methods,Computers & Chemical Engineering,Volume 193, 2025, 108917, ISSN 0098-1354
Innovative microwave heating for energy-intensive thermal production processes
Around 19 percent of Germany's overall energy demand is currently used to provide process heat. Most of the required energy is obtained from the burning of fossil fuels. Scientists investigate how energy consumption of large-scale processes can be reduced and additionally substituted by green alternatives.
Process engineers at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg are using innovative microwave technology to make energy-intensive production processes more environmentally friendly and efficient. An example is the pyrolysis of plastics. As the electricity required to operate the microwave reactor comes from renewable energy sources, the process heat is 100% CO2 emission-free. The high energy densities also allow for enormous process intensification, which further reduces overall energy consumption. The research project is part of the SmartProSys Cluster of Excellence Initiative.
Dr.-Ing. Nicole Vorhauer-Huget and Prof. Christof Hamel (University of Magdeburg), together with partners from Technische Universität Dortmund (Prof. Alba Dieguez Alonso) and Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Dr. Jan Barowski) are investigating whether the extremely rapid volumetric heating in endothermic thermochemical conversion processes has an effect on reaction pathways.
