Sustainable polymer reaction engineering for carbon circularity (SPRE4CC)

The long-term objectives for the project “Sustainable polymer reaction engineering for carbon circularity (SPRE4CC)” are (i) to substitute conventional (vinyl) polymers at industrial scale and (ii) to make the final polymer properties even superior to those of conventional (vinyl) polymers. This is done by focusing on three promising classes of sustainable monomers from the chemistry field (butyrolactones, modified esters/acrylics (bio-acrylics), and cyclic ketene acetals) and combining experimental and modeling skills from the engineering field in a unique manner. The project will transfer key fundamental knowledge and simulations-guided process design from academic lab to industrial scale, advancing the state-of-the-art of SPRE. Benefiting from the leading expertise of LCT in PRE (promotor: Prof. Dagmar R. D’hooge supported by chemistry knowledge of Dr. Mariya Edeleva) and the connection with material validation at CPMT (promotor: Prof. Ludwig Cardon) this project displays a high success rate potential. The PhD candidate possesses both experience in conducting synthesis and has acquired polymer engineering skills. Moreover, for both the chemical engineering/technology and materials science part a framing in an international context is performed, which is translated in a short research stay at University Aix-Marseille (Prof. Yohann Guillaneuf) and University of Leoben (Prof. Clemens Holzer). Main focus is on linear sustainable polymers.