Resource Recovery
This program integrates research efforts into research trains around specific issues involving researchers from different disciplines in the area of Resource Recovery (membrane technology, microbial technology, electrochemistry, chemical technology, material technology, modelling, analytical chemistry). The current 3 pipelines in this program are thematic, (advanced) technology collaborations focusing on a common waste flow which is viewed as a raw material. The goal is to carry out fundamental research that can lead to short- to medium-term applications in the chemical industry or urban environments.
- Pipeline 1: Resource Recovery from (Waste) Water - produce "fit-to-use" water from available aqueous sidestreams whilst recovering as many residues as possible and transform the latter into high-value compounds.
- Pipeline 2: CO2 to Product - CO2 in gaseous form is transformed either directly or via an aqueous phase into valuable basic chemical molecules or product groups using captation and conversion technologies.
- Pipeline 3: From Solid Plastic Waste to Chemicals - analysing the quality and purity of solid plastic waste to determine whether the waste can be recycled directly or, where this is not possible, whether it can be pyrolysed or depolymerised to obtain the chemical building blocks. In parallel research is performed in the field of "design for recycling" so that solid plastic waste can be more easily recycled in the future.