Current research activities include catalyst technology as well as processes which involve a combination of both reaction and separation. This work extends to the development and application of structured reactors as well as interest in the modelling of catalytic processes, especially reaction kinetics.
Organocatalysis is a growing area of interest for pharmaceutical application because the use of heavy metals is avoided in catalytic C-C, C-O and C-N bond forming reactions. An area of increased activity is electrochemical engineering including fuel cells technology.
The environment, energy and the incorporation of green technology also figures prominently in a number of research projects.
Current projects include:
- Novel magnetically separable palladium catalysts for fine chemicals
- Novel hydrophobic nitration and esterification catalysts based on mesoporous silicas
- Sorption-enhanced process for lowtemperature hydrogen production
- 2-D modelling of combined reaction and separation for exothermic systems
- Modelling potentials, concentrations and current densities in 3-D electrodes for metal recovery from dilute liquid effluents
- Improved VOC abatement through combined reaction and separation
- Kinetic and mechanistic studies of Pdcatalyzed amination of aryl halides
- Amino acid mediated transformations
- Metathesis of functionalised olefins by immobilised ruthenium catalyst
- Combined reaction calorimetry/IR spectroscopy as a tool for rapid evaluation of kinetic data
- Reaction engineering of methane indirect internal steam reforming in relation to solid oxide fuel cells
- Hollow fibre solid oxide fuel cells
- Carbon-air fuel cells
- Meso-scale modelling of CO oxidation in porous Pt/Al2O3 catalyst
- Stochastic based reconstruction of catalyst washcoat microstructure
- Development and application of novel ceramic hollow fibre membranes for reaction/separation
- Green oxidation using in-situ generated hydrogen peroxide