Focus professorship in ‘Technical Sustainability’ at the H-BRS

Research focus

The research group’s current focus is on the material utilisation of biomass. Plant-based raw materials and residues can play an important role if the chemical industry is to become less dependent on fossil raw materials in future. Their efficient utilisation is therefore a key component of the sustainability and resilience of the chemical industry.

However, existing biorefineries are still reaching their limits: Some of the processes require a great deal of energy, cannot process every raw material equally effectively, and the degradation processes are not always adequately controlled.

This is precisely where the joint research by Schulze and Williams comes in.

They are examining these challenges from a chemical and engineering perspective, utilising modern chemical-analytical techniques as well as machine and deep learning methods.

The research combines resource efficiency and the circular economy with issues relating to sustainability in the industry and bioeconomy. The aim is to contribute to the development of bio-based value chains and to open up new avenues for more resource-efficient chemical production.

Combining research and industrial practice

Collaboration with companies plays an important role. The Chair collaborates both with internationally active chemical companies and with regional small and medium-sized enterprises. This enables issues arising from industrial practice to be incorporated into research and research findings to be further developed under conditions relevant to real-world applications.

This collaboration supports the transfer of knowledge between the university and industry and creates opportunities for the development of processes and products that promote sustainability.

Research infrastructure at the Rheinbach campus

A further aim of the Chair is to further develop the interdisciplinary expertise and research infrastructure at the Rheinbach campus. Ever since the establishment of the Polymer Materials Competence Platform in 2007, H-BRS has possessed extensive expertise in the material and energy utilisation of renewable raw materials.

The chair builds on this foundation. The expansion of the laboratories at the Centre of Applied Research (ZAF) and the establishment of a pilot plant play an important role. There, chemical and process engineering procedures are to be scaled up from laboratory to pilot scale and investigated under conditions that more closely resemble real-world scenarios. This applies, amongst other things, to biomass and hydrogen research.

Driving forward the transformation of chemistry together

“We applied jointly for the Chair in Technical Sustainability: Firstly, because we are both driven by the topic of transformation in chemistry and want to advance it in teaching and research with a wealth of experience and fresh ideas. We are delighted that our application was successful,” say Prof. Dr Margit Schulze and Prof. Dr Marc Williams.

The Chair focuses on how chemical industrial production can be made more climate-friendly and resource-efficient in the long term. The combination of expertise in chemistry and engineering creates opportunities for new research projects and the development of technologies that promote sustainability.