Case study: Process Intensification Group
Process intensification – defined as “a significant reduction in the size of process equipment without affecting production targets” – can play a major role in the UK’s drive to Net Zero. Put simply, it means ‘doing the same thing’, but with process equipment 10s or 100s of times smaller, generating many benefits for industry and the environment.
The original concept was developed at ICI during the 1970s, where the goal was to reduce the capital cost of production systems.
But the benefits are far wider: process intensification can make process plants more environmentally friendly, flexible and adaptive to market demand. Lower CapEx and OpEx, reduced energy and resource use, less waste, a minimised plant footprint, safer operations and improved process control are just some of the advantages.
The Process Intensification Group
Established in 2005, Newcastle University’s Process Intensification Group – part of the School of Engineering – is leading the way in supporting industry in adopting process intensification methods and technology.
The group specialises in many areas of process intensification. These include reaction, separation and heat exchange technologies, plus the application of process intensification approaches to equipment design and process synthesis.
Carbon Capture: An example of its work is the development of Rotating Packed Bed (RPB) technology for intensified CO2 capture, which is now commercially available. It reduces the size of carbon capture columns by a factor of ~30. A conventional column might be tens of metres tall, and need substantial civil engineering support – however that need becomes redundant due to the scale of RPB technology.
The Process Intensification Group’s work has applications across all process industries, including chemical manufacturing, food and beverage processing, energy, pharmaceutical manufacturing and utilities, notably the water industry.
As one of the two collaborative partners behind the PINZ CDT along with the University of York’s Green Chemistry Centre for Excellence, the Process Intensification Group is providing a unique blend of academic expertise and state-of-the-art facilities, and enabling researchers to develop their skills at the leading edge of process industry innovation.
A hub of process intensification knowledge
Led by Professor Adam Harvey, Professor of Process Intensification at Newcastle University, the Process Intensification Group has grown from seven team members at its inception to a group of more than 60 active researchers: 18 academic staff, 10 PRDAs and more than 40 PhD students.
Companies partnering with the PINZ CDT on co-created projects can therefore tap into a deep well of process sector knowledge, spanning multiple disciplines across energy, feedstocks and data.
These areas of expertise include:
3D printing
Algae processing
Biocomposites
Biorefining
Biofuels
Brewing
Data modelling
Flow chemistry
Heat transfer
Heterogeneous catalysis
Non-thermal plasmas
Process control
Reaction engineering
Thermal management
Thermochemical processes
Waste heat recovery
Water treatment
State-of-the-art facilities
Engaging with the PINZ CDT on a project opens up a vast array of specialist equipment to industry partners, and provides access to world-leading facilities at Newcastle University.
For example, through the Process Intensification Group, researchers can access Newcastle University’s pilot plant scale rotating packed beds and CO2 absorbent screening technology: this can be of major benefit to companies working in industrial carbon capture.
Another key technology available at Newcastle University is the oscillatory baffled reactor (OBR), which is used to accommodate long residence time processes, and is a more efficient alternative to continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTRs) and plug flow reactors (PFRs). Its applications include fermentation, biodiesel production, wastewater treatment and liquid-liquid, liquid-gas and liquid-solid reactions.
Newcastle University’s OBR is part of a suite of reactor technology that includes spinning disc reactors, Multicell 8 high pressure reactors, a CoFlore agitated cell reactor, non-thermal plasma reactors, a batch photoreactor, a gas bubbling column photoreactor and a Taylor-Couette reactor.
Additional core facilities supporting the Process Intensification Group’s research include a dedicated 3d printing lab, Micro Fluidized Beds/a Micro-TORBED for CO2 adsorbent screening, foam flotation columns, a heat pipe extruder, and a comprehensive array of analytical equipment, such as UV-Vis Diffusive Reflectance Spectroscopy equipment, UV/Vis Spectrophotometers and FTIR Spectrometers.
Newcastle University also has its own student-run brewery (Europe’s first), which works in partnership with the School of Engineering to act as a research unit for sustainable brewery design. It works closely with academics from the school and other microbreweries to improve processes and share best practice.
And partnering with the PINZ CDT opens the door to Newcastle University’s wider capabilities, from specialist laboratories hosted by the North East Centre for Energy Materials (including mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy) to high performance computing for data-intensive research.
Making processes safer, cleaner and more efficient
Through its work with the PINZ CDT, the Process Intensification Group is helping a wide range of organisations – from emerging innovators to major utilities providers – advance their work and explore new solutions.
Optimizing Pulse-Jet Cleaning for Sustainable Energy: A CFD Approach to Emissions Control, with Durham Filtration – this project aims to advance pulse-jet cleaning systems for flue gas treatment emissions control in waste-to-energy and biomass combustion plants, with a Net Zero goal of saving energy in particle filtration. It’s exploring Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methodologies for optimising filter cleaning processes, and leveraging tools such as generative design, CAD/CAM and 3D printing.
Towards Net Zero by optimising thermal energy recovery and management in the waste-water sector, with Northumbrian Water Ltd – this is an investigation into the feasibility of recovering low-grade waste heat in the waste-water sector, via a comprehensive modelling and optimisation study, with the Net Zero Goal of reducing energy use by optimising heat use.
Bioprocess Intensification for Carbon Dioxide and Waste-derived Feedstock Conversion to Bio-based Products, with Biofuel Evolution Ltd and CPI – this project is investigating the biological conversion of captured carbon dioxide and waste-derived feedstocks into renewable products. The Net Zero goal is the replacement of fossil fuel-derived feedstocks with CO2 or waste.
Optimisation of the cryogenic bulk liquid production and supply market, with BOC Linde – this project aims to create an optimisation strategy for bulk liquid production, accounting for the supply market for liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon, and factors including customer demands, electricity spot market prices, and Net Zero objectives. The Net Zero goal of this project is to reduce energy use, and optimise the use of renewable electricity.
Want to explore how you can uncover new solutions, develop your own industry-ready Net Zero specialists, and move your innovations forward with the support of The Process Intensification Group and The Green Chemistry Centre for Excellence?
Contact pinz.cdt@newcastle.ac.uk
