Excellent research at TU Hamburg

Collaborative research center is being established in the department of Process Engineering

19.05.2023

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 1615 "SMART Reactors". The SFB is located in the Institute for Multiphase Flows of the department for Process Engineering at the Hamburg University of Technology. Foundational research in the SFB will enable new technologies for smart reactors to be developed in the future.

To counteract climate change and create more resilient supply chains, it is essential to use renewable resources, for example from plant waste, instead of fossil raw materials such as oil and gas. However, their availability and quality fluctuate seasonally and regionally. Therefore, novel processes and apparatus (reactors), which adapt flexibly to changing conditions, are needed to process them. To enable such adaptation, parameters such as pressure, temperature, concentration and flow of heterogeneous mixtures (multiphase flows) within the reactors must be continuously monitored locally with sensors and corrected immediately. The name "SMART Reactors" says it all: it stands for how resources are sustainably (Sustainable) converted into different products (Multipurpose) by autonomously (Autonomous) optimizing the reaction conditions. This leads to more resilient processes, which are then more transferable.

Creating ideal process conditions

The head of the Institute for Multiphase Flows and spokesperson of the SFB, Prof. Michael Schlüter, is very pleased about the DFG funding: "With this Collaborative Research Center, process engineering in Hamburg has a unique opportunity to make a significant contribution to the transformation of our raw material base. The technology of these reactors will make it possible in the future to convert renewable raw materials into sustainable products directly where they occur. Over the next few years, the SFB's projects will help us train the engineers who can lead us to a more climate-friendly prosperity - in line with the TU Hamburg vision: engineering to face climate change."

The scientist elaborates on the idea of the "SMART Reactor": "In our vision, the autonomous reactor detects local process conditions with integrated sensors in situ, i.e. on the spot, and transmits chemical as well as electrical signals directly to flexible components in the reactor. These actuators can then change their properties in terms of geometry, structure or electrical conductivity and thus positively influence the process conditions." Co-spokesperson Prof. Irina Smirnova also emphasizes the goals in this SFB: to capture the local process conditions in reactors, to convert them into models and to optimize them through local measures in order to always ensure optimal process conditions with constant product quality and maximum yield.

Significant funding program

TU Hamburg President Prof. Andreas Timm-Giel emphasizes the importance of the SFB for future research: "Collaborative Research Centers of the DFG are among the most important funding programs of all and are a high recognition of the scientific achievements of the applicants. I am very proud that with the SFB "SMART Reactors" a second SFB is now being established at the TU Hamburg. The SFB paves the way for resource- and energy-efficient processes in adaptive and semi-autonomous reactors. As an explicitly structure-forming measure, the SFB will have a lasting impact on the further development of our TU. I congratulate and thank the whole team for this great success, first of all Prof. Michael Schlüter and Prof. Irina Smirnova as spokesperson and co-spokesperson of the SFB."

The SFB SMART Reactors follows a comprehensive approach involving 17 institutes of TU Hamburg as well as HAW Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, University of Freiburg and the research institutes Hereon Geesthacht and DESY. The interdisciplinary collaboration enables the bundling of know-how and unique experimental opportunities.

See also: https://www.tuhh.de/ims/welcome

TUHH - Public Relations Office
Elke Schulze
E-Mail: elke.schulze@tuhh.de