Reaction Engineering lies in the heart of Chemical Engineering and is an essential part of manufacturing processes where at least one chemical reaction takes place. When designing a chemical reactor several aspects are considered. Given a set of known reactants and reaction kinetics, one aims at producing a specific product. However, at large-scale, one has first to answer under which conditions (temperature, pressure and/or composition of reactants) the chemical reaction takes place, or to examine the potential of the production of byproducts.

When designing and testing in laboratory your crystallization process of novel compounds you may face significant issues. Every crystallization process is a long continuous optimization procedure that aims at coupling the thermodynamics of crystallization with the kinetics required for your outcome. Your process may not be optimized or might be not controlled efficiently due to a variety of reasons. Especially when your compound is a new one, you have to overcome additional problems and create profound understanding of your system.

Many engineers misunderstand the results of computational chemistry predictions of physical processes when they compare them with experimental observations in real devices. One such case is the prediction of equilibrium between multi phase, multi component mixtures in distillation columns, adsorption columns and even reactors. Computational chemistry simulations of equilibrium offer a real insight and the most accurate predictions in a micro system that is totally under our control. In that respect, computational chemistry simulations are even more accurate than laboratory experiments since there are always factors that cannot be fully controlled in a lab experiment. When carrying out computational chemistry simulations you need to understand that what you predict is the reality of that micro volume.

Catalyst development is one of the key elements in modern industry. As industrial leaders and innovation start ups strive for efficiency, catalyst optimization, modification and development become the most important field of research. Efficient catalyst choice or development lead to huge improvements in production times, energy savings and profit margins. That brings us to the question: is catalyst development an easy task? Is it a quick process? What is the success ratio? Just talking a look at major industrial processes like ammonia production or Fluid Catalytic Cracking reveals that catalyst development is nothing but an easy task.

A well discussed subject in polymer science and technology is the field of chain conformations. For decades now, scientists have been suggesting conformation and configuration models that explain partially or completely the behavior of single and grouped polymeric chains. Both topics can be discussed on a statistical, thermodynamic, or mechanical basis since both conformations and configuration are affected by such factors.

The basic classification of polymers is based on their origin, and two major categories are identified: natural and synthetic ones. Natural polymers are found in nature and their structures are commonly more complicated than synthetics’ structures. Their greatest advantages include their biodegradability and their abundance. Synthetic polymers on the other hand are man made from crude oil and similar sources. Most synthetic polymers are not biodegradable although progress has been made towards manufacturing of biodegradable or partially degradable synthetic polymers in the last decade. Synthetic polymers can be tailored to reach any set of mechanical, thermal, chemical and physical properties via synthetic approaches and their raw material is quite cheap.

Free radical polymerization has been studied and used extensively for decades. Free radicals are the key components in this polymerization type. Free radical sare highly unstable structures with just one free electron that usually comes from a homolytic breaking of a covalent bond. Usually, a covalent bond is broken in the presence of an initiator that provides the necessary energy or activation energy reduction to induce the homolytic bond breaking. When one electron is found in a free radical, it causes very high reactivity towards third bodies and especially towards structures with shared electrons such as double bonds.

Medical devices require coatings that either are inert and they do not pose a threat to human health or coatings that are designed for controlled release of bio compounds into blood, skin or tissues. Such coatings have been based on natural and synthetic polymers and have been formulated either as homopolymers or copolymers. Some of the most popular choices that exhibit properties desired in this project include:

Perhaps the greatest issue nowadays for Thermal Barrier Coatings self life and efficiency comes from the deposit of molten Calcium Magnesium Alumino Silicates (also termed as CMAS). These deposits come mainly from atmospheric debris and they melt on the thermal barrier coating surfaces or during their travel towards the TBC surface. These deposits can cause the dissolution of thermal barrier coatings into them, opening cracks down to the metal surface and causing complete destruction of both TBC’s and composite’s integrity. The problem is of even higher significance in the case of high temperature gas turbines (1400-1500K currently) where the molten deposits lead to deactivation of thermal barrier coating protection.

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are used to protect mechanical parts and metal surfaces from mechanical, chemical and physical degradation. They are mainly employed in cases were very high temperatures exist such as diesel engines, turbines and other related applications. Their aim is to provide adequate resistance to the metal surface beneath which is exposed to high temperatures, a variety of chemical species for different time ranges. In order to do so, thermal barrier coatings require specific properties including very low thermal conductivity, absence of phase transformations within the temperature range of application, excellent adherence to the metal surface beneath, specific porosity, comparable thermal expansion coefficient to that of the substrate and very high melting. Chemical inertness is typically another requirement that has been reevaluated over the last years.