Process Intensification Principles: Energy – PI in the Thermodynamic Domain

Contemporary chemical industry is predominantly based on fossil fuels as energy sources and the steam boiler is probably the most common element being used in today’s chemical processes. Next to its negative environmental impacts, this conventional heating is thermodynamically inefficient and non-selective in nature.

Consequently, to improve the efficiency of chemical processes, smarter and more selective ways of energy supply are needed. Electricity is expected to play a major role. It can be generated from various renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, etc. In the long-term, renewable electricity will become the widest available, most versatile energy form.

This 4th webinar of RAPID’s 10-part series focuses on the thermodynamic domain of process intensification and reviews the applications of the so-called “alternative energy forms and transfer mechanisms.” Many of the technologies discussed are electricity-based. Practical implementations of these alternative energy forms require a truly multidisciplinary approach and more symbiotic research between chemistry, catalysis, physics, material sciences, electrical and chemical engineering. 

This webinar offers participants a better understanding of the underlying phenomena as well as the energy–material–medium interactions. The concurrent development of tailored, energy-responsive materials, and novel equipment concepts with enhanced field control, will lead to a new quality outcomes in chemical processing. 

This webinar is part of a 10-part webinar series sponsored by the RAPID Manufacturing Institute. Webinars are free to RAPID Members. Click here for more information about the PI Webinar series and to register for additional webinars in this series.