STEP-Chem

The VUB multidisciplinary STEP-Chem consortium contributes at accelerating the innovation cycle of sustainable processes for chemical industry, a major challenge to be achieved by 2050 if not earlier in line with the European Green Deal 2030.

We do so by not only profoundly considering the technological challenges, but also the economic and legislative framework, such that feasable solutions can be proposed that meet the demands of our society and industry.

STEP-Chem (Separation Technology & Economics and Policy making for sustainable Chemicals production) therefore combines:

• the expertise of the Chemical Engineering Department (CHIS) in separation technology and process intensification
• with the know-how of the Centre for Environment, Economy and Energy on policy making, economic modelling and in-depth analysis of feedstocks, product streams and chemical processes at the company and sector level, as such serving sustainability in the chemical industry in a holistic way.

To some more detail, the Department of Chemical Engineering (CHIS) establishes fundamental and applied technological research, both by state-of-the-art computational modelling as well as advanced experimental screening, including industry tailored design of lab and pilot scale test units. We operate in the fields of catalytic and separation technology, adsorptive Carbon Capture, recovery of renewable chemicals and energy-carriers, and purification of waste streams.

These innovative technologies for climate friendly chemicals production are assessed by the Centre for Environment, Economy and Energy (C3E) to demonstrate their contribution to the climate transition of the chemicals and basic materials industries. This includes considering the techno-economics, scaling up and possible largescale applications. Altogether, our integrated approach contributes to broader technology mapping and industrial roadmap research that lead the path towards a thriving sustainable chemical industry.

Feel free to contact us if you see opportunities to work together. The latest updates are always posted on LinkedIn.