Sustainable REACTOR and microreactor designS for boosting green and digital innovation

Descripción del proyecto

Conceptos de reactores y microrreactores sostenibles en dispositivos innovadores

Las tecnologías de reactores desempeñan un papel vital en varios procesos químicos y biológicos, y ofrecen una vía para abandonar los combustibles fósiles a la vez que fomentan la capacitación digital y el crecimiento económico. La Universidade do Minho está a la vanguardia de la investigación innovadora en procesos biomoleculares y celulares. El proyecto REACTORS 5.0 financiado con fondos europeos, tiene como objetivo desarrollar nuevos conceptos de reactores y microrreactores sostenibles mediante el uso de tecnología punta, incluidos, entre otros, el aprendizaje automático y la modelización computacional, para ayudar a situar a la Unión Europea como líder mundial en dispositivos y procesos ecológicos y digitales basados en reactores. El ambicioso programa interdisciplinario de investigación e innovación tecnológica impulsará la excelencia, atraerá a destacados talentos internacionales e impulsará herramientas transformadoras con impacto mundial en tres ámbitos fundamentales: alimentación, sostenibilidad medioambiental y salud.

Objetivo

Reactor technologies are core to many chemical and biological processes, therefore enablers of defossilisation, digital empowering, and economic growth. E.g. new reactor designs are required for manufacturing of chemicals from solar light and advanced microreactor designs are key to meet needs in personalised medicine. The design of reactors and microreactors share fundamental concepts, such as mass and heat transfer and reaction kinetics, often referred to as first principles. The University of Minho (UMINHO) has built international reputation for innovative fundamental research in biomolecular and cellular processes, with multiple researchers ranked in the top 1% of most cited. By accessing a range of world-class analytical, microfabrication and supercomputing facilities and deploying machine learning and computational modelling driven by experimental big data sets, REACTORS_5.0 will demonstrate and deliver a number of new sustainable reactor and microreactor concepts in full respect of first principles. These technologies will be disseminated and exploited to enable innovative green and digital devices and processes and foster economic growth, directly contributing to Sustainable Development Goals and setting EU as a global leader in the development of green and digital reactor/microreactor based innovations. The ERA Chair will bring expertise in reaction engineering and an international interdisciplinary network from non-widening countries to nurture at UMINHO a transformative research, training, and technology innovation programme that will boost Excellence and attract and mobilise outstanding talents. This will advance UMINHOs long-term ambition of establishing a world-class Centre of Excellence and innovations based on molecular-to-cellular-to-reactor nexus, driving the development and implementation of transformative tools and devices able to generate global impact in three key areas of intervention of the institution: food, environment, and health.