Chemical Engineering in Aqueous Systems
The group, led by Prof. Marjatta Louhi-Kultanen, is studying the unit operations of aqueous systems and the solid-liquid phases equilibria.
Water has an important role in many unit operations in applications of the chemical industry, hydrometallurgy, wood processing, food production, the metal industry and biorefining. For instance, different types of unit operations of water systems include precipitation, crystallization, freezing, eutectic freeze crystallization, drying, evaporation, absorption and adsorption, dissolution, heat transfer and post-processing of liquids and solids.
For a deeper understanding and modelling of production processes, it is also important to know the states of equilibrium between multiphase systems. The gas-liquid, liquid-liquid, and solid-liquid states of equilibrium in water systems need to be known with a sufficient degree of precision.
Water has an important role in many unit operations in applications of the chemical industry, hydrometallurgy, wood processing, food production, the metal industry and biorefining. For instance, different types of unit operations of water systems include precipitation, crystallization, freezing, eutectic freeze crystallization, drying, evaporation, absorption and adsorption, dissolution, heat transfer and post-processing of liquids and solids.
For a deeper understanding and modelling of production processes, it is also important to know the states of equilibrium between multiphase systems. The gas-liquid, liquid-liquid, and solid-liquid states of equilibrium in water systems need to be known with a sufficient degree of precision.
Recent research activities:
- Separation and purification of valued compounds from biorefineries, metals from waste and side streams, nutrients and other recyclable materials by crystallization and precipitation.
- Identification of critical impurities and their separation from solutions.
- Crystallization of mesocrystals for pharmaceutical applications.
- Regeneration of chemicals: concentration of aqueous solutions containing green solvents by freezing.
- Pre-treatment of aqueous electrolyte solutions to remove fine particles by microfiltration and organic compounds by adsorption containing.
- Real-time monitoring of crystal growth and nucleation kinetics and separation efficiency of microfiltration.
Our lab and facilities:
- We have good facilities consisting of a laboratory scale stirred tank station which allows studies on continuous, semi-batch and batch process mode at ambient or lower pressures. The station is equipped with a calorimeter and accurate temperature control system. Various crystallization methods, such as cooling crystallization, evaporative crystallization, reactive crystallization and anti-solvent crystallization, can be investigated.
- Melt crystallization devices for layer and suspension crystallization studies.
- Solid-liquid equilibria research based on thermal analysis methods, solubility measurements and optical detection of saturation point of solutions.
- Realtime monitoring of chord lengths of particulates in fluids.
- Thermodynamic modeling of electrolyte and non-electrolyte solutions.
- Vacuum and pressure test filters for filterability studies to determine principle filtration parameters.
Research group members:
Mitra Ila
Doctoral Researcher
Related content:
Could mesocrystals make medication more effective? - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship was awarded to Dr. Rajaboopathi Mani
More water soluble the drug is the faster and more effective it works. Many new drug molecules have low solubility and that could limit their effectiveness when taken by mouth.
New natural freezing method offers energy savings in water purification
Freezing winter temperatures can be put to good use in improving the cost and energy efficiency of wastewater purification.
Latest publications:
Gamma-valerolactone biorefinery: Catalyzed birch fractionation and valorization of pulping streams with solvent recovery
Marianna Granatier, Huy Quang Lê, Yibo Ma, Marja Rissanen, Inge Schlapp-Hackl, Daryna Diment, Anna Zaykovskaya, Juha-Pekka Pokki, Mikhail Balakshin, Marjatta Louhi-Kultanen, Ville Alopaeus, Herbert Sixta
2023
Heliyon
Purification of monoethylene glycol by melt crystallization
M. Ila, M. Louhi-Kultanen
2023
Chemical Engineering Science
Nonclassical Crystallization and Core-Shell Structure Formation of Ibuprofen from Binary Solvent Solutions
Rajaboopathi Mani, Leena Peltonen, Clare J. Strachan, Maarit Karppinen, Marjatta Louhi-Kultanen
2023
Crystal Growth and Design
1-Butanol Separation from Aqueous Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) Solutions by Freeze Concentration
Nahla Osmanbegovic, Vijaya Chandgude, Sandip Bankar, Marjatta Louhi-Kultanen
2023
Crystal Growth and Design
Concentration of Aqueous Solutions by Freeze Crystallization in Biorefinery Applications
Nahla Osmanbegovic
2023
Freeze concentration of aqueous pyrolysis oil extract and levoglucosan recovery by cooling crystallization
Nahla Osmanbegovic, Anubhuti Bhatnagar, Jukka Konttinen, Marjatta Louhi-Kultanen
2023
Powder Technology
Batch Crystallization of Xylitol by Cooling, Evaporative, and Antisolvent Crystallization
Anna Zaykovskaya, Marjatta Louhi-Kultanen
2023
Crystal Growth and Design
Cooling and Evaporative Crystallization of α-D-Galactose from a Highly Viscous Industrial Side Stream
Anna Zaykovskaya, Marjatta Louhi-Kultanen
2023
Chemical Engineering and Technology
Determination of nucleation kinetics of cobalt sulfate by measuring metastable zone width and induction time in pure and sulfuric acid solution
Jianxin Zhang, Marjatta Louhi-Kultanen
2023
Powder Technology
IMPRESS H2020 project: Towards higher purities of biochemicals by crystallization
Mitra Ila, Anna Zaykovskaya, Marjatta Louhi-Kultanen, Erik Temmel, Manfred Stepanski, Michael Ginter, Ben McKay, Siu-Ha Soo-Tang, Ed de Jong
2022
BIWIC 2022 : 27th International workshop on industrial crystallization
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