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The Process Modeling and Intensification Group at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, conducts scientific and applied research in the area of chemical and biochemical reaction and separation technologies.
Our goal is a significant improvement of existing processes, as well as innovation and design of new ones, by using concepts of Process Intensification (PI).
Our focus is on the application of methodology (shown in scheme below) that combines fundamental first principle mathematical models and numerical optimization with process intensification methods. The modeling and optimization is used for rapid design and prototyping of (bio)chemical reactors with 3D printing. Finally, the 3D printed devices are used for adequate experimental validation of the proposed optimal solutions.
Previous experiences of our group include a wide variety of applications of mathematical modeling, optimization and process intensification in the design and analysis of chemical processes including:
Current research within TwinPrenzy project focuses on the development of a new generation of continuous reactors for enzymatic prebiotic production. We proposed a novel spiral oscillatory baffle reactor (SOBR) based on the results of detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling (figure below).
This geometry enables for very high mixing efficiency, while maintain high residence times comparable to a batch process. GOS production experiments performed using the 3D printed reactors (figure below, on the left) under mathematically optimized process conditions showed this to be a promising route for the intensification of biochemical reactions (figure below, on the right).
Prof. dr. Nikola Nikačević, e-mail: nikacevic@tmf.bg.ac.rs
This project has received funding from the Horizon Europe 2021-2027 research and innovation programme under grant agreement ID 101060130