Presentation
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) (www.auth.gr/en) is the largest University in Greece, with more than 75,000 under- and post-graduate students. Studies and research at AUTH are organized into 11 Faculties and 41 Schools/Departments, covering almost all scientific disciplines. AUTH has a proven track record in research activities with extensive participation in National, European and International projects, as well as industrial collaboration schemes.
AUTH will participate in this project with two Laboratories: The Lab of Chemical and Environmental Technology (LCET) of the School of Chemistry, and the Lab of Petrochemical Technology (LPT) of the Chemical Engineering School.
- The Lab of Chemical and Environmental Technology (LCET) participates in the project with the group of Prof. Konstantinos Triantafyllidis. The group conducts fundamental and applied research in the fields of biomass and organic waste valorization to fuels, chemicals and polymers, chemical recycling of plastics, heterogeneous catalysis, adsorption/catalysis for environmental remediation, (nano)materials and catalysts synthesis and characterization. Green and sustainable chemistry and technology is at the center of group’s vision and expertise. https://ktrianta.webpages.auth.gr/
- The aim of the research work in the Laboratory of Petrochemical Technology (LPT) is to improve and/or develop new catalytic processes through an integrated approach which involves the elaboration of catalyst characteristics and reaction mechanisms coupled with reaction engineering. Areas of application include among others, the conversion of alkanes to alkenes and alternative fuels, the valorization of pyrolysis gases from plastic wastes, the synthesis of high added value products from biomass-derived components, the CO2 capture and the thermochemical energy storage. https://lpt.cheng.auth.gr/
Main tasks in ELECTRO
AUTH will be responsible for the catalytic upgrading of crude plastic waste pyrolysis oil (py-oil), towards improved composition and properties for use in down-stream electrified steam cracking. Representative specific tasks involve mild cracking of crude py-oil (wax/aromatics) to C5-C15 naphtha-range hydrocarbons, minimize/tune non-condensable gases (high C2-C4 olefins selectivity) and coke, ex-situ upgrading experiments on batch reactors and lab-scale continuous flow fixed bed reactor working with model and real MPW py-oils, in-situ py-oil upgrading on lab-scale fixed bed fast pyrolysis reactor (to support down-stream ex-situ upgrading), screen/optimize properties of zeolite, aluminosilicate and metal-modified catalysts, investigate catalyst stability/deactivation, regeneration, steady-state/equilibrium operation.
AUTH’s team will also support horizontal project’s activities such as education and training, TEA & LCA, upscaling design, dissemination and communication and others.
Key people on the project
Konstantinos Triantafyllidis is full Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), with undergraduate and PhD studies at the Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, Greece, postgraduate training at SHELL-Laboratorium, Amsterdam, and post-doctoral work at Michigan State University, USA. His research interests focus on biomass and waste/plastic recycling and valorization, biorefining, heterogeneous catalysis, adsorption for environmental remediation, green chemistry and technology, polymer nanocomposites and nanomaterials.
He is director of the Chemical and Environmental Technology (LCET) Lab and collaborating faculty member of CERTH/CPERI. He is also Head of the Research Unit “EnviGreen” in the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, AUTH. He currently serves as the delegate of the Association of Greek Chemists to the EuChemS/Division of Green and Sustainable Chemistry, and he is Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier journal (Sustainable Chemistry for the Environment).
Angeliki Lemonidou is full Professor of Chemical Engineering at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She is Director of the Petrochemical Technology Lab and collaborating faculty member of CERTH/CPERI. She was Head of the Chemical Engineering School AUTH (2020-2022), Vice President of EFCATS (2017-2019) and has an ongoing service as executive Editor in Elsevier (Chemical Engineering Journal) (2021-). Her research interests are in catalysis and reaction engineering aiming at the development of new materials and processes with minimum carbon footprint on natural gas valorisation, biomass conversion, plastic chemical recycling and carbon capture and utilization.
Dr. Antigoni Margellou works as a postdoctoral researcher at LCET, Department of Chemistry, AUTH. She has received her Bachelor in Chemistry, Master in Chemical and Biochemical Technologies and Ph.D. degree from the University of Ioannina, Greece in 2018. Her main research interests focus on the characterization and fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks, the synthesis and the characterization of catalysts, as well as the catalytic processes for the conversion of biomass and plastic pyrolysis streams into value added chemicals and fuels. As a research fellow, she has participated in 7 long-term research projects, co-authored 23 publications in international peer-reviewed journals, over 90 conference proceedings and 1 patent. In eLECTRO project, she will contribute to the catalytic upgrading of crude py-oil, catalyst design and assessment of activity.
Mr. Stylianos Torofias, MSc, works as a researcher at LCET, Department of Chemistry, AUTH. He has a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Master’s Degree with specialization in chemical technology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His research activities involve biomass pretreatment and fractionation, and (catalytic) pyrolysis of biomass and plastic wastes towards chemicals and fuels production. He has participated in 2 research projects and co-authored 3 publications in international peer-reviewed journals. His contribution in ELECTRO project will be to organize and conduct experiments on fast pyrolysis of plastic wastes and in-situ upgrading of py-oil.
Petros Soldatos has received his BSc from the Chemistry Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Chemical and Environmental Technology at the same department. His thesis focuses on fast pyrolysis and catalytic fast pyrolysis of lignin and plastics to produce high-value chemicals. His diverse research interests also extend to the sustainable plastic waste management, with a particular emphasis on closed-loop recycling strategies. He will be actively involved in the eLECTRO project by conducting pyrolysis experiments and catalytic (in-situ & ex-situ) upgrading of py-oil, experimental design and data analysis.
