Description:

The Chemical Plant Design Group of Palermo (CPDG) works at the Department of Engineering of the University of Palermo and promotes research and teaching activities in the field of typical topics of chemical engineering and the process industry. In particular, the group promotes the development of analysis and design methodologies for industrial processes and plants based on chemical-physical and biochemical material transformation operations aimed at the production of goods and services, as well as at the prevention and mitigation of habitat modifications induced by anthropic activities or settlements.

The reference sectors are those relating to the process industry and to industrial chemical and biochemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, food, biotechnological, energy, extraction, treatment and refining of oil and natural gas, environmental protection and restoration.

The research areas currently active are the following:

• Study and modeling of mixing phenomena in agitated containers.
• Development of innovative photobioreactors for microalgae growth.
• Development of enrichment technologies in omega-3 fatty acids using supercritical CO2.
• Study and experimentation of oxidative and gasification processes in supercritical water.
• Experimentation and modeling of bioreactors and other gas-liquid and solid liquid systems, also with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques.
• Experimental investigations and modeling of unbaffled agitated reactors.
• Environmental Nanocatalysis and Heterogeneous Photocatalysis for Environmental and Renewable Energy Applications
• Photo/Microbial Electrosynthesis Systems and Solar Chemicals
• Advanced Disinfection, Advanced Water Detoxification and Reuse
• Process Intensification, Photoreaction/Solar Engineering and Advanced Mathematical Modeling.

 List of active research projects:

• HORIZON EUROPE – 101122323 – REFINE From solar energy to fuel: A holistic artificial photosynthesis platform for the production of viable solar fuels. 2023 – 2027
• PRIN 2022, PhotoControl, A knowledge-based approach to automatic control and optimisation of photosynthetic bioprocesses.
• PRIN 2022, BIO-DUST, BIO-circular 3D-printable prodUctS for cultural heritage.
• PRIN 2022, BIOREFOILS,Metabolic and process engineering for a sustainable biorefinery of waste oils
• PNRR Missione 4 Componente 2 Investimento 1.4, Potenziamento strutture di ricerca e creazione di "campioni nazionali di R&S" - Centri Nazionali - National Biodiversity Future Center – NBFC, Spoke 1: Mapping and monitoring actions to preserve marine ecosystem biodiversity and functioning. Line 2, Task 2.1-2.2-2.3: Experiments
• PO-FESR 2014-2020. 1.1.5 SUNGAS. Development of processes and relevant plants for industrial wastes treatment through gasification in supercritical water devoted to energy recovery and environmental impact reduction
• EU COST Action CA18225 - Taste and odor in early diagnosis of source and drinking water problems (WATERTOP) – 2019-2024

Keywords: 

Mixing, Microalgae, bioreactors, photobioreactors, multi-phase systems, supercritical water, supercritical CO₂, gasification, pyrolysis, CO₂ conversion, photoreaction engineering, environmental nanocatalysis, heterogeneous photocatalysis, photo/microbial electrosynthesis systems, solar chemicals, advanced disinfection, advanced water detoxification and reuse, process intensification, photoreaction/solar engineering, advanced mathematical modeling.