Chemical Engineering

Bioengineering and Advanced Functional Materials Laboratory

Y Doc. Ing. Miroslav Šoóš, Ph.D.
b miroslav.soos@vscht.cz
e +420 220 44 3251

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Laboratory led by Assoc Prof. Miroslav Šoóš was established in January 2015 at the Department of Chemical Engineering at ICT Prague. Combining engineering concepts with material science knowledge the group is currently covering several emerging areas in biomedicine, bioseparations and biotechnology (i.e. systems for combined drug delivery and imaging, scaffold synthesis and tissue engineering, quantification of cells interaction with various substrates, synthesis of multifunctional porous materials with tunable porosity and pore size distribution, optimization of monoclonal antibody production by mammalian cells etc.).

From the experimental point of view our common starting point is a preparation of building blocks such as nano- and micro-particles of various kind and bearing various surface functionalities. Such particles are consequently used to construct hierarchical structures employing self- or controlled assembly resulting in monolith or particle-like formulations. Additional surface chemistry is used to tune final properties of these materials. In parallel to synthesis of advanced functional materials for chemical applications same concepts are used to prepare materials suitable in biomedicine and tissue engineering.

In parallel to experimental activity group is very active in the field of mathematical modeling of underlying mechanisms such as colloidal stability, nanoparticle aggregation including formation of porous structure, breakup of formed clusters and modeling of transport phenomena in porous media. In the area of biotechnology focus is on the description of cell behavior under various environmental conditions including bioreactor characterization, modeling of cell growth, metabolism as well as productivity and quality of the synthesized product.

Laboratory of Biomimetic Engineering

Y Ing. Viola Tokárová, Ph.D., Ing. Ondřej Kašpar, Ph.D.
b Viola.Tokarova@vscht.cz, Ondrej.Kaspar@vscht.cz
e +420 220 444 013

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The Laboratory of Biomimetic Engineering was established in 2017 as a research group at the Department of Chemical Engineering. Our aim is to study, understand and improve natural solutions and designs in a way to solve problems of modern society - biomimetic. Numerous inventions around us were initially inspired by living matter (microorganisms, plants or animals). Some famous examples are Velcro stripes inspired by the structure of burrs, self-cleaning surface mimicking hierarchical topology of lotus leaf or artificial neural networks inspired by a brain structure. Biomimetic is more than ever successfully applied in the fields of material sciences – smart materials, fluid flow – drag reduction, target drug delivery and natural “antibiotics”. The main research areas of the group are focused on controlled synthesis of nanoparticulate systems using microfluidics, development of composite microparticles for antibacterial applications, surface modification, particle-cell interactions, CFD simulations of multiphase flow, capillarity and wetting phenomena on structured surfaces. Web »

Laboratory of heterogeneous catalytic reactors

Y Doc. Ing. Petr Kočí, Ph.D.
b petr.koci@vscht.cz
e +420 220 443 293

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Mathematical modeling and experimental studies of catalytic reactors with emphasis on automotive exhaust gas aftertreatment and air pollution control. Reaction mechanisms and kinetics of heterogeneous catalytic reactions for abatement of toxic components in the exhaust gas (NO_x reduction, and CO, hydrocarbons and particulate matter oxidation). Preparation, testing and optimization of porous catalytic layers with defined micro- and nano-structure, including imaging and 3D reconstruction of the samples. Multi-scale mathematical modeling of transport and reaction, simulations from nano-scale to the entire catalytic ractor, and software development for industrial applications.

Chemical robotics laboratory

Y Prof. Ing. František Štěpánek, Ph.D.

b Frantisek.Stepanek@vscht.cz

e +42022044 3236

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Our research is focused on the design and synthesis of structured particles and particle systems in two main areas – in “traditional” Particle Technology (granulation, spray drying, encapsulation, fluid bed processing, dissolution) and in the emerging field of Chemical Robotics. Our aim is to conceive microscopic chemical robots that mimic single-cell organisms in that they are capable of autonomous movement (chemotaxis), they have the ability to store, chemically process and release molecules on demand, and they can recognize the target by specific adhesion. Unlike living organism, they cannot evolve or self-replicate, but they can be remotely controlled – thus the name “robots”. Further we focus on Pharmaceutical Engineering, where our aim is namely to understand the process-structure-property relationships for solid dosage forms such as tablets, and to use this understanding for the rational design of new products and manufacturing processes. The engineering of pharmaceutical products and associated manufacturing processes poses a challenge for chemical engineering due to the complex nature of the materials, both in terms of physico-chemical properties (e.g. amorphs, far-form-equilibrium mixtures, etc.) and in terms of process equipment and scale-up (e.g. multiphase and solids flow). Examples of our projects include the use of naturally sourced particles as drug carriers (yeast glucan particles), development of nano-structured carriers for cancer theranostics, use of 3D printing for the manufacture of personalised medicines, and the development of new approaches in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We also develop new computer simulation tools of particle-based processes.

Droplet Laboratory

Y  Ing. Jitka Čejková, Ph.D.

b Jitka.Cejkova@vscht.cz

e +42022044 4460

web

Our research is focused on droplets, namely on life-like decanol droplets behavior and liquid marbles. Find out more about our research interests.

Laboratory of microchemical and biochemical engineering

Members of this horde deal with several highly attractive scientific areas, always under the supervision of a leading expert in that field:

prof. Pavel Hasal – bioreactors with immobilized fungi for the treatment of waste water, biological fuel cells

prof. Dalimil Šnita – membrane separation processes driven by electric field, mathematical modeling of multiphysical systems, fabrication of microfluidic chips

prof. Michal Přibyl – microbioreactors with slug flow, liquid addressing in microfluidic systems, mechanisms of electrochemical and electrokinetic processes, chemical signal transmission in cellular populations

prof. Zdeněk Slouka – microfluidic biosensors, Lab-on-a-Chip devices, microsystems for total analysis (mTAS), techniques for the fabrication of microfluidic devices

Other group members: Dr. Jiří Lindner, Dr. Lucie Vobecká, Ing. Pavel Beránek, Ing. Rudolf Flittner, and a student band. The scientific team has three well-equipped laboratories including powerful computers. Three scientific projects supported by the grants of Czech Science Foundation and Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic are currently solved in the group. The team members collaborate with excellent foreign institutes (Princeton University, University of Notre Dame, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven), other Czech scientific teams and partners from industry.

Y Prof. Dr. Ing. Juraj Kosek
b Juraj.Kosek@vscht.cz
e +420 220 443 296

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Laboratory of Polymer Reactor Engineering

We are a research group focusing on polymer materials. Our interest begins with the production process, where we optimize real industrial reactors (i.e., lowering of the production costs while preserving the product quality). We investigate the whole polymerization process using modern computational methods. Sub-processes are also studied experimentally by many different methods (TD-NMR, gravimetric sorption balances, video-microscopic apparatus, pressure decay apparatus). Using these techniques, we investigate the suitability of the manufacturing process settings, or alternatively we try to find new applications for created polymeric materials. To do that, we study the structure of polymer products and its effect on material properties, for example by AMF, SEM or μ-CT. We also deal with the production safety associated with electrostatic charging of polymer particles. In relation, we investigate controlled electrostatic charging of plastic materials as a method for ecological recycling.

We lead unique research and development of new materials in the field of the nano- and micro-cellular polymer foams. Due to their structure, they have many extraordinary properties, e.g., they are excellent thermal and acoustic insulators. Thus, polymer foams are in the forefront of the interest in the construction and other sectors. The formation, structure and resulting material properties of polymer foams are the main part of our research.

The next topic in our group is a basic research of the electrospray as an effective device for the creation of thin nanoparticle layers and their future applications, e.g., in the area of the energy storage (supercapacitors, batteries) or the surface treatment (dyeing, superhydrophobic coating).

In all these fields, we use the advanced methods of mathematical modelling supported by different experimental techniques. In conjunction, these approaches improve theoretical understanding of polymer materials and their practical use.

Laboratory of energy storage

The Laboratory of Energy Storage is engaged in the research of promising electrochemical energy storage technologies. In particular, research focuses on the study and description of the processes taking place in so-called flow batteries and metal-air cells. Individual factors influencing the efficiency, cost and durability of storages based on these technologies are experimentally and theoretically studied. The main research directions in the area of flow batteries are: study of kinetics of electrode reactions and their catalysis, experimental and mathematical description of transport properties of membranes, optimisation of battery stack geometry with respect to ohmic and hydraulic losses and experimental and mathematical description of losses caused by shunt currents. At the same time, the research group focuses on innovations for metal-fuel cell fuel technology, which can be applied in mobile applications. In recent years, we have started research of new electroactive organic substances, which may mean a revolution in existing technologies for both stationary and mobile energy storage.

Fire safety engineering

Y Doc. Dr. Ing. Milan Jahoda
b Milan.Jahoda@vscht.cz
e +420220 443 223

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The main aim of the Laboratory of Fire Engineering is the active use of methods of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in resolving the problems of burning, fires spreading and extinguishing of fires. Areas related to the dynamics of combustion are also studied, for example the kinetics of thermal decomposition of solids, the rate of evaporation of volatile liquids during combustion, rate of spread of flammable gas leakage from storage tanks. For calculations the special CFD programs are used (Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), FireFOAM and ANSYS Fluent). Computational methods are complemented by experiments in laboratory-scale. The research group collaborates with the Technical Institute of Fire Protection in Prague on research projects and implementation of large-scale fire tests.

Process and System Engineering

Y Doc. Dr. Ing. Tomáš Moucha
b tomas.moucha@vscht.cz
e +420 220 443 299

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In the group, apart from basic research and pedagogic activities, large attention is devoted to industrial research. Present day issues of industrial process units are approached via process simulation or direct experiments. Our interest is focussed on gas (or vapour) - liquid mass transfer processes. In this field, our group has rich experience and extensive database of our own experimental data. Apparatuses of laboratory and pilot-scale are at disposal. Apparatuses available for the fundamental research include apparatuses for studying of mass transfer mechanisms (processes at the interface) such as agitated tank with calm liquid surface, agitated tank with gas-liquid dispersion, wetted wall column and other necessary equipment, which help determining equilibrium and kinetic data for reliable design of industrial columns even for systems with not well defined physical properties. For the industrial research, available apparatuses include an absorption column up to 0.4m in diameter, multiphase agitated tanks up to 0.6 m in diameter, bubble column with ejector gas distributor with 0.4 m in diameter and distillation column of 0.4 m diameter.