Playing process intensification with alternative energy forms

The Process Engineering for Sustainable Systems (ProcESS) unit is a dynamic research group in the Department of Chemical Engineering at KU Leuven, consisting of 4 professors and ca. 40 highly motivated researchers. More information on ProCESS can be found on: cit.kuleuven.be/process.

Project
The chemical industry in Europe faces stiff competition as it fights to strengthen its position in the global market place. Europe’s greatest asset is its human capital, but the people working in such a technology-based environment, with the rise of the “smart factories” of Industry 4.0, need to be very well qualified. The situation of yesteryear, where a person could be trained to carry out a job for the whole of his/her career has long since gone; now the situation is one of developing skills and competencies, but then being able to adapt, re-learn and be able to cross sectors and disciplines in a world of work that is dynamic and subject to constant change. Continuous professional development, the stimulation of creative thinking and the motivation of youngsters for science & technology are high on the EU’s agenda. Recent developments in immersive learning technologies are providing exciting new tools for teaching and training programmes, yet they remain underutilised in science & technology education, and nowhere is this more true than in the field of chemistry and chemical engineering. CHARMING, the European Training Network for CHemicAl EngineeRing IMmersive LearnING, takes on this challenge by developing learning strategies, content and prototypes for the application of games and virtual/augmented reality for motivating, teaching and training children, students and employees in chemistry, chemical engineering and chemical operations. The inter-sectorial and interdisciplinary CHARMING ETN consists of leading universities and industry participants and trains 15 PhD students in the areas of innovative chemical engineering, instructional psychology & pedagogy and immersive technology. CHARMING’s success is based on integrating these three areas in order to provide Europe with its highly trained young experts who are ready to help motivating, training and integrating the next-generation human capital of the European chemical industry and beyond.

The PhD student working on "Playing process intensification with alternative energy forms" investigates the potential of applying an immersion-based approach in the development of intensified chemical processes using external energy forms.Existing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models with their associated databases (e.g., COMSOL Multiphysics with Acoustic, Wave Optics, CRE and CFD modules) are studied and used as the chemical technology platform on which to build VR/AR environments. The focus is on ultrasound and light irradiation, with each having one case-study (ultrasound-assisted millifluidic crystallizer, organic synthesis in photocatalytic reactor). Where needed, databases are complemented with experimental results. The design and operation principles of the studied sono- and photo-reactors are translated into game concepts. A generic scenario and paper prototype for each case are developed.

The final objective of this PhD study is:
To apply CFD models and databases for chemical-model based AR/VR design;
To develop AR/VR concepts, scenarios and paper prototypes for a sono- and photoreactor case;
To develop generic guidelines for the integration of reactormodels in an AR/VR environment.

Profile
We are looking for a Chemical engineer, Mechanical Engineer or Physicist with (proven) interest in games and pedagogy.

Offer
We offer you a PhD position in a world-renowned research group where you will have the possibility to interact with many researchers working on a broad range of topics. Moreover, the PhD project fits into the large MSCA-ETN project CHARMING. CHARMING has pooled the interdisciplinary and intersectoral expertise of leading universities and companies in the fields of chemical technology, instructive psychology and immersive technologies, located in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, UK, Denmark and France. The 15 CHARMING PhD students will not only receive state-of-the-art science/technology training but will also benefit from a unique soft-skills training programme. This will kick-start their careers as highly employable professionals in the EU’s chemicals industry, games/VR/ARsector and the fields of e-learning and digital human resource management, as well as for teaching & scientific organisations and public bodies.