“We are a long-standing member of the CERE industry Consortium and see it as a priority to be present at the Discussion meeting,” says Dr. Eirini Karakatsani, Thermodynamics Specialist at Topsoe.
Topsoe is a world leading supplier of catalysts for the chemical, energy and other industry sectors. The company’s research & development work with new and sustainable solutions for a future less dependent on fossil fuels is at a very advanced stage. Headquartered close to DTU, Topsoe tops the all-time list as workplace for the university’s candidates in chemical engineering.
The company has developed its own software for thermodynamic modelling, while also using several commercial products.
“We are dealing with a range of problems related to phase equilibria of both classical and more “modern” mixtures,” Eirini Karakatsani explains.
She has history with CERE from a previous Postdoc position, and as a participant in summer courses on advanced thermodynamic modelling.
“Actually, I maintain hopes of cooperation with CERE researchers on future projects. Unfortunately, thermodynamics in itself does not seem to be regarded as a “hot” topic by funding agencies, so we need to find the right angle for a joint application, possibly with other European partners.”
While she cannot disclose the specific content of such possible future projects, Eirini Karakatsani is able to outline a number of general challenges:
“The problem of consistent phase equilibrium and chemical equilibrium calculation remains relevant to us, as does the challenge of efficient separations. The same is true for modeling of systems with electrolytes and biomolecules – here methods for estimating pure components’ properties are sometimes scarce, and their reliability is sometimes unknown. Similarly, we sometimes face a lack of reliable data on solubilities of gases.”