Abstract
The chemical industry can play a major role in supporting climate-neutral goals. Achieving carbon-neutral chemical systems will require new manufacturing patterns with circularity as the main driver of change. The circular production of chemicals relies on waste reduction and recovering resources from waste and carbon emissions through material upcycling technologies. To adopt these technologies, circularity has to be paired with creating economic value by sustainable means, increased process efficiencies, the use of sustainable raw materials and the transition to renewably-powered processes.
In this talk, I will show examples on how the systematic thinking and advanced computational tools of Process Systems Engineering can contribute to accelerate the much-needed transition to circular chemical systems.
Bio
Dr. Somoza-Tornos is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) since 2022.
In 2020, she was awarded her PhD in Process Systems Engineering from the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC). Her thesis focused on the development of decision-making tools for the implementation of circular economy principles in process industries, with an aim to close the life cycle of plastic through chemical recycling. During her PostDoctoral Research Associate appointment at the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (University of Colorado Boulder 2020-2022), she modeled and assessed carbon capture and utilization processes.
Her current group works on modeling and optimizing emerging technologies for circular economies, including waste-to-resource and emissions-to-resource processes.
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology