I am Head of Department of chemical engineering. Our department brings chemistry from the lab to industrial scale. We study chemical reactions and how we can affect their rate in order to improve the process design. This involves the understanding of chemistry and materials on nano level, interfaces between solid, liquid and gas phases, and how this affects the exchange of heat and mass in a processing plant. With this knowledge we formulate mathematical models and simulate different processes in large scale, which we can validate by experimental studies in our laboratories and pilot plant equipment. We have made a strategic decision to invest our efforts in sustainable solutions for the future. This implies that we increase our research in how to apply biological raw materials and biochemistry to develop energy, new materials and chemicals.

When I am not HoD I am professor at the department, specializing in industrial crystallization. In the crystallization group, we study precipitation and growth of solid particulate materials related to industrial production, for instance pharmaceutical products or mineral precipitates. The size and shape of the crystals are important for separation and quality of the final product and we focus our studies on the fundamental size enlargement process. We cooperate with industrial companies, but also perform fundamental studies of mineralization in biological systems, as for instance how bone formation happens in the human body.