Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development - IMDO/BLUE APP

The Institute for Environment and Sustainable Development of the University of Antwerp, known by its Dutch acronym IMDO, combines expertise from the various disciplines on the environment and sustainable development.

Prof. Dr. Perreault is part of IMDO and its research focuses on three pillars: 

• The reduction of CO₂ emissions (both via solvent and sorbent methods)
• The use of CO₂ in a circular economy (catalytic gasification of waste plastics and recovery of monomers from industrially rejected plastics)
• The elimination of CO₂ emissions via the electrification of industrial processes (e.g. microwave-based recovery of calcium-containing solvents). 

The fundamental concepts of process intensification guide the design of new reactors. In addition, a strong emphasis is placed on energy (through the use of centrifugal forces, microwaves and non-thermal plasmas), functionality (use of multifunctional reactors) and time (forced pulsations and/or oscillations, short contact time reactors, etc.). Prof. Perreault is currently applying the principles of process intensification to the design of innovative reactors for the release of hydrogen from chemical carriers such as Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC). Prof. Dr. Perreault is also investigating the development and up-scaling of reactors in order to design optimised reactor configurations for both heterogeneous catalytic and non-catalytic reactions. The proposed methodology includes the combination of simulations; multiparameter, shape and topology optimisation for turbulent reaction mixtures and the construction of experimental prototypes. This approach will advance emerging technologies from Flemish universities and companies to prevent them from disappearing into the so-called "Valley of Death". Thus, important steps are taken towards the final goal: the commercial application. The research will mainly focus on reactors with TRL (Technology Readiness Levels) between 4 and 7. Prof. Perreault is also involved in the pre-incubator of the University of Antwerp, Blue App, as an expert in the development of prototypes.