New industrial flow solutions based on new flow concepts are urgentlyneeded to meet the unprecedented requirements set by the dramaticallyevolving energy, environmental and climatic constraints. What isneeded is not just improvements to existing solutions, but radical newdevelopments that can dramatically increase energy savings and reduceadverse environmental impacts. The development of new flow concepts onwhich such solutions will eventually be based requires unprecedentedfully resolved simulations and laboratory experiments because existingturbulence models cannot be applied indiscriminately on radically newflow concepts.One very recent example of a new flow concept originating from the UKis turbulent flows generated by fractal grids (figure 1). As attestedby recent patent applications by Imperial Innovations,proof-of-concept studies at Imperial and reports in various popularscience and engineering periodicals (Food Manufacture, June 2008; TheChemical Engineer, July 2008; Process Engineering, 18 July 2008;Speciality Chemicals, September 2008; Scientific Computing World,August 2008; see http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/tmfc/popular) this classof new flow concepts offers alternative solutions for industrialmixers, silent airbrakes and spoilers, natural ventilation, sun-roofsand combustion. In this proposal, we focus on new industrial staticinline mixers.These new flow concepts also pose unexpected challenges to turbulenceresearch and modelling. Over the past 60 years, efforts in turbulencehave been mostly in ad-hoc modelling of specific turbulent flows andthe progress has been limited. A fundamental understanding ofturbulence dynamics is needed if we want the development of an entireraft of new flow concepts to become a realistic possibility. For this,a well-designed and well-targeted experiment is required where theseturbulence dynamics can be set out of joint so as to give us clues forhow to understand and, if possible, control them. This is the otherfocus of this research proposal and it directly relates to the firstbecause both relate to the same new flow concept: turbulence generatedby fractal grids.

In the production of pharmaceutical and fine chemicals, most of the reactions are conducted 'homogeneously' in one phase, i.e. a suitable solvent is used to dissolved all of the starting material, reagent and catalyst. At the end of the reaction, extra operations (known as 'work up') are required to separate the product from byproducts and any remaining starting materials. Work up/separation procedures can be complicated and time-consuming, and can constitute 40-70% of the costs of chemical processes. It also consumes extra resources (energy, material, additional solvent), which is detrimental to the environment. One way of overcoming the separation issue is to conduct multiphase reactions, where the starting material and the reagent are dissolved in immiscible solvents (such as oil and water). After the reaction, the products remain physically separated from the reagent and byproducts, which simplifies the workup procedure. However, there are several fundamental issues that need to be addresse; namely, how fast reactions can occur at the interface, and how to control it precisely to afford reproducible and predictable outcomes (which is very important for its eventual application in industry). The proposed programme will develop a new type of continuous manufacturing process for multiphase oxidations. First, it will use electrochemistry to generate inorganic oxidants in water from non-hazardous inorganic salts and electricity. The solution of oxidant will be mixed with reactants in an immiscible solvent, using a specially designed reactor that generates an emulsion from the two immiscible fluids. After the reaction, the two different phases then separate out naturally, thus simplifying the workup procedure. The research programme will focus on the generation of different oxidants and their intrinsic reactivity. We will also develop novel emulsion forming systems to handle liquid/liquid reactive flows. The rates of the various steps in the process will be deteremined, to produce a predictive model that we can be used to construct a mini-plant for demonstration purposes.

The IMPRESS project will demonstrate a new hybrid biorefinery process for the first time, integrating disruptive upstream and downstream technologies developed by the project partners. A main objective of the project is to develop and upscale separation and purification methods for the upstream process and modular downstream processes. New purification and separation methods will enable to produce new products, like xylitol, erythritol, bio-based ultra pure monoethylene glycol and monopropylene glycol and lignin derived activated carbon. All the process routes developed and up-scaled in the project are integrated to the IMPRESS concept by executing a Conceptual Process Design (CPD) of the different unit operations and then the CPD of integrated IMPRESS concept. It’s expected that the new purification and separation methods, and new high value products combined with benefits deriving from the integration will decrease OPEX by by 25 % and CAPEX by 20 %. In addition, the GHG emissions are expected to decrease more than 20 %. The decrease of CAPEX and OPEX will be calculated by CPD and the environmental performance of the IMPRESS concept and the developed products are evaluated by performing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The results of the project and benefits of the IMPRESS concept will be disseminated to relevant stakeholders by preparing education modules concerning individual unit operations, the integrated process, and methodology such as LCA that will be easily integrated in existing curricula and modules for undergraduate level and lifelong learning programmes.

UK electricity generation still relies around 80% on fossil fuels, with a resulting carbon intensity - the amount of carbon emitted to the atmosphere per unit of electricity generated - ten times higher than the level recommended to avoid dangerous climate change. Half of that electricity currently comes for natural gas and is expected to increase in the next decade as new gas-fired generation is commissioned to replace, along with renewables, old inefficient coal plants built in the 1960s. Over 20GW of gas capacity has been permitted since 2007, equivalent to a quarter of the current installed capacity for electricity generation. Unabated (no carbon capture) gas plants produce six to seven the amount of carbon per unit of electricity compared to the levels recommended for UK electricity generation by 2030. They must be fitted with Carbon Capture and Storage to provide reliable low-carbon energy to fill-in gaps between inflexible nuclear and intermittent wind power generation and a fluctuating electricity demand. Gas CCS R&D is an important emerging field, particularly to address the issue of rapidly increasing additional carbon in shale gas reserves, and many of the concepts and underlying scientific principles are still being 'invented'. Ongoing UK infrastructure investments and energy policy decisions are being made which would benefit from better information on relevant gas CCS technologies, making independent, fundamental studies by academic researchers a high priority. The UK is leading Gas CCS deployment with the retrofit of Peterhead power station, as part of the UK CCS Commercialisation programme at the time of writing. Key engineering challenges remain for the second and third tranche of gas CCS projects to be rolled out in the 2020s and 2030s. Efficient and cost-effective integration of CCS with gas turbines would be enhanced and costs of electricity generation greatly reduced if the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the exhaust were much higher than the typical 3-4% value seen in modern Gas Turbine systems. An innovative solution is to selectively recirculate CO2, upstream of the post-combustion CO2 capture process, from the Gas Turbine exhaust back through the inlet of the engine, thereby greatly increasing CO2 concentration and subsequently reducing the burden on the CCS plant. The main result would be a more cost-effective plant with a significantly reduced visual impact. In order to achieve this concept, 3 main challenges must be overcome, which form the basis of the proposed work: 1. Plant Design and Optimisation. Based on advice from manufacturers and research data, a series of scenarios will be considered for the amount of exhaust recirculation through the engine. This will include results from other parts of the project, such as the engine performance tests. 2. GT-CCS Integration. Experimental testing will show how engines and CCS processes function when the two must work in a symbiotic fashion. This will include the measurement of gas turbine burner performance under operational conditions, engine testing, plus experiments on CCS columns to determine their effectiveness with this recirculated exhaust gas. 3. Scale-up and Intensification. Based on the research data gathered in the previous steps, the project will then publish findings on the viability of this concept, including application of this data to set design rules for future GT-CCS plants. Applying this idea further the project will estimate the impact on the UK's energy mix if these plants were considered economically viable. This project has a strong practical basis, employing a variety of state-of-the-art research facilities from 3 well-established UK Universities. These will include measurement of combustion behaviour under high pressure and temperature conditions, performance testing of GT engine sets with recycled exhaust and fundamental studies of the behaviour of CCS columns.