Research

My research program focuses on multiphase reactor engineering, particularly for gas-liquid-solid fluidized beds. The specific areas of interest include: global and local fluid dynamics, upgrading reaction kinetics, and reactor modeling. My research is generally associated with carbon dioxide, bio-oil, or heavy-oil upgrading processes, where a fluidized bed configuration can provide many advantages (e.g., improved heat and mass transfer, online catalyst addition/removal). These upgrading processes are currently vital for global fuel production due to the push towards sustainable chemical building blocks and energy carriers as well as the increasing trend in upgrading heavier oil feedstocks. 

An integrated research methodology towards the sustainable conversion of captured CO2, combining experimental reaction kinetic and transport phenomena studies with modeling predictions for process scale-up, is needed to provide the foundations required to move towards chemical industry defossilization.

Active research areas

  • Catalyst tuning for CO2 utitlization to value-added chemicals in a gas-liquid-solid reactor
  • Fluid coker fouling, reactor modeling, stripper shed monitoring
  • Fluid coker heater modifications to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  • Gas-liquid transport phenomena in multiphase reactors
  • Production of biosurfactants via fermentation
  • Experimental investigation of inverse liquid-solid circulating fluidized bed hydrodynamics

Opportunities in my group

Active research projects are currently matched with graduate students. Nonetheless, I am always looking for excellent and motivated students for potential future projects. If you are interested in this research area, please send your resume/CV to dpjontek@uwo.ca.