CONTACTS

TEACHING

PUBLICATIONS

  

  

RESEARCH

PROFILE

Education

Master Degree in Chemical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, 1980

Carrier

1983-1987: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Applied Physical Chemistry, Politecnico di Milano, Milan (Italy)
1987-1994: Associate Professor, Dept. of Inorganic, Metallorganic and Analytical Chemistry, University of Padua, Padua (Italy)
1994-1999: Full Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Materials, University of Cagliari, Cagliari (Italy)
1996-1998: Visiting Professor (Prof. Morbidelli group), Laboratorium für Technische Chemie, ETH Zurich, Zurich (Switzerland)
1999-2012: Senior Scientist, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich (Switzerland)
2007-2010: Visiting Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Milan (Italy)
2012-: Honorary Professor, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich (Switzerland)
2107-: Associate Professor, Dept of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Milan (Italy)

Teaching

1987-1994: Course of “Unit Operations”, Master of Industrial Chemistry, University of Padua, Padua (Italy)
1994-1999: Courses of “Applied Physical Chemistry” and “Reaction Kinetics”, Master of Chemical Engineering, University of Cagliari, Cagliari (Italy)
1999-: Course of “Process Design and Development” (529-0643-00), Master of Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich (Switzerland)
2007-2010: Course of “Formulation Science”, Master of Chemical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milano (Italy)
2017-: Course of “Advanced Separation Processes”, Master of Chemical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milano (Italy)
2017-: Course of “Polymer Reaction Engineering”, Master of Chemical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milano (Italy)

Research Interests

Main research topics are Adsorption Separation Processes and Polymer Reaction Engineering.

In the first case, all aspects of the adsorption based processes were explored, ranging from fundamental thermodynamics to the optimal design of the industrial process. Both liquid and gas phase applications have been studied, with reference to different separation strategies and applications. More recently, the same technique has been considered for CO2 capture and sequestration, where the synthesis of polymer-based adsorbents has been also performed. Different process configurations have been explored, from conventional, batch, chromatographic-type processes to multi-column, continuous, large scale units, such as Simulated Moving Bed and Pressure Swing Adsorption. In all cases, experimental and modeling activities have been combined. In many cases, remarkable insights into the process design were achieved using the analytical solution based on the so-called “equilibrium theory”. The application of such theory to the analysis of multicomponent separations in the case of processes involving non-linear equilibria at constant pressure and linear equilibria at variable pressure is one of his major contributions in this field.

In the second case, different polymerization processes have been examined once more combining experimental and modeling activities. In all cases, the final aim was the design of reaction paths and process conditions suitable to produce polymers with tailored microstructure (molecular weight, chain composition, chain architecture). Different polymerization mechanisms have been considered, from free-radical polymerization, to step-growth, catalytic and to ring-opening polymerization. Both homogeneous and heterogeneous systems were studied, with emphasis on the latter case (emulsion, dispersion and precipitation processes). The following achievements can be mentioned as the most relevant: the design of optimal feed strategies aimed to the control of composition in copolymerization, the modeling of catalytic ring-opening processes in bulk, the understanding of the two-phase polymerization mechanism in polymerization reactions carried out in supercritical media and the modeling of nonlinear chain buildup in emulsion polymerizations.

He is coauthor of more than 200 research publications in these areas.

Research Funding (PI and co-PI)

1993-1997 EU-BRITE-EURAM Project “Intelligent Manufacturing of Polymers”
1997-2001 EU-BRITE-EURAM Project “The Reaction Engineering of Heterogeneously Catalyzed Polymerizations”
2001-2005 EU-RTD Project “Polyolefins: Improved Property Control and Reactor Operability”
2002-2005 EU-RTD Project “Novel Stabilizers for Sustainable Production of Fluoropolymers in supercritical CO2”
2009-2012 EU-Marie Curie ITN Project “Hybrid Models for Tailoring Nano-Architectures of Polymers”
2010-2014 EU-Marie Curie ITN Project “Multiscale Computational Modeling of Chemical and Biochemical Systems”
2007-2010 SNSF Project “Design and Development of the Mineral Carbonation Process for the Storage of Carbon Dioxide Captured from Point Sources”
2014-2017 SNSF Project “Particle Formation in Dispersion Polymerization”
2016-2019 SNSF Project “Experimental and modeling study of ethylene polymerization in gas phase reactors: impact of thermodynamics (Thermopoly)”
2003-2006 ETH Project “Dispersion Polymerization in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide”
2014-2015 ETH Seed Project “Porous nitrogen-doped carbon materials generated from fractal gels for CO2 capture”
1999-2003 KTI Project “Reactive Distillation of Formaldehyde”, Casale Chemicals, Lugano (Switzerland)
2006-2008 KTI Project “Sensitivity of the Acoustic Discharge Measurement on Silt Content”, Rittmeyer, Baar (Switzerland)
2007-2010 KTI Project “Industrial Production of Biocompatible Polymers”, Uhde-Inventa Fischer AG, Domat-Ems (Switzerland)
2012-2014 KTI Project “Analysis of forward and backward scattered acoustic signals to determine flow rate and particulate”, HSLU, Luzern (Switzerland)
2014-2017 KTI Project “Development of a new process for the production of polymers from renewable sources”, SULZER ChemTech Ltd., Winterthur (Switzerland)

 

 Website of the research group: www.chem.polimi.it/cfalab/

KEYWORDS