Doctoral theses

Within the context of CO2 emissions abatement, "Solar Fuels" production, i.e. energy carriers using sunlight as primary energy source, represents an appealing but challenging alternative. Inspired by natural photosynthesis, this alternative aims at storing solar energy in chemical bonds by achieving CO2 photo-reduction into valuable compounds.

Nowadays, solid electrolytes are considered to be the key to the development of next generation batteries. Polymers and inorganics are two types of lithium conducting solid electrolytes which have been widely studied but their performances are still limited. A promising route to reach efficient electrolytes is to use inorganic nanoparticles.

Zeolites are crystalline and microporous aluminosilicates. The perfectly controlled porosity and the presence of charges due to the presence of aluminum in the framework provides to these materials specific properties which give rise to very diverse applications (ion exchange, separation, adsorption, catalysis).

The PhD project is proposed in the context of the transformation and upgrading of lignocellulosic biomass into platform molecules for the chemical industry.

Renewable biomass can be converted by fermentation into molecules of interest such as butanol and isopropranol. These two solvents are widely used industrially and as chemical building blocks. The associated fermentation process using Clostridium bacteria has low yield and productivity.

To limit greenhouse gas emissions, IFPEN is developing new amine-based solvents for CO2 capture in fumes (thermal power stations, steelworks, cement factories…). These mainly contain CO2, water, N2 and O2 but also different impurities such as sulfur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) at different concentrations depending on the emitter.

Plastics recycling is a major current issue, making it possible to reduce the ecological and environmental impacts linked to their production and consumption. This involves developing specific recycling processes depending on the plastics.

Catalytic processes have long been used regularly in academia and in various industries. One of the major objectives of catalysis today is to improve catalytic systems by combining the performance of homogeneous catalysis with the ease of implementation of heterogeneous catalysis.

Butadiene is a crucial chemical, notably for the manufacturing of elastomers and tires but currently is only produced from fossil sources. In the transition to the sustainable economy, the ethanol-to-butadiene reaction has emerged as a promising solution to secure its production but above all to limit its environmental footprint.

Process efficiency in the field of energy and biomass conversion is a contemporary and urgent societal issue. Heterogeneous catalysis is a key enabling technology towards this goal.

Greenhouse gas emissions are one of the main research areas at IFPEN. Through the solutions panel for reducing such emissions, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) represents between 15 to 30% of the total required work to achieve, following the different constructed models for climate prediction.

The transformation of lignocellulosic biomass must be considered to meet the challenges of the energy field. Detailed knowledge of the products generated is essential to develop efficient and innovative processes.