Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "Probing the origin of our universe with gravitational waves." "Nick Van Remortel" "Particle Physics Group" "This project is aimed to expand the research activities of the elementary particle physics group in the domain of fundamental interactions towards a study of gravity. The strong coupling regimes of Einstein's theory of general relativity can now be probed by gravitational wave observatories, several of which are online in the world. We propose to join the VIRGO collaboration and exploit the VIRGO/LIGO gravitational wave data to search for the existence of stochastic gravitational waves, the gravitational wave analogy of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In contrast to the CMB, which only gives us a view on the universe when it was 370 thousand years old, the primordial gravitational wave signals will allow us to study the universe at its birth, at the period of inflation. The search for stochastic gravitational waves will in the longer term require a network of observatories with increased strain sensitivity. A future 3rd generation gravitational wave observatory will enhance the sensitivity to these and other types of gravitational waves significantly. With this project we also start an instrumental R&D program to develop key components for this future observatory." "New method to acquire in situ information on crystal structures changed by chemical reactions." "Joke Hadermann" "Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)" "In this project, we will be the first to determine structural changes at unit cell level during oxidation and reduction processes in situ in gasses and liquids with electron diffraction tomography. In situ means that the data is collected on the sample while it is still in the environment where the reaction occurred. Such oxidation and reduction processes are important in the field of energy materials, a research field with very high activity worldwide as sustainable energy is of vital importance for our whole society. Changes in structures under oxidation and reduction processes dictate ion conduction paths and reversibility, thus efficiency, capacity and lifetime of the different technologies. Such structural changes are currently followed using X-ray and neutron powder diffraction techniques, because the materials are usually only active as submicron particles. Although these techniques can uncover very important structural changes, they are often plagued by peak overlap of different phases and peak broadening due to the small crystal sizes, making the results less conclusive and leaving some structures unsolved. Using electrons will allow performing in situ single crystal experiments on the individual particles within a powder sample, due to the much stronger interaction between electrons and matter. Single crystal data has a lot of advantages over powder diffraction data for structure determination and will allow uncovering information and determining structures out of reach of in situ powder diffraction techniques. Precession electron diffraction tomography is already used for structure determination from ex situ single crystal data. Using this technique in situ, we will monitor how structures of materials change under oxygen atmosphere or reducing hydrogen atmosphere, under hydration or carbon dioxide, or under electrochemical oxidation and reduction. Our goal is to be the pioneers in using this technique of in situ PEDT and to demonstrate to the international materials science community the high value of the technique by providing missing structural information on several compounds from the field of energy materials. The compounds are selected from the fields of lithium-ion and polyanionic battery materials, solid oxide fuel cells, proton conducting fuel cells and chemical looping in order to reach a wide audience." "Ordinal Analysis of Systems of Determinacy" "Ordinal analysis is the branch of proof theory that aims at quantifying the strength of a mathematical theory or statement by assigning to it a ""number."" These numbers are ordinal numbers, natural extensions of the counting number to the transfinite." "Combined process of Steam Explosion and Microbial detoxification for improved PREtreatment of lignocellulose biomass (SEMPRE)." "Iris Cornet" "Biochemical Wastewater Valorization & Engineering (BioWaVE)" "During the thermochemical pretreatment biotechnological production of chemicals from the polysaccharides in lignocellulose, a solid fraction is obtained, consisting mainly of cellulose, and a lignin waste stream, the so-called, xylose rich fraction (XRF). XRF contains some residual sugar, toxic lignin-derived phenolic and sugar-derived furans. The goal of the research project is to investigate a technique to obtain almost complete removal of the lignin waste stream by using lipid producing bacteria, i.e., Rhodococcus sp. Rhodococcus is known to be able to metabolise phenol compounds. However to succeed, some hurdles have to be taken. (i) The furans and some phenolics can be toxic to the microorganism, (ii) repolymerisation of the lignin can occur (iii) the lignin is probably not completely converted, (iv) oligomers of lignin and lignin cellulose complexes can still be present, (v) it is not known if the Rhodococcus can degrade these oligomers. By analysis of the sugars, furans, phenolics, and the nature of the oligomers or particles, insight can be gained. Based on this knowledge, a toolbox of techniques to solve this will be applied, i.e. adaptation of the microorganism, commercial cellulases and laccases, alfa-naphtol to prevent repolymerisation of the lignin, using other bacteria, …." "CycloPUR – Fundamental insights in reversible polymerization of polyurethanes." "Lukasz Pazdur" "Intelligence in PRocesses, Advanced Catalysts and Solvents (iPRACS), Biochemical Wastewater Valorization & Engineering (BioWaVE)" "Polyurethanes (PU) are versatile group of polymers, being used increasingly in diverse applications; for instance in mattresses, building foams, automotive and adhesives. PU is a cross-linked polycondensation polymer, in which polyols (polyhydroxyl alcohols) react with highly reactive diisocyanates. As a thermoset (they do not have a melting point), PU is difficult to recycle, and the current state-of-the-art mechanical recycling results in low-value materials. Nonetheless, chemolysis (chemical depolymerization) has been explored since decades as an alternative, yet was only commercially developed for polyol recovery. The absence of a working technology for recovery of diisocyanate derivatives is largely due to the complexity of these molecules, and a lack of knowledge regarding their chemical fate in a chemolysis process. The proposed STIMPRO aims at understanding how various isocyanate derivatives are formed, and how they react upon alcoholysis, by experiments using model monomers. This knowledge, together with experimental and computational insights in mixing/solubility, will be exploited to create a bottom-up chemolysis process for model polyurethanes. The outcome of the proposed study will be used in subsequent chemolysis of realistic waste polyurethanes, with recovery of both monomers as significant technological novelty. Additionally, the resulting knowledge may be transferred in the future formulation of new polyurethanes with biobased alternative monomers" "Electron tomography combined with state-of-the-art electrochemistry to gain better insight into the role of the different components of the active layer in a CO2 electrolyzer." "Nick Daems" "Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)" "Renewable energy sources can offer a solution for excessive emissions of greenhouse gases and to the expected decrease in availability of fossil fuels in the near future. Both problems would find a common solution if we were able to develop energy-efficient processes to convert (low concentrated) CO2 streams into fuels and useful chemical products, ensuring a positive economic and environmental balance. One possible strategy is to use H2O and CO2 as renewable feedstock for electrochemical production of fuels and chemicals (e.g. carbon monoxide, formic acid or methanol), employing excess electricity generated by renewable power sources (like wind or solar) to drive the reactions. At the moment, the electrochemical reduction of CO2 is not yet industrially viable, mainly due to the lack of a good electrocatalyst. While a wide range of electrocatalysts is currently being investigated in an attempt to improve the overall performance this was currently without success. Here we propose the combination of state-of-the-art electrochemistry with an advanced TEM characterization as a route towards the discovery of new high-performance CO2 reduction electrocatalysts. A key aspect to achieve this goal can be found in the interaction between the gas diffusion electrode (morphology and composition) and the novel electrocatalysts. Finally, also a more engineering aspect of the overall process, i.e. the coating of the electrode with the active material will be optimized." "HR-RTIS: High-Resolution Real Time Imaging Sonar Sensor." "Jan Steckel" "Co-Design of Cyber-Physical Systems (Cosys-Lab)" "For autonomous vehicles, sonar sensors can pose a real alternative to optical sensing techniques such as laser scanners and 3D cameras in situations where these optical techniques fail. The failure of these optical systems can be caused by medium distortions such as dust or fog, or sensor contaminations such as mud splashes. In the CoSys research group we develop advanced 3D sonar sensors for industrial applications, which are currently being validated in various industrial application niches. During this proposed STIMPRO project we propose to expose the uncover the dynamic range in the strengths of echoes created in relevant industrial environments and their spatial distribution in that environment. To this extend, we propose a high-resolution microphone array consisting of 1000 microphones, which will allow the creation of high-resolution and high dynamic range 3D sonar images. The sensor will provide us with essential insights into the reflective properties of relevant environments and will allow us to improve the low-cost sensors which we are famous for worldwide." "Theory and applications of delay affected processes on multiple time scales" "Peter DE MAESSCHALCK" "Dynamical Systems, University of Szeged" "The Research Council of Hasselt University approved the stay of dr. Gabor Kiss (Bolyai Institute, University of Szeged, Hongarije). During this stay, dr. Gabor Kiss will perform research in cooperation with your research group DS." LUMEN "Materials Chemistry, Laboratory of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry" "Two major challenges we face as a society are securing our future energy supply by switching from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources, and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (EC 2030 Energy Strategy). With precompetitive industrial research, LUMEN addresses both challenges simultaneously: it aims to develop an integrated lab-scale demonstrator to build an energy storage buffer, while reducing CO2 emissions, using sunlight as a sustainable energy source. This pre-competitive industrial research provides the basis for a final translation into an industrial process, thus offering commercial opportunities for stakeholders in the value chain: material producers (catalyst production), equipment producers (reaction production) and chemical companies in the region. Furthermore, this will accelerate the energy transition and the reduction of C02 emissions, and emissions, and contribute to the realisation of the targets agreed in these areas. In addition, it will serve as a model project in the region, and LUMEN fits in perfectly with the regional business community and the objectives within the Energy pillar of Interreg Flanders-The Netherlands. Our future energy system needs a storage buffer. This is due to fluctuations in the supply of energy from sustainable sources, such as sun and wind. For instance, the sun only shines during the day and not at night, and there is more and heavier wind than in summer. In order to be able to supply the consumer with the required amount of energy at any time of the day, it is therefore necessary to have a buffer. An example of a storage buffer is hydrogen, which is produced by electrolysis of water, using electricity from solar or wind energy. The process to make hydrogen already exists, and is commercially available. Hydrogen is, however, problematic in use: large-scale storage is not safe, and we do not have a distribution system suitable for hydrogen. The construction of such a system is very costly. This is why we propose converting hydrogen with CO2 into synthetic natural gas (methane, CH4) or syngas (CO). Methane is proven safe for large-scale storage, we already use it on a larger scale, and our current infrastructure does not need to be modified. Syngas can serve as starting material for the production of liquid hydrocarbons as fuel using the already commercially available Fischer-Tropsch process. We use sunlight directly as an energy source for this conversion of CO2 and hydrogen to synthetic natural gas and/or syngas, thus avoiding additional conversion steps (e.g. from sunlight to electricity, and only then to fuel) to maximize the energy efficiency of the process. We aim to deliver an integrated lab-scale demonstrator. For the conversion of hydrogen to CH4 and/or CO, we want to make use of CO2 as a carbon source. In this way, we reduce CO2 emissions. We use sunlight as an energy source for this chemical process. We aim to deliver an integrated lab-scale demonstrator that shows that this process is technically and economically feasible. Secondly, we deliver a lab-scale demonstrator for one fine chemical compound selected during the project. This shows that fine chemicals, e.g. intermediates for medicines, can be produced more safely and easily using the developed concept. At the end of LUMEN, these lab-scale demonstrator set-ups will be translated into an integral pilot-scale demonstrator, and subsequently an industrial process. This offers opportunities for involved regional companies in the value chain. Furthermore, the conversion of CO2 to chemicals will offer alternatives for the current production from oil, and will accelerate the reduction of CO2 emissions in the region." "Active passive water pollution sampling device (WATERSIDE)." "Ronny Blust" "Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT), Internet Data Lab (IDLab), Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research (SPHERE)" "Previously an active passive sampler for accumulation of pollutants from water was developed into a laboratory prototype. Its n°1 feature is controlled flow through the device, such that sampling is independent of hydrodynamic flow in the water body. This project will establish a field-deployable prototype. Its valorization value lies in standardization and the replacement of biota sampling."