ChemTech - Institute of Chemical Technology

Applied Chemistry for Industrial Purposes

The research activities at ChemTech cover the fields of fine chemistry and pharmaceutical products, monomers and polymers, nano-materials, sustainable energy vectors, process automation, control and optimization, as well as physical and chemical characterization. Technological innovation in the development of chemical processes and characterization methods, coupled with applied research focused on a sustainable balance between economic, ecological and social factors, make ChemTech a key partner in the chemical and chemistry-dependent industries.

ChemTech benefits from its close collaboration with the other institutes based at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, the University of Fribourg and the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology. The researchers at ChemTech specialize in technology transfer from fundamental research-based molecular innovations to implementation of optimized industrial processes. Our collective applied-research activities bring solutions to the chemical industry as a whole.

Core competences

The primary innovation theme investigated at ChemTech is the intensification of chemical processes. Employing advanced skills in chemistry and molecular characterization, process development and scale-up, as well as chemical engineering, automation and control, the researchers at ChemTech focus on creating safer, environmentally cleaner and energy-saving processes. The techniques necessary to achieve these goals exist, but they are often too complex and costly to be implemented industrially. ChemTech strives to render them more robust and universally adaptable, with the aim of making this technology more readily accessible and applicable to the industry.

Research Focus Areas

Chemical Process Development

Elaboration of new synthesis paths, creation of products with innovative functionalities, process scale-up and thermal safety assessment, chemical production, chemical engineering, process automation, control and optimization, nanomaterials, energy storage, recycling and waste revalorization.

Flow Chemistry

Conversion of batch or fed-batch processes into continuous pro- cessing, development of micro-reactors, reduction of the thermal risk of processes, screening and optimization of reaction conditions.

Characterization Technology

Development of new methods of chemical and physical characterization, in particular surface chemical imaging, spectroscopic and thermal investigations, environmental analysis, instrument development and the creation of on-line monitoring strategies for chemical processes.