Development of chemical processes and products with low environmental impact

The research group "Development of chemical processes and products with low environmental impact" (ref. 910717) is part of the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering of the Complutense University of Madrid and it was constituted under the program "Creation and Consolidation of Research Groups UCM" in 2005.<br /><br />This research group currently deals with four different areas of expertise, the extraction of aromatic hydrocarbons with ionic liquids, the integral use of lignocellulosic biomass: biorefining, the use of ionic liquids as an alternative to organic solvents in process and the development and characterization of biomaterials with ionic liquids. In parallel, the group addresses the modelling of chemical processes using linear and non-linear interpolative algorithms, which serves the lines of research. Although its inception -which dates back to 1995- is to be found in the processing of lignin-cellulosic materials by different routes, without completely abandoning this field, the group has evolved, after an incursion into the field of supercritical fluids, towards the application of ionic liquids in different operations.

We are looking for candidates that can contribute to the progress of "Development and characterization of biomaterials with ionic liquids":<br /><br />Gel materials are composed of a dispersed liquid phase and a continuous solid phase (the matrix); depending on the liquid phase, gel materials are given different names: oleogels, hydrogels, ionogels, organogels, and alcogels. Focusing on just physical gel materials, the use of cellulose, a main product of biorefinery, as the continuous solid phase of these gel-type materials has been studied due to the resulting properties of the gels, such as transparency, flexibility, transferability, thermoreversible gelling capability, etc. Cellulose has also been utilized in the manufacturing of aerogels (gels with high porosities, large surface areas, and extremely light weights) with possible applications such as insulation and absorption properties.<br /> <br />The research group formulates gel-like materials derived from fractions obtained of biorefinery pretreatment. The main types of materials formulated are: ionogels (with ionic liquid as continuous phase and cellulose as matrix), hydrogels (water as continuous phase and cellulose as matrix) and aerogels. The formulation of the gels is optimized for some of their main applications, such as the medical/pharmaceutical sector. The characterization of these materials is based on the study of their thermal and rheological properties as well as their biodegradability and toxicity.<br />

We are looking for Researchers with experience in any of the following topics: green chemistry, chemical engineering, and formulation of gels.<br /><br />The candidates must send:<br />1-. Curriculum vitae (check before the eligibility of your profile for applying to the Marie Sk"odowska-Curie Individual Fellowships) <br />https://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurie<br />2-. Abstract of the proposal (Max 1 page).