About us
Introduction
The Laboratory for Circular Process Engineering (LCPE) is a research group that is part of the Department of Green Chemistry and Technology of the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering at Ghent University. LCPE focuses on developing cost-effective recycling and (re)use processes to valorize organic waste and plastic waste.
Via a unique combination of lab and pilot-scale unit operations (e.g. vacuum distillation column, S/L and L/L extraction equipment), analytical equipment (e.g. GC-MS, IPC-OES, TGA-IR , DSC, FTIR, and HPLC) and modeling software (ASPEN and CFD modeling, Material Flow analysis), LCPE makes it possible to develop and improve new technologies for scientific and industrial problems within the circular economy.
- find out more: Equipment & Services
To find a suitable solution for various problems, our strategy generally consists of (some of) following steps:
- Characterization of a product by chemical analysis
- Lab-scale experiments
- Modeling the (new) process chain
- Pilot-scale experiments to develop or validate models
- Basic economic/environmental assessment
"By creating both an environmental benefit and economic potential, I don’t see why anyone would be against the circular economy."
- prof. Steven De Meester
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Synergies and clusters
We work in close cooperation with other research groups and we are part of several research clusters.
Research Cluster/ Networks:
CAPTURE is an interdisciplinary collaboration between several young and dynamic professors from 3 different faculties from Ghent University, aiming to accelerate radical technological innovations in the field of sustainable resource recovery by multidisciplinary collaboration between stakeholders, with a clear focus on valorization.
As an umbrella organization, CSC wants to respond to the implementation of SusChem as the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry at the European level and the implementation of the innovation cluster policy at the Flemish level.
CoRR is a center that connects different research groups of Ghent University in order to perform high-quality multidisciplinary research related to the integral valorization of industrial crops and renewable resources in general.
CleanChem is a Ghent University technology transfer cluster for sustainable chemical production.
EoW is a multidisciplinary consortium of professors and researchers from UGent and HOGENT, aiming to encourage and facilitate Science-2-Business (S2B) collaborations in closing the loop of biological (side) streams.
Education
As a professor at the faculty of Bioscience Engineering of Ghent University, Prof. Steven De Meester teaches various courses to both bachelor and master students and is (co-)promoter of around 20 PhD students.
We are actively involved in the following courses:
- Chemical engineering
- Downstream processing
- Thermal & mechanical operations
- Process intensification
- Waste Management
- Environmental Management
These courses are mainly part of four study programs taught at Ghent University:
- Bachelor of Science in Bioindustrial Sciences
- Bachelor of Science in Bioscience Engineering (Environmental Technology)
- Master of Science in Bioindustrial Sciences: Circular Bioprocess Technology
- Master of Science in Bioscience Engineering (Environmental Technology)