Maximising the valorisation of your waste streams requires good separation techniques. You can count on our expertise for this. We have developed technologies for separating materials based on their physical properties. This allows us to help you get the most out of your waste stream.
We have developed innovative plasma technology to permanently modify the surface of materials at normal atmospheric pressure. The desired surface properties are obtained by a range of plasma coating systems.
We employ wash coating techniques to deposit active powders (slurry) onto structured supports. A well-known example is the production of catalysts for diesel exhausts by wash coating ceramic honeycombs. We employ the same method to apply catalysts onto structured supports for chemical conversions.
GOAL is VITO’s specialist lab for organic and inorganic chemical analysis. Our lab rarely performs standard measurements, instead it offers custom solutions to its customers.
Drastic improvements are targeted by redesigning existing production schemes into more efficient ones. This often involves integrating a separation step during the (enzymatic) reaction resulting in a more efficient and economical process. Different strategies to address potential drawbacks of enzymatic processes such as substrate and/or product inhibition, unfavourable equilibria, unwanted product (bio)transformation, can be investigated and implemented.
Biotechnology is one of the key enabling technologies that will allow the sustainable production of fuels, chemicals and materials. Despite the progress in genetic and metabolic engineering, several bio-based processes are still plagued by limited product titers and volumetric productivities or suffer from side reactions decreasing the yield of the process. That's why technological breakthroughs are needed to intensify the processes and reduce the consumption of energy and resources. Among them is the combination of bioconversion processes with separation technology. VITO often applies membrane technology because it is modular, may introduce selectivity, operates under mild environmental conditions and can easily be integrated with bioprocesses.
Gas fermentation is a technology that uses micro-organisms to convert gaseous feedstocks such as carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), syngas, methane (CH4), or biogas, into platform chemicals, fuels, polymers, etc.
3DPRIME
3D micro-extrusion
With 3D micro-extrusion, high-quality functional components such as catalysts, sorbents, heat exchangers and electrodes can be produced via 3D printing, which is crucial for making the sector more sustainable. VITO has already successfully tested this technology at laboratory scale. To validate the technology in industrial conditions, scaling up to pilot scale is necessary.
Unique worldwide
This new pilot line is unique in the world and offers companies the opportunity to test the technology in an industrial environment. The pilot line strengthens VITO's position as a knowledge centre in 3D printing and promotes co-creation and innovation in Flanders and beyond. The facility can produce up to one tonne per month of functional components in an automated, (semi-)continuous process, a crucial step for market introduction.
Europees Fonds voor Regionale Ontwikkeling
With this investment, VITO is taking an important step in increasing the sustainability of the chemical and energy sectors, and offering the industry new opportunities to implement innovative technologies faster and more efficiently.
The development of the pilot plant in the 3DPRIME project is financially supported by the Europees Fonds voor Regionale Ontwikkeling (EFRO) aand the Fonds voor Innoveren en Ondernemen (FIO).