UMons: Thermodynamics and Mathematical Physics Unit (TRMO)

General expertise of the research group

In the field of Sustainable Industrial Processes, the phenomenon of solid-gas/vapour sorption is one of the main themes of R&D activities (thermodynamic and kinetic measurements, modelling of phenomena at the microscopic and macroscopic levels, process modelling, life cycle assessment (LCA), techno-economic analyses, development of experimental devices). The various applications concerned are the storage of natural gas, the design of CO2 capture processes, the separation of compounds from air, the purification of gases, the characterization of porous solids as well as catalytic conversion for e-fuels production. In the field of Energy, the Thermodynamics and Mathematical Physics Lab is active in the modelling of complex energy systems at the scale of a district and in the study of specific energy technologies: heat storage, compression and sorption heat pumps (experimental studies, prototyping, development of simulation tools, measurement of on-site performance).

Specific hydrogen- related expertise & research topics

• The Thermodynamics laboratory is active in 3D modelling of alkaline electrolysers at various scales. In particular, the modelling of a three-phase electrolyser for the decarbonation of calcium carbonate to simultaneously produce quicklime and hydrogen.
• The Laboratory other activity relates to the use of hydrogen: catalytic hydrogenation of CO2 to produce e-fuels. Research activities involve both the modelling of conversion units (conversion to H2 to methanol, H2 to methane) and laboratory-scale experimental pilots (H2 to methanol and H2 to paraffin) for testing catalysts and determining the parameters of reaction kinetic models.
• Lifecycle analysis are carried out on all processes

Available equipment/tools:

• Adsoption Lab: Devices for characterizing Gas sorption mechanism into porous solids
• Prototypes for CO2 capture
• Prototype for catalytic conversion for e-fuel production
• Solarsimulator
• Heat storage prototypes
• Simulation tools for:
  • Industrial process simulation
  • Buildings Energy Demand
  • Energy systems simulations

Participating in FL/B/EU funded projects with H2 related research:

• RW/Greenwin : Integrated reactor for the production of H2 /O2 /CO2 for CCU applications As part of the objectives to reduce CO2 emissions, the lime sector is faced with the difficulty of reducing both the CO2 emissions generated by combustion and, above all, the emissions linked to the transformation of limestone into lime. Combustion emissions can be reduced by using renewable energy. In addition to sequestration, the transformation of CO2 into chemical compounds by reaction with hydrogen from the electrolysis of water is a promising way of avoiding industrial CO2 emissions linked to the process. The aim of the project, is to address these two challenges:
  • Electrification of the lime manufacturing process, which generates a concentrated flow of CO2 .
  • The production of hydrogen by electrolysis of water, which combined with CO2 will provide the reaction mix (H2 /CO2 ) needed to convert CO2 into chemical products

Main relevant publications

1. Coppitters, D., Costa, A., Chauvy, R., Dubois, L., De paepe, W., Thomas, D., De weireld, G., & Contino, F. (July 2023). Energy, Exergy, Economic and Environmental (4E) analysis of integrated direct air capture and CO2 methanation under uncertainty. “Fuel, 344”, 127969. doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2023.127969 Energy, Exergy, Economic and Environmental (4E) analysis of integrated direct air capture and CO.pdf (955kb)
2. Henrotin, A., Heymans, N.* , Nandi, S., Nouar, F., Mouchaham, G., Serre, C., & De Weireld, G. (2022). Simulations on Industrial Scale CO2 Capture Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption Using Mil-160(Al). “SSRN Electronic Journal”. doi:10.2139/ssrn.4283741 SSRN-id4283741.pdf (978kb)
3. Benzaqui, M., Wahiduzzaman, M., Zhao, H., Hasan, M. R., Steenhaut, T., Saad, A., Marrot, J., Normand, P., Grenèche, J.-M., Heymans, N., De Weireld, G., Tissot, A., Shepard, W., Filinchuk, Y., Hermans, S., Carn, F., Manlankowska, M., Téllez, C., Coronas, J., & Serre, C. (2022). A robust eco-compatible microporous iron coordination polymer for CO2 capture. “Journal of Materials Chemistry A”. TA-ART-12-2021-010385-NSteunou-highlighted_article.pdf (1068kb)
4. Chauvy, R., Dubois, L., Thomas, D., & De Weireld, G. (07 December 2021). Environmental impacts of the production of synthetic natural gas from industrial carbon dioxide. “Sustainable Production and Consumption, 30”, 301-315. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2021.12.004 Chauvy-Env-Impacts-With-SI-2021.pdf (3110kb)