Programme

Arrival, check-in and registration

Lunch

Welcome

Roel Vleeschouwers, Business Development Manager

Introduction and basic principles

Pieter Vandezande, Senior Research Scientist

• Basic principles and terminology
• Benefits and triggers
• Overview membrane processes
• Materials, membranes/modules and unit operations
• Performance parameters

Process design and operation

Pieter Vandezande & Sara Salvador Cob, Senior Research Scientists

• From module configuration to process design
• Membrane fouling and cleaning
• Practical aspects and points of attention

Coffee break

Pressure-driven membrane processes

Sara Salvador Cob, Senior Research Scientist

• Technologies: micro-, ultra-, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis
• Applications: process and drinking water production, water production, wastewater treatment and reuse, process applications, etc.

Industrial applications and case studies VITO

Pieter Vandezande & Sara Salvador Cob, Senior Research Scientists

• From lab-scale feasibility studies to piloting and industrial implementation
• Techno-economic evaluation
• Calculation exercises

Closure Day 1

Arrival and coffee

Organic solvent nanofiltration

Anita Buekenhoudt, Senior Research Scientist

• Molecular scale membrane processes for chemical process intensification
• Benefits, drivers and unit operations
• Membranes, market and technology readiness
• Advanced membrane design/tailoring
• Challenges and trends

Solvent-based membrane processes for chemical process intensification

Dominic Ormerod, Senior Research Scientist

• Industrial reference applications in chemical, pharma and food industries
• Product purification and concentration, solvent recovery, catalyst recovery, etc.
• Recent case studies VITO
• New developments

Coffee break

Invited speaker 1
Module options for scaling up OSN flat sheet membranes for commercial plants

Robin Wilmshöfer, BORSIG Membrane Technology GmbH, Germany

Pervaporation

Pieter Vandezande, Senior Research Scientist

• Basic principles, membranes and technology readiness
• Application for solvent reclamation: dehydration, water treatment, organic/organic separations, etc.
• Industrial reference and emerging applications

Lunch

Departure to VITO, Mol (in group, by bus)

Site visit VITO

• Introduction to membrane research at VITO
• Visit of membrane labs and pilot hall
• Demonstrations: membrane synthesis/modification, lab testing, piloting, etc.
• Coffee break

Departure back to Antwerp (in group, by bus)

Arrival in Antwerp

Dinner @ Fiera Antwerp (optional)

Arrival and coffee

Invited speaker 2
Advanced Organic Solvent Nanofiltration in food & pharma industry: from scratch to production scale within 3 years

Roman Goy, DSM, Switzerland

Invited speaker 3
Created value by deploying membrane technology: An industrial perspective

Daniel Bergmair, Evonik GmbH, Germany

Coffee break

Electro-membrane processes

Wim De Schepper, Senior Research Scientist

• Basic principles, drivers and technology readiness
• Electrodialysis
• Capacitive deionization
• Industrial applications and VITO cases

Membrane contactor processes

Kris De Sitter, Senior Research Scientist

• Basic principles, drivers and technology readiness
• Membrane distillation
• Membrane extraction
• Industrial applications and VITO cases

Lunch

Membranes for bioprocesses

Heleen De Wever & Yamini Satyawali, Senior Research Scientists

• Intensification of biocatalytic processes
• Integrated product recovery
• Industrial applications and VITO cases

Conclusions and closure of plenary programme

Bert Bouwman, Unit Manager, Sustainable Chemistry Department

Coffee break

Break-out sessions

• For interested companies/participants
• Under guidance of VITO experts
• Discussion, brainstorming, matchmaking, project ideation, etc.

Network drink

Closure