This special edition, produced in collaboration with the consortium ARC CBBC, explores the concept of the “Refinery of the Future”, a crucial yet challenging vision. Would it be possible to build a fully fossil-free refinery that could meet post-2050 demands by employing new feedstocks, new energy sources and new processes? You’ll find answers to this question and much more in this special.
Researchers from Utrecht, Eindhoven and Delft are teaming up with several industrial partners in a five-year multilateral ARC CBBC project to carry out optimisation at both atomic and reactor scale of methane pyrolysis.
Lees artikelDefining the future of the chemical industry is a good start, but realizing these visions will prove challenging. We asked Bas de Bruin, Guido Mul and Atsushi Urakawa, all of them PIs within ARC CBBC, to share their ideas on how we can turn that envisioned future into reality.
If you ask ARC CBBC researchers, future coatings will be able to adapt to light, temperature or chemicals and even be self-healing.
Electrosynthesis is gaining traction as an interesting method to enable sustainable production processes. For example, by creating relevant chemical building blocks from carbohydrates.
Colour is an intriguing phenomenon, as it is truly in the eye of the beholder. To create that sensation of colour, nanometer-scale particles need to be structured in just the right way.
Lees artikelTo keep pace with a rapidly changing world, the chemical industry will have to reinvent itself, says Bert Weckhuysen, scientific director of the ARC CBBC consortium.
Lees artikelWhen you’re driven by something bigger than yourself, it’s hard to put your work down, says Thomas Freese (32).
With the end of her PhD track in sight, Sofie Ferwerda explains how she navigates the worlds of academia and industry in her research, which includes a collaboration with BASF.
Combining transdisciplinary challenge-based education with design thinking creates a unique environment for students to learn skills that will help them navigate sustainability transitions.
You won’t see editor-in-chief Esther Thole charging down a black slope. But when it comes to mindblowing science, she can stomach steep descents and sharp curves.
Lees artikelMarie Brands just went for it. Driven by her passion for sustainability, she founded Elexel, an independent electrolyzer testing and scale-up service company. Though it is still in its early stages, she dreams big.
Lees artikelMeat products are very complex due to their variety of textures and flavours. Imitating it is a challenge. In ACS Food Science & Technology, researchers from China have published the first major step towards imitating pork fat using pomelo peel.
Isabelle Kohler contemplates how local decisions, like cutting language support, risk undermining national goals for integration and long-term talent retention. She calls on institutions and policymakers to invest in those people already committed to building their careers in the Netherlands.
From 15 to 19 June, analytical chemists will be celebrating in Bruges at the 54th International Symposium on High Performance Liquid Phase Separations and Related Techniques (HPLC 2025), which will bring together academics and industry professionals for an engaging and interactive programme.
A ring-shaped molecule now makes it possible to control the self-assembly of nanoparticles from the outside, according to an Amsterdam-based group writing in Nature Chemistry.
Today, we are celebrating both UNESCO World Metrology Day and the 150th anniversary of the Metre Convention. But what does that have to do with chemistry?
When talking about better equipment for golf, probably the clubs first come to mind. But as it turns out, also the balls allow all kinds of tweaking. Including a new type of coating that really puts the player’s qualities to the test.
It appears that a small group of antibodies dominates and personalises the entire repertoire of the immune system. Researchers at Utrecht University discovered that these antibodies remain virtually unchanged in composition and quantity, even after vaccinations.