We aim to accelerate the collaborative development of radically innovative technologies for the separation and treatment of complex waste streams. Therefor we need technologies that are cost-effective, robust and future proof. Our program Separations for Circularity is bridging science to practice in a collaborative development with industry to accelerate the actual application of these technologies.
The focus of the technology development by the program is on intensification and electrification of the separation and treatment of large and mixed side- and waste streams, leading to the energy-efficient production and the recovery and reuse of valuable components. This should enable at least a 49% reduction in CO2 emissions along the total production process by 2030 in comparison to 1990 as set forth in the central goal of the Climate Agreement by the Dutch government.
We can establish a 49% reduction in CO2 emissions
Energy-efficient production and the recovery and reuse of valuable components
In the process industry, a radical change is needed due to a changing environmental, industrial and societal context. The process industry needs to transition to a circular economy and use renewable resources.
Furthermore, future industrial plants and clusters will need to have minimal discharge and lower carbon and water footprints. The mission of the Separations for Circularity cluster is to:
- Accelerate the collaborative development of radically innovative technologies for the separation, treatment, and valorisation of side- and waste streams
- Ensure continuity of industrial operations in a changing environment
- Accelerate the realization of a carbon-neutral and circular industry with a reduced reliance on fossil fuels
R&D program
The Separations for Circularity (SfC) program maintains a dedicated and adaptive R&D program that focuses on the following technologies & processes:
- Integration of separation processes in process wide consideration
- Developing alternative, future prove technologies
- Further developing and optimizing existing technologies
Latest news
Don’t let waste go to waste
The current system for proving that waste has been recycled into a safe product is difficult to navigate and the requirements for the End-of-Waste status are not clear. How can...
ISPT event
Advanced Distillation Technologies Course 2025
Join the Advanced Distillation Technologies Course 2025 by NPT, ISPT, and TU/e to master biorefinery design and technology. Ideal for PhD students, postdocs, and engineers.
ISPT event
Biorefinery Course 2024
Join the Biorefinery Course 2024 by NPT, ISPT, and TU/e to master biorefinery design and technology. Ideal for PhD students, postdocs, and engineers.
ISPT and NPT launch specialized biorefinery course to equip engineers for the future
NPT, ISPT and TU/e launch a series of specialized courses tailored for post-master chemical engineers. Ideal for EngD, PhD students, postdocs, and engineers.
Afval afbreken en opbouwen als lego
Binnen ReBBloCS wordt gezocht naar manieren om reststromen die nu nog afval zijn om te zetten in grondstoffen voor de chemische industrie, in biobrandstoffen en in biobased plastics.
Material transition: the Dutch opportunity to fast-track a circular Europe – a threefold story
A circular economy maximizes resources and reduces CO2 emissions. How do we achieve a circular process industry and what opportunities does it offer?
High temperature cracking for revalorisation of complex waste streams
By using innovative conversion technologies we can convert complex waste streams into valuable chemical products.
Waste as a feedstock for the chemical industry
Can waste serve as a feedstock? Boelo Schuur, highlights how the chemical sector can start to make its feedstock more sustainable by converting waste streams.
Related projects
Cell-U-Value
Cell-U-Value developed and utilized the capabilities of tertiary cellulose as a feedstock for biobased and sustainable chemicals to its fullest potential.
Completed
CMF – Controlling Multiphase Flow
This Industrial Partnership Programme aims at understanding the rheology of complex emulsions and their stability under flow. While there is much empirical knowledge about emulsion rheology and stability, the microscopic...
Sussic – Sustainable treatment of industrial streams
In the Sussic project, atomic layer deposition (ALD) will be used for the development of SiC NF membranes, allowing treatment of challenging industrial streams.
Renewable Building Blocks from Complex and wet waste Streams (ReBBloCS)
The ReBBloCS project aims to develop new circular value chains for the valorisation of complex and mixed waste streams into valuable chemical products.
ReCoVR – Recovery and Circularity of Valuable Resources
ReCoVR designs and develops novel functional materials and technologies to selectively recover high-value molecules.
FOMM – Forward Osmosis Membrane and Module development
Forward osmosis (FO) is a technology recently developed on academic level, with very few example applications in the market, despite its strong benefits. FO is an energy efficient and effective...
BEAP – Bundled Early Adaptor Project
BEAP helps SMEs make contact with industries, localize and develop their technologies to suite the specific needs of Dutch industrial partners.
ReSolve – Re-use of industrial solvent process streams
Ceramic organic solvent nanofiltration membranes with small pore sizes and high throughputs, as compared to polymeric membranes, will be developed by a novel technology.
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Steam and condensate quality
This project focuses on requiering better insights into the distribution and behaviour of conditioning chemicals that is used in their steam-water cycles and condensate polishing. Process industries strive for more...
COSMOS – Organic solvent nanofiltration membranes on low cost ceramic supports
The COSMOS-project found that membrane technology has the potential to replace or supplement current inefficient distillation processes.
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TENMIP – Testing and evaluation of nanofiltration membranes in industrial processes
Make very tight, low swelling NF or RO membranes for organic solvents, test them in process mixtures as present in industry and demonstrate / evaluate their economic feasibility on small...
Recircanol: Circular recovery of ethanol from alkaline-ethanol media at high pH using membrane technology
This project develops nanofiltration membranes and membrane modules for alkaline-alcohol media at high pH for the purification of ethanol and caustic.
Completed
ISRO – Implementation of Solvent Recovery in edible Oil
The ISRO project delivers a proof-of-principle of organic solvent nanofiltration-based solvent recovery for two cases. The first case is an integration of OSN with the current distillation process at IOI...
Odysseus
Goal of this project is to develop a library of complementary techniques for concentrating brines beyond reverse osmosis.
Completed
ZERO BRINE
The ZERO BRINE project combines technologies to recover products of high quality and sufficient purity from brine.
Completed
Amazing – Additive Manufacturing for Zero-Emission Innovative Green Chemistry
Amazing is about replacing large-scale high-temperature cracking processes with electrically driven thermocatalytic dehydrogenation.
Completed
Nanofiltration (EAMS) – Hybrid membranes for organic solvent nanofiltration
Nanofiltration (EAMS) is a project that focusses on finding practical and economical viable membrane materials to be commercially applied.
Completed
SUPP – Steel Slag Upgrading and PCC Production
The aim of the SUPP project is to create one combined and integrated robust batch process in order to stabilize and upgrade steel slag and neutralize hydrochloric acid. In addition, it...
Completed
IMPACCT – Improved process performance by process intensification in centrifugal contactors
Centrifugal contactors, such as RPBs, could provide significant improvement of separation processes in the chemical industry. This technology seems potentially suitable for replacing or debottlenecking current unit operations which suffer...
Completed
COLFILM – Collapsing Films in Emulsions
In this project computer simulations are used to reveal the impact of a crucial underlying phenomenon: little waves on the surface of droplets that can suddenly grow and thus accelerate...
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HF2N – High Flux 2D Nanosheet membranes
High Flux 2D Nanosheet membranes to demonstrate and validate the high potential of a new class of inorganic high flux 2D Nanosheet membranes on a practical scale
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EAMS – Energy efficient Affinity-driven Molecular Separation
The aim of the EAMS project is to: Application New or improved affinity separation options for selected cases: extractive distillation and (reactive) liquid-liquid extraction.
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Preciouspitation
Obtaining process water out of rain from own roof with high energy saving potential compared to current processes. Motivation and Scope Rainwater is already chemically very pure. Only some evaporated...
Completed
STNF – Solvent Tolerant Nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes for the purification of industrial aqueous streams
Many industrial process streams contain water with solvents and other organic components. Such streams need to be purified from these components or need to be treated before further handling. Polymeric...
Completed
SiC – Silicon Carbide membranes for innovative oil-in-water separations
This project investigates the behavior of silicon carbide membranes in pilot trials. These determine fouling, cleaning options, cleaning frequency and the consequences for the long term performance and economics. Test...
DISCO – Downstream ISolation of high-value COmponents
The Downstream ISolation of high-value Components (DISCO) aims to lower the material use and increase the energy-efficiency.
Completed
Scissors – Super Critical Industrial Solution for Suspended Organic Residual Streams
Scissors researches the processing of specific wet waste streams through the potential of super critical water (SCW) technology.
ELSA – Electrically Switchable Affinity Separation Processes
Exploring the advantages of Electrically Switchable Adsorption (ELSA) membranes in the industrial separation process.
CALMEM – Ceramic atomic layer deposited Nanofiltration membranes for separation of challenging industrial streams
Calmem concerns nano manufactured ceramic membranes that can supersede distillation columns for energy saving in the Netherlands.
PoSiMem – Periodic organosilica nanofiltration membranes
This project aims to develop robust, reproducible and easy to scale-up approaches for the production of novel nanofiltration (NF) membranes.
Let’s get in touch
Boelo Schuur
Program Director (Separations for Circularity)
Irene ten Dam
Program Manager (Circular Carbon, Separations for Circularity)
Gijs Tubben
Program Officer (Ammonia, Separations for Circularity)