Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i. is one of the six institutes belonging to the

CAS Cas may refer to: * Caș, a type of cheese made in Romania * ' (1886–) Czech magazine associated with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk * '' Čas'' (19 April 1945–February 1948), the official, daily newspaper of the Democratic Party of Slovakia * ''CA ...

chemical sciences section and is a research centre in a variety of fields such as chemistry,

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology ...

, catalysis and

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

. Its research topics include

multiphase reaction Multiphase may refer to * Multiphase flow, in fluid mechanics, the simultaneous flow of either a) materials with different states or phases or b) materials with different chemical properties but in the same state or phase * Multiphase heat tran ...

systems for the design of

chemical synthesis As a topic of chemistry, chemical synthesis (or combination) is the artificial execution of chemical reactions to obtain one or several products. This occurs by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions. In mo ...

chemical processes and new materials development,

energetics Energetics is the study of energy, and may refer to: * Thermodynamics * Bioenergetics * Energy flow (ecology) Energy flow is the flow of energy through living things within an ecosystem. All living organisms can be organized into producers and ...

and protection of environment. Its national and international reputation is ascertained by its participation in EU financed research projects, such as
EUCAARI
o
MULTIPRO
Th

project was evaluated to belong to 20 best projects of the 6th Frame Programme.

History

The institute was founded at the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in 1960 and, from its beginning, was intended to be a multidisciplinary research institution. Its founder and first director, Professor

Vladimír Bažant Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Uk ...

, was a chemical technologist with a broad perspective who valued modern concepts without which development of new processes would not be possible. This led him to invite Professor

George L. Standart George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

, a chemical engineer and a US native, who paved the way for the development of chemical engineering in the former Czechoslovakia in the 1950s and 60s. Chemical engineering research could not be done without a solid base in physical chemistry. This field of research was brought into the institute by the arrival in 1964 of Professor

Eduard Hála Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories. Formed in 1989 in the city of Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetched brass model components. Following the s ...

and his team of physical chemists to the newly built site in the Prague suburban area of Suchdol-Lysolaje. Gradually new branches of chemical engineering and chemical technology research were being developed such as

reaction engineering Chemical reaction engineering (reaction engineering or reactor engineering) is a specialty in chemical engineering or industrial chemistry dealing with chemical reactors. Frequently the term relates specifically to catalytic reaction systems wh ...

, homogeneous catalysis, studies of Non-Newtonian fluids,

sublimation Sublimation or sublimate may refer to: * ''Sublimation'' (album), by Canvas Solaris, 2004 * Sublimation (phase transition), directly from the solid to the gas phase * Sublimation (psychology), a mature type of defense mechanism * Sublimate of mer ...

, separation processes, dynamics and control of chemical systems etc. Most of these new topics were introduced as necessary support to a large and long-term project of development of a complete production technology of

terephthalic acid Terephthalic acid is an organic compound with formula C6H4(CO2H)2. This white solid is a commodity chemical, used principally as a precursor to the polyester PET, used to make clothing and plastic bottles. Several million tonnes are produced annua ...

a polyesters. In 1989 several restructurings had been carried out that lead to a gradual decrease of staff by 50%. The research was rationalized into today's institute's structure.

Present

The institute of chemical process fundamentals research activities currently include the theory of chemical processes especially in chemical engineering, physical chemistry, chemical technology and environmental engineering.

Main research activities

* molecular theory and computer simulations of fluid systems * thermodynamics of fluid systems, PVT behaviour of pure compounds and mixtures and phase equilibrium * research and development of microreactors * fundamentals of processes using

supercritical fluids A supercritical fluid (SCF) is any substance at a temperature and pressure above its critical point, where distinct liquid and gas phases do not exist, but below the pressure required to compress it into a solid. It can effuse through porous so ...

* advanced catalytical processes, morphology, and properties of catalysts, preparation of catalysts * study and preparation of nanomaterials and nanofibers * texture of porous substances and transport phenomena in porous substances * membrane separations, pervaporation a permeation * study and application of biocatalysts, bioremediation * structure, reactivity and catalytic activity of

organometallic complex Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, ...

es * NMR spectroscopy * fluidized bed combustion and

gasification Gasification is a process that converts biomass- or fossil fuel-based carbonaceous materials into gases, including as the largest fractions: nitrogen (N2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), and carbon dioxide (). This is achieved by reacting ...

* photochemical reactions in

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different fre ...

field and microwave

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

fluid dynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) an ...

and transport phenomena in multiphase systems * rheologic properties of microdispersions and liquids * aerosol chemistry and physics * laser-induced chemical reactions and aerosol processes for preparation of new compounds and composites

Organization structure

Management

*Director: Ing. Michal Šyc, Ph.D. *Chairman of Institute Board: Dr. Ing. Vladimír Ždímal *Scientific Secretary: Ing. Vladimír Církva, Dr.

Research departments

#Department of Membrane Separation Processes - Head: Ing. Pavel Izák, Ph.D., DSc. #Department of Aerosols Chemistry and Physics - Head: Dr. Ing. Vladimír Ždímal #Department of Catalysis and Reaction Engineering - Head: Ing. Olga Šolcová, CSc. #Department of Multiphase Reactors - Head: Doc. Ing. Marek Růžička, CSc. #Department of Analytical Chemistry - Head: Ing. Jan Sýkora, Ph.D. #Department of Environmental Engineering - Head: Ing. Michal Šyc, Ph.D. #Department of Molecular and Mesoscopic Modelling - Head: prof. Ing. Lísal Martin, DSc. #Department of Laser Chemistry - Head: RNDr. Radek Fajgar, CSc. #Department of Advanced Materials and Organic Synthesis - Head: Ing. Jan Storch, Ph.D. #Department of Bioorganic Compounds and Nanocomposites - Head: Ing. Tomáš Strašák, Ph.D.

Supervisory board

*Prof. Ing. Vladimír Mareček, DrSc. - chairman

Institute board

*Dr. Ing. Vladimír Ždímal – chairman

Postgraduate studies

Postgraduate studies are accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic for mutual programmes of ICPF and all the faculties of ICT Prague and other faculties of Czech universities in the following fields: *Chemical engineering *Physical chemistry *Organic technology *Organic chemistry *Inorganic chemistry *Biotechnology *Chemistry and technology of environmental protection

Research projects

ICPF research teams are currently working on dozens of interesting basic and applied scientific projects financed both from national and foreign resources. Selected topics in the following list show the broadness and multi-disciplinarity of the research carried out in the institute's laboratories: * F3 Factory - Flexible, fast and future production processes * Study of polymeric membrane swelling and make use of this effect for increasing its permeability * Separation of volatile organic compounds from air * Optimization of supercritical fluid extraction for maximal yield of biologically active substances from plants * Determination of the phase and state behaviour of fluids and fluid mixtures for process-es at superambient conditions: molecular-based theory and experiment * Computer modelling of structural, dynamical and transport properties of fluids in nanospace * Preparation of hierarchic nanomaterials * HUGE2 - Hydrogen Oriented Underground Coal Gasification for Europe - Environmental and Safety Aspects * Special catalytic processes and materials * Modern theoretical methods for the analysis of chemical bonding * Supported oxidic catalysts containing low amount of active species as catalysts for N2O decomposition * Reactive chemical barriers for decontamination of heavily polluted waters * Removing endocrine disruptors from wastewaters and drinking water using photocatalytic and biological processes * Transport and reaction processes in complex multiphase systems * Determination of the coalescence efficiency of bubbles in liquids * Wall effect in flowing microdisperse liquids: apparent slip and electrokinetical potential * Novel inorganic-organic hybrid nanomaterials * Releasing hydrogen on formation of chemical bonds catalysed by titanium complexes * Whole-cell optical sensors * Preparation of helicene-based chiral stationary phases for HPLC * FLEXGAS - Near zero advanced fluidised bed gasification * Advanced methods of fluid and burner coal and biomass co-gasification * Waste as raw material and energy source * Development and validation of thermal desorption technology using microwave radiation * EUSAAR - European Supersites for Atmospheric Aerosol Research * Influence of surface processes and electromagnetic radiation on transfer phenomena in aerosol systems with nanoparticles and porous bodies with nanopores * Development and application of new experimental methods to measure heterogeneous particles in superheated steam * Preparation of Ti/O/Si based photocatalysts by laser induced CVD and sol-gel technique

External links

ICPF Homepage
{{authority control Research institutes in the Czech Republic Czech Academy of Sciences 1960 establishments in Czechoslovakia Research institutes established in 1960 Chemical research institutes