Autonomous Chemical Processing

To explore how a diverse range of processes can move towards intense, safe, economic and clean chemical processing.

The chemical processes that are currently being explored include high-temperature processing (molten salts), flow chemistry and electrochemistry (synthesis, separations, purification, waste treatment), gas-phase synthesis, and polymerisation.  Emphasis was also placed on the role that sensors and autonomous control systems have in improving the efficiency and reliability of each of these processes. In addition to this work, the Autonomous Chemical Processing test bed also looked at what has to be developed in computational and experimental fluid dynamics, catalyst screening, statistical experimental design, and techno-economic modelling for these fields to continue to affect chemical processing to the extent that they do now.

This test bed was led by Mike Horne from CSIRO’s Mineral Resources, and was a collaboration by staff from CSIRO’s Mineral Resources,  Agriculture and Food, Data61, and Manufacturing.