NanoPAT – Process Analytical Technologies for Industrial Nanoparticle Production
At a glance
- Project leader : Prof. Achim Ecker
- Deputy of project leader : Dr. Dominik Brühwiler
- Project team : Despina Emmanouilidou, Oliver Pauli
- Project status : ongoing
- Funding partner : EU and other international programmes (Horizon 2020 / Projekt Nr. 862583)
- Project partner : PDW Analytics GmbH, innoFSPEC, Arkema France SA, IRIS Technology Group, Universität Potsdam, Medizinische Universität Graz, University of the Basque Country, Analisis-DSC S.L., DSM Coating Resins B.V., Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH, Fluidinova S.A., Creative Nano P.C., TEMAS Solutions GmbH, BioNanoNet Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, EXELIXIS I.K.E.
- Contact person : Achim Ecker
Description
Nano-scaled materials are abundant in different stages of
industrial manufacturing. Physical and chemical properties of these
materials are strongly dependent on their size. Characterisation of
mean size, size distribution, and shape of nano-scaled particles is
very critical for the quality and efficiency of manufacturing
processes. Yet, conventional characterisation technologies still
show manifold shortcomings which represent a major innovation
obstacle for manufacturers of nanoparticles.
The NanoPAT consortium aims at closing this gap by the
demonstration of 3 novel, real-time nanocharacterisation Process
Analytical Technologies (PAT), namely Photon Density Wave
spectroscopy (PDW) - ZHAW involvement - OptoFluidic force induction
(OF2i) and Turbidity spectrometry (TUS) including real-time data
handling for digital process monitoring and product quality
control. Those will be validated in 5 different industrial ceramic,
polymer and mineral nanoparticles (zeolites in case of ZHAW)
manufacturing and converting environments. This implies that
innovating PATs will be paired with new data-analytical
technologies in order to provide, for the frst time, a real-time
analysis for manufacturing processes of particles in the nanometer
scale with sub minute temporal resolution. The NanoPAT consortium
consists of 14 members, representing instrument
developers, process data and modelling experts, academic process
researchers, industrial processing experts, as well as innovation
and dissemination specialists. The consortium prots from the broad
involvement of its members in EU networks and ongoing H2020
projects. NanoPAT will intensively contribute to enhancing the
innovation capacity of the European nanotechnology sector. As a
result, the NanoPAT real-time nano-characterisation technologies
will have reached TRL 6, promising valuable improvements in terms
of quality, productivity and sustainability for the process
industries in the EU and beyond.