|
Professor Choi |
|
Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering College Park, MD 20742
Director: Kyu Yong Choi, Professor
Phone: (301) 405-1907 Fax: (301) 405-0523 choi@umd.edu |
|
Welcome to the Polymer Reaction Engineering Laboratory Homepage.
Founded in 1984, our research laboratory aims at solving scientific and technical problems related to industrial polymerization process technology. Our primary research interests are to study: polymerization kinetics, polymerization reactor/process modeling, control, and optimization. The polymer reaction engineering is a discipline in which fundamental principles of chemical engineering, polymer science, and systems engineering are blended together to solve from microscopic to macroscopic reaction and reactor problems.
Our recent research is directed towards the application of polymer reaction engineering to nanoscale polymerization reactors, biodegradable polymers, miniemulsion polymerization, and microdispersion polymerization to make polymer particles of complex morphologies. We are also applying the principles of catalytic heterogeneous reactions to developing silicon-CNT nano-composites as anodes for Lithium ion batteries. Micro-channel reactors are also studied for heterogeneous polymer reactions.
One of our latest research is focused on the elucidation of morphogenesis of polyolefins at catalyst surfaces, which has been the subject of research by many researchers in the past. This work is aimed at understanding how polymer is formed and how polymer morphology develops at a catalyst surface. Various techniques are used to visualize the morphological developments for olefin homo– and co-polymerization in liquid slurry and gas phase reaction processes.
To address current global plastic waste treatment problems, we are also interested in developing plastics upcycling and processing of polyolefins to monomers, low molecular weight chemicals, and oils.
Welcoming you again, I hope you will enjoy your visit.
Kyu Yong Choi Professor January 2020 |
|
Metallocene/MAO catalyst on flat silica support |
|
Laboratory Members |
|
PP/EPR on flat silica support |