The National Institute of Chemistry (NIC) is a scientifically excellent, established and breakthrough research institution based in Europe (Slovenia). With our cutting-edge research, we are enriching the global treasury of knowledge by solving the most pressing challenges facing society including: health, sustainable energy, climate change, a circular economy and safe food. Department of Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering is primarily invested in chemical (process) engineering, reactor and unit operation design and construction, as well as multi-scale process modelling. The Department topics foremost include carbon dioxide and natural gas conversion, hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, biomass valorisation to bio-based compounds, and (bio)pharmaceutical processes. The department’s research fields include carbon dioxide activation, in silico catalysis, process and product engineering for pharmaceutical and food industry, biomass-derived building blocks, bioplastics, biocomposites and zero-waste technologies, bioinformatics of chemical reactions in microbiome metabolic responses and aerosol research.
NIC leads WP1 on the development of bio-based and biodegradable raw materials in the Bio2PEs project. Its main task is to convert bioethanol into bio-based polyethylene and to modify the polymer structure to enhance biodegradability. Additionally, NIC will investigate the synthesis mechanism of bio-based and biodegradable polyester using a micro-kinetic model and subsequently select and experimentally validate the optimal solvents.