On 1 April 2020, Lianne joined Brightsite as Program Manager ‘Process innovation‘. “This program is about process innovation with the aim of energy- and emissions reduction. In addition, I take care of the project circular water.”
My experience as Program Manager at DSM for various process technology oriented projects and as head of the research and advice department at Waterleiding Maatschappij Limburg is very useful for this new challenge. Especially the fact that Brightsite covers the whole development train from fundamental research to implementation is appealing to me.
In-process and post-process energy- and emission reduction
In order to prevent the process industry from emitting greenhouse gases of CO₂ and N₂O, significant process innovation will have to take place. Therefore we will evaluate and develop routes for:
- The capture of CO₂ – and possibilities for useful application.
- Reuse of residual heat on several scales (in the process, on the site and outside Chemelot).
- The application of digitalization to reduce emissions.
Some measures have already been implemented by site users, however to reach the 2030 and 2050 emission targets we need to take this a step further by working together as site users and Brightsite partners TNO, Sitech and UM. This way we can make use of available knowledge, and validate all kinds of unexplored options, for example in digitization.
Circular water
The Chemelot site uses large amounts of water for steam production, process water and to cool and clean. This water is taken from the Meuse by USG and after treatment by IAZI discharged to the Meuse. With the project ‘Circular water’, we want to reduce the water footprint of the site: use less water from the Meuse and discharge less chemicals into the Meuse. Since in many cases water use is interconnected with energy use and process settings, reduction is a complex task and will ask for new technology and new ways of working.
So there are many possibilities to explore and to work on and I am looking forward to it!