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Prof. Dr. Ir. Frans L. Muller

Prof. Dr. Ir. Frans L. Muller

  • Position: Chair in Chemical Process Engineering
  • Areas of expertise: Reaction Engineering, Modular equipment design; process design, development and scale up; kinetic modelling; risk assessment, Mixing, agitation, Crystallisation and Filtration
  • Email: F.L.Muller@leeds.ac.uk
  • Phone: +44(0)113 343 2933
  • Location: 1.33 Engineering Building (Houldsworth)
  • Website: LinkedIn | Googlescholar | ORCID

Profile

I arrived in Leeds in 2011 after 17 in industry to take up a chair in chemical process engineering supported by the School of Chemical and Process Engineering and the School of Chemistry.

TEACHING: As co-director of the EPSRC CDT cP3 (3.5 M EPSRC, 1.2 m industry) I set up and led the academic team that developed and delivered the problem-based learning cP3 MSC. I teach in the School of Chemical Process Engineering  SCAPE (Reaction Engineering and design projects).

RESEARCH: Currently, I am CoI on the Cognitive Chemical Manufacture (2M)  and recently completed as Leeds PI and technical manager the EU projects PROPAT (6M€), IBD (8M€). I have been co-I on SHAREBOX (6M€) and was work package lead in Addopt. I support(ed) 13 PhD students, all with industrial support.

SERVICE: I currently sit on the PGR Programmes and Quality Group and the EPS Faculty Graduate School Committee and I am a member of the EPS Faculty Board. I was a member of the Graduate Board from 2014-2018. I am also a member of the IChemE's Catalysis Special Interest Group

Responsibilities

  • Co Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral training in complex Particulate Products and Processes

Research interests

As a chemical engineer most aspects of manufacturing chemicals and products interest me. My research is focused on the scale-up of continuous flow chemistry, mechanistic modelling and simulation, and the interaction between process and equipment in general. There are three key themes to my work:

  1. Phenomena
    Mixing, Multi Phase reactions, Unit Processes
    Nucleation, Solidification, Yields stress, Thixotropic fluids
    Flow Field Validation
    Filtration and Drying, micro mechanical properties of organic crystals
  2. Process Models of Complex Processes
    Robust integration tools
    Mechanistic, Kinetics
    Thermodynamics
    CFD, LES for Flow, 3D Mechanistic
    Development and Scale up workflows and risk assessment
  3. Process Technology and Equipment Design
    Flow Chemistry, Slow Flow Reactors
    Work up, Process driven scale-up, Plug and Produce

 

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://eps.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Qualifications

  • PhD in Chemical Engineering (Cambridge)
  • Masters in Process and Equipment Design (TU Delft)
  • Ingenieur in Chemical Technology (TU Delft)

Professional memberships

  • Fellow of the IChemE

Research groups and institutes

  • Institute for Process Research and Development

Current postgraduate researchers

<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>