Shell BaMa Prize

Two students of the University of Twente nominated for Shell Bachelor-Master Prize

Best Master theses on sustainability and technology

Two former Master students Chemical Engineering of the University of Twente, Harro Mengers and Emiel Kappert have been nominated for the Shell best thesis award (5,000 euro).

The Shell Bachelor Master Prize is an initiative of Shell Global Solutions in Amsterdam in collaboration with the University of Twente, the TU Delft and the TU Eindhoven. It is the sixth time that Shell organizes this initiative. In total, the committee evaluated 36 theses and the two best Bachelor and five best Master students are nominated for the final award. The subject of the submitted theses is the sustainable use of energy sources and the work should present a technical innovation combined with a scientific breakthrough of international impact. The final winner of the award will be announced on February 15, 2011.

With this Bachelor-Master Award, Shell aims at stimulating young talents to perform research on technical solutions for a sustainable future. In addition, the award hopefully motivates young researchers to continue working in this area and to contribute to crucial technological solutions from which future generations can benefit.

Harro Mengers performed his master thesis in the Membrane Science & Technology group of the University of Twente and he worked on the isolation of acidic amino acids from a mixture of amino acids by integrating electrodialysis and enzymatic conversion. These amino acids are of interest, since they already contain the necessary functional groups required for the production of chemicals, which are currently produced from fossil fuels. The experimental results show energy efficiencies and recoveries over 70% and 80% respectively. This study not only opens the route to a successful isolation of amino acids from a mixture of amino acids by integration of electrodialysis and enzymatic conversion, but also shows the general applicability of membranes in biorefinery applications.

Emiel Kappert worked within the Inorganic Membranes Group on the production process of ceramic membranes. One of the applications of these membranes is a gas separation process – CO₂ capture is a well-known example of an application. In the manufacturing of these ceramic membranes, a long heat treatment step is required; this step may take over a week. Kappert reduces this step fiftyfold and opened up new opportunities for further research in development of these membranes.

More information:

If you would like to know more about the Shell Bachelor-Master Prize, please visit www.shell.nl/bachelormasterprijs

For more information, please have a look at our website (http://www.utwente.nl/tnw/mtg) or contact Dr. Kitty Nijmeijer (d.c.nijmeijer@utwente.nl).

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<< Home Home News ICOM 2011 People Teaching Bsc & Msc Assignments Research Vacancies Valorization Publications Intranet	Shell BaMa Prize Two students of the University of Twente nominated for Shell Bachelor-Master Prize Best Master theses on sustainability and technology Two former Master students Chemical Engineering of the University of Twente, Harro Mengers and Emiel Kappert have been nominated for the Shell best thesis award (5,000 euro). The Shell Bachelor Master Prize is an initiative of Shell Global Solutions in Amsterdam in collaboration with the University of Twente, the TU Delft and the TU Eindhoven. It is the sixth time that Shell organizes this initiative. In total, the committee evaluated 36 theses and the two best Bachelor and five best Master students are nominated for the final award. The subject of the submitted theses is the sustainable use of energy sources and the work should present a technical innovation combined with a scientific breakthrough of international impact. The final winner of the award will be announced on February 15, 2011. With this Bachelor-Master Award, Shell aims at stimulating young talents to perform research on technical solutions for a sustainable future. In addition, the award hopefully motivates young researchers to continue working in this area and to contribute to crucial technological solutions from which future generations can benefit. Harro Mengers performed his master thesis in the Membrane Science & Technology group of the University of Twente and he worked on the isolation of acidic amino acids from a mixture of amino acids by integrating electrodialysis and enzymatic conversion. These amino acids are of interest, since they already contain the necessary functional groups required for the production of chemicals, which are currently produced from fossil fuels. The experimental results show energy efficiencies and recoveries over 70% and 80% respectively. This study not only opens the route to a successful isolation of amino acids from a mixture of amino acids by integration of electrodialysis and enzymatic conversion, but also shows the general applicability of membranes in biorefinery applications. Emiel Kappert worked within the Inorganic Membranes Group on the production process of ceramic membranes. One of the applications of these membranes is a gas separation process – CO₂ capture is a well-known example of an application. In the manufacturing of these ceramic membranes, a long heat treatment step is required; this step may take over a week. Kappert reduces this step fiftyfold and opened up new opportunities for further research in development of these membranes. More information: If you would like to know more about the Shell Bachelor-Master Prize, please visit www.shell.nl/bachelormasterprijs For more information, please have a look at our website (http://www.utwente.nl/tnw/mtg) or contact Dr. Kitty Nijmeijer (d.c.nijmeijer@utwente.nl).