Materials, Processes, and (infra)Structures for the Ecological Transition: An Opportunity for
Poro-science and Engineering

10:45 am – 11:45 am (1 hour)

The future is bright for high surface area and/or porous solids with controlled structure and properties, be it for the energy transition (energy efficiency, preference for renewables or net zero-emission fossil fuels), for the industrial transition (local production of recyclable goods in a circular economy perspective), or for the agri-food transition (replacement of a chemical input-demanding and soil-degrading agriculture by an organic and soil-preserving one). In chemical and process engineering, including energy devices like batteries and fuel cells, the classical paradigm of unit operations that are capable of carrying out specific transformations (mixing, heating, reaction, separation, etc.) in distinct pieces of equipment, will tend to be replaced by the so-called processi ntensification, focusing on development of multi-functional and miniaturized modules able to combine several classical unit operations into a single processing step. Materials and devices allowing for the controlled encounter, exchange and reaction of heat, momentum, molecules – often in the fluid or confined state – and electrons in a minimal volume will be much needed. A similar trend may develop in civil engineering, under the pressure of – mainly urban – excessive land occupation and resource utilization. Buildings and infrastructures and their constitutive materials will be asked to be increasingly multifunctional, while still being fully recyclable. This evolution will affect the way we discover, model, design, and manufacture materials and devices. Typical and, hopefully, convincing examples will be discussed.