Shaping the future of chemical engineering
Three postgraduate courses on key technologies for a sustainable industry
This autumn, the Institute for Sustainable Process Technology (ISPT) in collaboration with Nederlandse Procestechnologen (NPT) is launching three advanced courses that respond directly to some of the most urgent challenges in the chemical and process industries. Held at ISPT’s headquarters in Amersfoort between September and October 2025, these courses are aimed at EngD and PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and industry professionals who wish to deepen their expertise in cutting-edge topics.
The courses
Hydrometallurgical recycling of critical raw materials
Date: 15–17 September 2025
Instructors: Derik van der Westhuizen and Dolf Bruinsma
The energy transition is accelerating the demand for high-purity metals and advanced materials used in batteries, electronics, magnets, PV-panels, and superalloys. This course addresses the role of hydrometallurgy in meeting this demand, covering insights into the operations in full process sequences to win metals from urban waste and ores.
Topics include:
- Leaching and solvent extraction
- Ion exchange and precipitation
- Membrane technologies, electrowinning and cementation
Click here for course information and registration.
Applied thermodynamics for sustainable chemical engineering
Date: 6–8 October 2025
Instructor: Antoon ten Kate
Thermodynamics remains a foundational pillar of chemical engineering—especially in the context of energy and materials transition. This three-day programme offers a rigorous yet intuitive introduction to modern applied thermodynamics, with particular focus on sustainability-oriented process design.
Topics include:
- Physical properties & phase behavior of pure components and mixtures
- Methods and models typically employed in process simulations
- VLE, SLE and LLE
- Visualization of phase behavior
- Ideal and non-ideal behavior, and their consequences on process design
- Data and regression to obtain parameters, especially the binary interaction parameters (BIP)
- Estimation methods for pure component properties and mixtures
Click here for course information and registration.
Advanced distillation technologies for energy-efficient separations
Date: 27–30 October 2025
Instructor: Tony Kiss (TU Delft)
Separation processes remain one of the largest energy consumers in the chemical industry. This course introduces participants to advanced distillation methods grounded in process intensification, capable of reducing energy use by up to 80 percent.
Technologies discussed include:
- Heat pump assisted distillation
- Dividing wall column distillation
- Reactive distillation
The course includes lectures and a group-based case study, culminating in final presentations on day four.
Click here for course information and registration.
Practical Details
All courses will be held at the ISPT office in Amersfoort.
Fee structure:
- €500 (excl. VAT) for NPT/ISPT-associated participants (including 4TU and RUG university members)
- €1000 (excl. VAT) for others
With a strong emphasis on sustainability, technological innovation, and hands-on learning, each programme delivers a unique perspective on process efficiency and circularity. The courses combine academic depth with practical relevance, providing tools that are directly applicable to both research and industrial practice.
