The research of professor Evgeny Rebrov at the research group Energy Intensified Chemical Reaction Engineering is related to the development of structured multiphase catalytic reactors, in particular hydrogenation reactors for fine chemical synthesis and their scale-up to capacities of 50 kg per day and beyond. His research focuses on the optimization of the regular microscopic structure of the reactor internals, to maximize process selectivity and the radial convective heat transfer rate. Particularly interesting application areas are in the hydrogenation of acetylene alcohols, nitroaromatics and functionalized imines. This research is performed in the framework of a European Innovation Council project with StoliCatalysts Ltd and DSM. It is foreseen that the technology could reduce the manufacturing costs for vitamins, food supplements and agrichemicals production by 20-60%.

Another research line is devoted to the utilization of energy-intensified reaction conditions in chemical reactors by the application of induction heating and/or non-thermal plasma. In the framework of the ERC Synergy project SCOPE, tailor-made catalytic reactors are developed to increase the plasma-catalyst interaction. Among these are plasma fluidized bed reactors for the production of ethylene from natural gas. Furthermore, Rebrov is involved with the development of advanced operational protocols allowing transient operation of chemical reactors. 

Evgeny Rebrov got his PhD in Chemistry (cum laude) from Boreskov Institute of Catalysis (Novosibirsk, Russia) in 1999 and his DSc in Chemical Engineering from Lomonosov Moscow University of Fine Chemical Technology in 2012. In 2003 he was appointed Assistant Professor in the Laboratory for Chemical Reactor Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). In 2007 he got a Fellowship from the British Council and went to Cambridge University (UK) where he spent one year in the Chemistry department in the group of Prof Brian Johnson as visiting research scientist. Since 2010, he is full Professor of Process and Reactor Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast (UK). In 2014, he took the position of Chair of Chemical Engineering at the University of Warwick (UK). In 2019 he returned to TU/e as a part-time Professor of Energy Intensified Chemical Reaction Engineering.

Rebrov has expertise in catalytic reaction engineering, multiphase reactors, structural reactors, published over 170 peer-reviewed research papers and has more than 20 years of experience in catalyst development in collaboration with industrial companies such as DSM, SABIC, Avantium, Adisseo, Airbus and others. He is a recipient of four of the highest EU awards: an ERC Starting grant (2011), an ERC Proof of Concept grant (2015) and an ERC Synergy grant (2018), as well as an SME Stage2 Instrument grant (2019) from the European Innovation Council.