Des de la seva creació el 1977, el Grup TQG-LCMA (2001-SGR00248) ha desenvolupat una tasca innovadora en l'àmbit de la simulació i l'optimització de processos químics, i actualment ocupa un lloc d'avantguarda entre els centres de recerca que internacionalment treballen en temes d'enginyeria de processos (PSE, process systems engineering) i medi ambient (atmosfera).

El grup de recerca CEPIMA és el resultat de la integració plena del grup actual TQG-LCMA per consolidar i potenciar la seva tasca en l'àmbit de: millores en la concepció i la gestió òptima dels recursos productius a la indústria de procés conduents a la minimització de l'impacte ambiental i a situacions ecològicament acceptables.

Consegüentment, el camp d'actuació i els objectius del CEPIMA es concreten en un triple vessant:

a) Integració i intensificació de processos per a un desenvolupament sostenible que preveu el disseny i l¿operació òptims de la cadena completa de subministrament durant el cicle sencer de vida del producte sota criteris multiobjectius (productivitat, impacte ambiental, seguretat, optimització de recursos), tot considerant diversos nivells de detall (estratègic, tàctic i operacional) i diverses tècniques d'optimització (programació matemàtica, mètodes estocàstics, anàlisi de cicle de vida, etc.). També es desenvolupen sistemes de suport a la decisió intel·ligent (DSS) per a una actuació en línia i temps real (gestió, coordinació, supervisió i diagnosi i control). Es desenvolupen aplicacions informàtiques que faciliten la implementació d'aquestes metodologies i tècniques i la seva transferència a l'entorn industrial.

b) Gestió i valoració de residus mitjançant tractaments tèrmics i aprofitament energètic (combustió, gasificació i piròlisi), que permeten un bon control mediambiental. Es complementa amb estudis de sistemes de neteja dels gasos calents mitjançant sorbents sòlids que permeten l'aprofitament dels gasos en un cicle combinat de potència i energia. També es preveu la cogasificació de residus d'origen divers (biomassa, residus sòlids urbans -RSU-, pneumÓtics usats, fangs de depuradora) per a la producció sostenible i neta de gas de síntesi o, alternativament, de H2 pur per a la seva utilització en cel·les de combustible d'alta eficiència. Es desenvolupen equips (reactors de llit fluïditzat) i suport informàtic de disseny propi per a aplicacions a escala industrial.

c) Control de la contaminació atmosfèrica que preveu el desenvolupament de noves metodologies, tècniques i eines per a l'avaluació d'emissions industrials (olors, compostos orgànics volàtils -COV-, etc.). Es desenvolupen sistemes de control d'episodis d'olor i qualitat ambiental en àrees urbanes amb la integració d'anàlisi meteorològica, anàlisi química, modelització i control social. El sistema permet l'estudi d'identificació de les fonts d'origen i la seva contribució als episodis. Es desenvolupen equips de disseny propi que permeten l'automatització de la captació de mostres i aplicacions informàtiques per al desenvolupament de mapes i predicció d'origen (retrodispersió).

The TQG-LCMA (2001-SGR00248) research group was created in 1977. Since then, the group has carried out innovative tasks and has taken a leading role in chemical process simulation and optimisation. Today, it is considered an international centre of excellence in the field of process systems engineering (PSE) and environmental engineering (focusing on air pollution control). The new CEPIMA research group presented here is the result of the integration of the TQG-LCMA group, which will consolidate and enhance its work in the area of the "advancement in the design of the process industry and the optimum management of its resources, leading to environmental impact minimisation and an ecologically acceptable scenario".

The research activities and objectives of the CEPIMA are therefore focused on three main areas:

(a) Process integration and intensification for sustainable development, which includes the optimum design and operation of supply chains through products¿ entire life-cycles under multi-objective criteria (productivity, environmental impact, safety and resource optimisation). Various approaches (strategic, tactical and operational) and optimisation techniques (mathematical programming, stochastic methods, life-cycle analysis, etc.) are also considered. All of the above requires the development of intelligent decision support systems (DSS) for online and real-time initiatives (management, coordination, supervision, diagnosis and control). In the course of this research, new software applications are envisaged to facilitate the implementation of these methods and techniques, and the transfer of this technology to industry.

(b) Waste management and upgrading by thermal conversion processes (combustion, gasification, pyrolysis) that enable excellent environmental control. As a complement, the group studies hot gas clean-up systems that use dry sorbents, which permit the use of the resulting gas in a high-performance, combined heat and power cycle system. Special consideration is given to studies of co-gasification of residues from various sources (biomass, RSU, used tyres, water treatment waste, etc.) for the sustainable and clean production of synthesis gas or, alternatively, high-purity hydrogen for use in highly efficient fuel cells. The group designs equipment (fluidised bed reactors) and provides proprietary software support for applications on an industrial scale.

(c) Air pollution control and monitoring, including the development of new methodologies, techniques and tools for the evaluation of industrial emissions (odours, VOCs, etc.). Here, the development of new systems for the study and control of odour episodes and environmental quality is considered for urban areas, integrating meteorological and chemical analyses and modelling and social control approaches. The system envisaged enables odour sources and their contribution to episodes to be identified. Complementary, proprietary equipment design is carried out, including fully automated sampling and support software for contour map generation and the prediction of contamination sources (backscattering). 2. As indicators of the research group¿s activities, please find, in the Catalan version, a short list detailing the most relevant papers published over the last three years, international and national projects, and the agreements signed in the last five years (in that order).

The TQG-LCMA (2001-SGR00248) research group was created in 1977. Since then, the group has carried out innovative tasks and has taken a leading role in chemical process simulation and optimisation. Today, it is considered an international centre of excellence in the field of process systems engineering (PSE) and environmental engineering (focusing on air pollution control). The new CEPIMA research group presented here is the result of the integration of the TQG-LCMA group, which will consolidate and enhance its work in the area of the "advancement in the design of the process industry and the optimum management of its resources, leading to environmental impact minimisation and an ecologically acceptable scenario".

The research activities and objectives of the CEPIMA are therefore focused on three main areas:

(a) Process integration and intensification for sustainable development, which includes the optimum design and operation of supply chains through products¿ entire life-cycles under multi-objective criteria (productivity, environmental impact, safety and resource optimisation). Various approaches (strategic, tactical and operational) and optimisation techniques (mathematical programming, stochastic methods, life-cycle analysis, etc.) are also considered. All of the above requires the development of intelligent decision support systems (DSS) for online and real-time initiatives (management, coordination, supervision, diagnosis and control). In the course of this research, new software applications are envisaged to facilitate the implementation of these methods and techniques, and the transfer of this technology to industry.

(b) Waste management and upgrading by thermal conversion processes (combustion, gasification, pyrolysis) that enable excellent environmental control. As a complement, the group studies hot gas clean-up systems that use dry sorbents, which permit the use of the resulting gas in a high-performance, combined heat and power cycle system. Special consideration is given to studies of co-gasification of residues from various sources (biomass, RSU, used tyres, water treatment waste, etc.) for the sustainable and clean production of synthesis gas or, alternatively, high-purity hydrogen for use in highly efficient fuel cells. The group designs equipment (fluidised bed reactors) and provides proprietary software support for applications on an industrial scale.

(c) Air pollution control and monitoring, including the development of new methodologies, techniques and tools for the evaluation of industrial emissions (odours, VOCs, etc.). Here, the development of new systems for the study and control of odour episodes and environmental quality is considered for urban areas, integrating meteorological and chemical analyses and modelling and social control approaches. The system envisaged enables odour sources and their contribution to episodes to be identified. Complementary, proprietary equipment design is carried out, including fully automated sampling and support software for contour map generation and the prediction of contamination sources (backscattering). 2. As indicators of the research group¿s activities, please find, in the Catalan version, a short list detailing the most relevant papers published over the last three years, international and national projects, and the agreements signed in the last five years (in that order).

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