Research at the Chair of Thermal Process Engineering, which was founded in 1972, focuses on thermal unit operations. Special expertise is available in the area of liquid-liquid processes like extraction and phase separation as well as distillation. The necessary fundamentals on mass transfer and equilibrium are investigated as well.

Goal of our research is the development of engineering models that can be safely applied in the practical life of engineers in industry and which allow the reliable design of thermal unit operations with minimal effort. We are convinced that the development of such models that represent a significant step forward as compared to currently available models is only possible based on a quantitative understanding of the interplay of phenomena on different size scales. The size scales we are investigating in our group thus reach from the molecular level to technical equipment.

In our teaching we deliver knowledge and abilities in a variety of basic and advanced courses. The most up-to-date developments are being dealt with in the lecture "New Processes in Thermal Process Engineering", where the students present the topics as seminars. Especially in the "Working Group Spirits", in which more than half of the chemical-engineering students take part, soft skills like ability to work in a team, flexibility as well as responsibility are developed.