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PhD Projects

Green Chemistry / PhD Programme / GreenChem TechHub / PhD Projects

The doctoral projects of the GreenChem TechHub are carried out jointly by TU Wien, BOKU University and the University of Vienna, each in close cooperation with at least one industry partner. They address current questions in green chemistry – from using CO2, methanol and industrial side streams as feedstocks and making bio-based materials, to recycling plastics and developing more sustainable routes to pharmaceuticals. The methods range from biotechnology and organic synthesis to chemical engineering.

Each project is conducted both at the university and at the partner company. More about the people behind the projects can be found on the PhD Students page.

  • Engineering methanol utilisation in Komagataella phaffii for more sustainable bioprocesses

    Doctoral candidate: Camilla Scipione
    Institution: BOKU University
    Industry partner: New Path Bio
    Supervision: Diethard Mattanovich, Özge Ata

    Methanol can be made from CO2 or recovered from industrial side streams, making it an attractive C1 feedstock that does not compete with food production. This project re-engineers the methanol metabolism of the yeast Komagataella phaffii so that more of the carbon ends up in biomass and products, with less oxygen consumed and less heat released.

    Focus areas

    • Replacing the native alcohol oxidase with an alcohol dehydrogenase for the first conversion step
    • Limiting carbon loss to CO2 through targeted pathway modifications
    • Characterising and optimising fermentation with regard to oxygen demand and heat generation
    • Paving the way for scalable, economically viable processes

  • From industrial side streams to high-purity biochemicals: a Lentilactobacillus diolivorans platform for 1,3-propanediol

    Doctoral candidate: Sandra Babu
    Institution: BOKU University, in cooperation with TU Wien
    Industry partner: Vogelbusch
    Supervision: Diethard Mattanovich (BOKU University), Hans Marx (TU Wien)

    1,3-Propanediol is a building block for bio-based polymers such as PTT, a renewable alternative to PET. The project turns residues from biodiesel and bioethanol production into high-purity 1,3-propanediol using the lactic acid bacterium Lentilactobacillus diolivorans.

    Focus areas

    • Using crude glycerol and bioethanol side streams instead of costly media components
    • Intensifying the fermentation process and reducing by-product formation
    • Membrane-based downstream processing for high-purity 1,3-propanediol
    • Recovering and reusing water, salts, acids and bases

  • Membrane technology for CO₂ separation

    Doctoral candidate: Alexander Trischack
    Institution: TU Wien
    Industry partner: voestalpine
    Supervision: Michael Harasek

    Blast-furnace steelmaking is one of the largest industrial sources of CO2. The project develops membrane-based gas separation to capture CO2 from steel-industry flue gases in an energy-efficient way, so that it can be stored or used as a raw material for the chemical industry.

    Focus areas

    • Transferring state-of-the-art membrane materials to real flue-gas conditions
    • Developing hollow-fibre membrane systems
    • Process simulation based on experimental data

  • Electro-photocatalytic recycling of polyurethanes

    Doctoral candidate: Miriam Ciallella
    Institution: University of Vienna
    Industry partner: BASF
    Supervision: Davide Bonifazi

    Polyurethanes are highly stable, crosslinked materials and are difficult to recycle with conventional methods. The project combines light- and electricity-driven chemistry to break polyurethanes down selectively and recover monomers of virgin-grade quality.

    Focus areas

    • Combining photochemical and electrochemical activation of C–O and C–N bonds
    • Controlled depolymerisation of crosslinked polyurethane networks
    • Efficient recovery of monomers with low energy consumption
    • Testing the process on model systems and real polyurethane waste

  • Bio-based high-performance adhesives from modified starch

    Doctoral candidate: Raluca Dobre
    Institution: TU Wien
    Industry partner: AGRANA
    Supervision: Marko Mihovilovic, Christian Stanetty

    Starch is a renewable, environmentally benign raw material, but starch-based glues are sensitive to water and adhere poorly to non-polar surfaces. The project uses light- or heat-activated diazirines to bond starch covalently to such surfaces, opening up new applications for bio-based adhesives.

    Focus areas

    • Covalent anchoring of starch to non-activated surfaces via diazirines
    • Evaluating one- and two-component adhesive systems
    • Greener synthesis of diazirines from natural amino acids
    • Towards biodegradable, water-resistant adhesives

  • Photocleavable bioisosteres

    Doctoral candidate: Bjarne Schulz
    Institution: University of Vienna
    Industry partner: Boehringer Ingelheim
    Supervision: Nuno Maulide

    Drug residues that are excreted unchanged can accumulate in water bodies and pose risks to ecosystems and human health. The project designs photocleavable structural motifs that can be built into drugs without affecting their therapeutic effect and that break down into inactive fragments under visible light.

    Focus areas

    • Designing photocleavable bioisosteres for use in drug molecules
    • Retaining therapeutic efficacy
    • Light-triggered degradation into biologically inactive fragments

  • Towards solvent-free synthesis of a novel anti-cancer therapeutic

    Doctoral candidate: Nika Podlesnik
    Institution: TU Wien
    Industry partner: RDP
    Supervision: Michael Schnürch

    Solvents are the largest source of waste in pharmaceutical production. The project applies mechanochemistry, where reactions are driven by mechanical energy instead of solvents, to shorten and green the multi-step synthesis of a novel anti-cancer drug candidate.

    Focus areas

    • Solvent-free reaction steps by mechanochemistry, for example in ball mills
    • Telescoping steps to shorten the synthetic route
    • Controlling selectivity under solvent-free conditions
    • Avoiding problematic reagents and solvents

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