This study aims at the development of a flexible semi solid extrusion (SSE) 3D printing process on FABRX’ M3DIMAKER2 printer fitting for combined use with in-line and at-line monitoring. A well controllable and robust printing process forms the foundation of any 3D printing based manufacturing process. Goal of the thesis is to establish a knowledge space for selected model formulations (active pharmaceutical ingredients + excipients). This knowledge space should include variations of the composition and the process parameters (e.g. printing speed, mass flow, temperature) and their impact on the printing process. Beyond a stable operation during printing, the thesis shall also focus on starts and stops of the printing process and associated challenges like lag of material flow and oozing respectively. Special procedures or control mechanisms shall be developed and implemented to address these issues enabling the manufacturing of high quality products. The special attention paid to interruptions of the printing process is based on the planned periodic analysis of the prints via near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI). For this analysis the printing bed will be transferred between printing stage and analysis stage, as illustrated in the figure above. making it necessary to reliably stop and restart the process without creating any defects.

Further Infos:  Description
 

Contact:   Application

Research project

The master’s thesis is part of the FFG project "greenPLAST-food" – Green Plastic Recycling Factory for Food Contact Materials, which develops sustainable and energy-efficient processes for recycling polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) packaging waste into high-quality food-grade recyclates. The work focuses on optimized decontamination and energy efficiency.

Master thesis

The master’s thesis investigates the washing and extrusion processes in plastics recycling, focusing on decontamination efficiency, energy use, and material quality. Process conditions (e.g. water input, temperature, extrusion parameters) will be analyzed regarding their impact on contamination removal, recyclate quality and energy efficiency, contributing to optimized and climate-friendly recycling.

The tasks of the master’s thesis include:

• Washing trials with the friction washer at the LIT Factory (JKU Linz)

• Extrusion experiments under varying parameters to assess process stability and material quality

• Evaluation of decontamination efficiency before and after processing

• Data evaluation and analysis, including material characterization, flake cleanliness, and literature review

   

Further Infos:  Description 
 

Contact:      DI Theresa Plesch

LCA-gestützte Prozessmodellierung chemischer Reaktionen zur Nachhaltigkeitsbewertung neuer Materialien 
(Joanneum Research LIFE)

Tasks:

• Entwicklung einer Berechnungsgrundlage oder eines Tools zur Analyse und Modellierung von chemischen Prozessen, um LCA für neue Materialien unter realistischen Produktionsbedingungen zu berechnen.
• Mithilfe von ML & Data mining (text mining, natural language processing) soll die effiziente Suche nach bestehenden Literaturdaten und die darauf basierte Entwicklung von Methoden für die Skalierung chemischer Prozesse von Labor zum industriellen Maßstab ermöglicht werden.
• Im Fokus stehen Energieverbrauch, Abfallbehandlung und die Übertragung von Labor- auf Produktionsmaßstab.

Further Infos:  Description
 

Contakt:       DI. Dr. Hannes Schwaiger 

Modeling the Separation Performance of a Disk Stack Centrifuge (IPPT)

Inhalte der Arbeit umfassen:

• Literature Review: Review centrifuge principles, particle settling in rotating
  systems, and existing separation models.
• Model Development: Develop a mathematical model for particle transport and
  separation based on centrifugal sedimentation.
• Implementation: Integrate the model into the current simulation software.
• Validation: Test the model with representative cases and, if possible, validate
  against literature or experimental data.
• Documentation: Summarize methodology, results, and conclusions in a thesis
  and presentation.

Nähere Infos:  Beschreibung
 

Kontakt:       Univ. Prof. Johannes Khinast 

Modeling the pH Distribution in a Cell-Culture Bio-Reactor (IPPT)

Tasks:

• Literature Review: Understand buffer systems and existing pH modeling
  approaches
• Model Development: Develop a mathematical model to calculate pH based on
  buffer equilibria and concentration fields.
• Implementation: Integrate the pH model into existing simulation software with
  predefined flow and concentration data.
• Validation: Verify the model using test cases and, if possible, compare with
  experimental or literature data.
• Documentation: Summarize methods, results, and insights in a written thesis
  and final presentation.

Further Infos:  Description
 

Contakt:       Professor Johannes Khinast 

HIGH CONCENTRATION ANTIBODY
FORMULATION USING SPRAY DRYING (RCPE)

Contents of thesis include:

•  Extensive participation in a top-level and industrially relevant research project in an
  international environment
• Supervised training in the task
• Assistance of experienced staff with the implementation of innovative ideasAccess to highly modern infrastructure on campus of Graz University of Technology
• Assistance with the publication of results

Further Infos:  Description
 

Contakt:       RCPE Careers 

Paid Master Thesis (Anton Paar)

Responsibilities:

• quality and taste of non-alcoholic beer
• sensors will be integrated into the world's leading beer analysis system
• enable precise measurements supporting quality control
• explore new measurement methods and evaluate their potential for characterizing non-alcoholic beers.

futher Infos:  Description
 

Contact:       Dr. Werner Schlemmer