RAPSODEE is one of the three IMT Mines Albi training and research centers and, since 2001, a joint research unit, UMR CNRS 5302, between IMT Mines Albi and the CNRS. Chaired by Professor Fabienne Espitalier, RAPSODEE is a chemical engineering laboratory focused on the engineering of functional properties of various media, including solid, liquid or gas. 

Characteristics of the LAB

RAPSODEE brings together a range of scientific expertise rarely found in a single entity: physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, process engineering, energetics, thermodynamics and modeling/simulation. This multidisciplinary team conducts research at the interface between

• single and multi-component divided solids
• energy and future energy systems
• modeling and simulation of processes and systems
• wider use of bio-resources and recycling end-of-life components

 

Powders, also known as divided solids, are the RAPSODEE’s specialty. RAPSODEE has two main expertises:

• solids characterization, which enables to deal with all types of input
• process engineering, which enables to leverage on the value chain and on all states of matter

 

In addition to working on the functional properties of products, RAPSODEE research also focuses on: 

• Designing and scaling-up new manufacturing processes, combining original characterization methods and modeling and simulation tools
• Optimizing the performance of manufacturing processes: for example, by reducing the number of steps in a manufacturing process, limiting the use of toxic products, reducing the environmental impact by incorporating bioresources, etc.
• Maximizing production efficiency, for example by limiting material losses, recycling end-of-life products and minimizing energy consumption
   

Areas of application

• energy and the environment  
• particulate engineering (industrial pharmaceuticals, agri-food, etc.)

 

The solids studied range from waste/biomass to biomolecules of pharmaceutical interest and other products of biotechnological processes (proteins, polyphenols, etc.), as well as cosmetic or food powders and polymers.

 

In the field of energy and the environment, RAPSODEE focuses on:

• the production of renewable energy carriers and materials with controlled properties, by developing highly energy-efficient and environmentally friendly processes using biomass from dedicated crops, waste biomass contaminated to a greater or lesser extent by metallic and/or organic pollutants, or industrial by-products
• processes using renewable energies (biomass, waste, solar energy, etc.) or waste heat

RAPSODEE is part of the SOLSTICE Laboratory of Excellence (LabEx).

 

In the field of particle engineering, RAPSODEE focuses on:

• the production of solids with active properties (reactivity, bioavailability, dispersion, wettability, etc.), granular texture or mechanical strength, for example by developing solvent-free or continuous processes
• solids generation processes and processes for processing and shaping solids
   

Partnerships

RAPSODEE has strong links with industry and business sectors. Its expertise enables to support industrial transition with more efficient, cleaner, greener processes and higher performance, environmentally responsible products, thus meeting the global challenges of competitiveness, and the decarbonization of industry, in line with the IMT's strategic orientations and the Plan France Relance.