Download Particle Research at IUTA Christof Asbach Institut für Energie

Particle Research at IUTA
Christof Asbach
Institut für Energie- und Umwelttechnik (IUTA), Air Quality & Filtration Unit, Duisburg, Germany
The Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology (IUTA) is a private, non-profit research
institute in the field of energy and environmental engineering. The institute is divided into eight
research divisions dealing with a variety of topics related to environment, sustainability, energy and
resources, many of which have a strong focus on particle and aerosol technology. With a staff of
approximately 150 IUTA is among the largest research institutes of its kind in Germany. The fields of
research include the synthesis of (nano-)particles, development of aerosol measurement
instrumentation, safety and exposure assessment for nanomaterials as well as gas and particle
filtration in a variety of applications.
The Air Quality & Filtration unit is equipped with state of the art instrumentation and test rigs to
study and improve filter performance. Unique facilities to study the filtering and drainage
performance of full scale compressed air filters under a wide range of conditions and a test rig to
handle toxic gases to investigate the efficiency of adsorbens materials or gas masks are just two out
of many examples for the advanced equipment of the department. Other filtration related research
at IUTA involves the study of the process and flue gas cleaning in industrial scale as well as the study
of indoor air cleaners. The nanoparticle synthesis & processing department operates a pilot scale
nanoparticle synthesis facility that can produce highly specific engineered nanomaterials at a daily
production rate of up to several kilograms. Three different reactor types are used to produce a wide
range of metal and metal oxide nanomaterials for various applications. The Air Quality &Sustainable
Nanotechnology department investigates the safety of nanomaterials in view of a sustainable
development of nanotechnology. There are many cross-links between the different departments,
making IUTA strong player in the field of aerosol science. The capabilities of the institute will be
presented along with results from various aerosol related research projects.
Dr.-Ing. Christof Asbach, electrical engineer by background, received his Ph.D. from Prof. Heinz Fissan
at the University Duisburg-Essen, Germany in 2004 for the development of a system to accurately
determine ambient PM10 concentrations. During his two year post-doc under Prof. David Pui at the
University of Minnesota he conducted research on the prevention of particulate contamination in
Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUVL) systems. He joined the Institute of Energy and Environmental
Technology (IUTA) in Duisburg in 2006 and became head of the “Air Quality & Filtration” department
in 2013. His research interests are in aerosol measurement technology and aerosol physics, exposure
assessment for engineered nanomaterials as well as gas and particle filtration. Dr. Asbach has (co-)
authored nearly 100 articles, including around 50 peer reviewed papers and 15 book chapters. He is
editor of the Aerosol & Air Quality Research journal, member of the editorial board of Journal of
Aerosol Science, co-chair of the Instrumentation working group of the European Aerosol Assembly,
board member of the Gesellschaft für Aerosolforschung and member of various standardization and
harmonization committees.