International Conference on Fluidization

International Conference on Fluidization
Name	International Conference on Fluidization
Status	Active
Genre	Scientific conference
Frequency	Biennial
Years active	1980s–present
Organized	American Institute of Chemical Engineers; European Federation of Chemical Engineering; Powder Technology groups
Location	Rotating international venues
Discipline	Chemical engineering; Mechanical engineering; Materials science

International Conference on Fluidization The International Conference on Fluidization is a recurring scientific meeting that brings together researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo, Seoul National University, and industrial partners such as Shell plc, BASF SE, Dow Chemical Company, Siemens AG, and Babcock & Wilcox to discuss advances in fluidization. Organized by professional bodies like the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the European Federation of Chemical Engineering, and networks including the Particle Technology Forum, the conference fosters collaboration among attendees from institutions such as National Institute of Standards and Technology, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and corporations including ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, and Johnson Matthey. The meeting has cross-disciplinary engagement with scholars from Princeton University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Oxford, Delft University of Technology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

History

The conference series traces origins to research communities active at venues like AIChE Annual Meeting and workshops associated with European Congress of Chemical Engineering, with early contributors from University of Minnesota, University of Leeds, University of Sheffield, University of Alberta, McGill University, and University of British Columbia. Foundational developments referenced work at laboratories including Max Planck Society, CNRS, CNR, and Fraunhofer Society, and were influenced by industrial demonstrations from Union Carbide, ICI plc, Praxair, and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation. Milestones in attendance and themes paralleled discoveries linked to researchers affiliated with A.O. Nusselt Prize-winning groups, and collaborations with institutes such as National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics and Helmholtz Association. Over decades the conference has reflected shifts seen in forums like the Gordon Research Conferences and partnerships with organizations including European Commission research programs and national funding agencies such as National Science Foundation, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Scope and Topics

Presentations span experimental, theoretical, and computational work relevant to industrial reactors developed by Lurgi GmbH, KBR Inc., and research centers at Rice University and University of Wisconsin–Madison. Topics frequently intersect with advances in multiphase flow studied at NASA Glenn Research Center, CERN, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and methods developed at Google Research and Microsoft Research for data analysis. Sessions include studies of particle-fluid interactions relevant to processes at Air Liquide, Mitsui Chemicals, Yara International, and energy systems explored at National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. Interdisciplinary tie-ins bring speakers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Wyss Institute, SRI International, Riken, and Broad Institute for materials, catalyst, and biomedical particulate applications. Regulatory and safety themes draw from standards bodies like American Petroleum Institute and International Organization for Standardization.

Organization and Governance

Governance structures involve program committees with members from AIChE, EFCE, IChemE, Royal Society, National Academy of Engineering, American Chemical Society, and editorial participation linked to journals such as Chemical Engineering Science, Powder Technology, AIChE Journal, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, and Chemical Engineering Journal. Steering committees have included representatives from MIT Energy Initiative, BP plc, Chevron Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell, and academic chairs from Duke University, University of California, Los Angeles, Columbia University, and McMaster University. Organizational practices mirror those of conferences like International Conference on Computational Fluid Dynamics, European Congress on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering, and World Chemical Engineering Congress.

Conference Editions and Locations

Editions have been held in cities with academic clusters such as Cambridge, Massachusetts, Oxford, Zurich, Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, Toronto, Sydney, Munich, Paris, Barcelona, Vienna, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Dublin, Edinburgh, Bologna, Milan, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Istanbul, Athens, Dubai, Riyadh, Tel Aviv, Montreal, Vancouver, Mexico City, Bogotá, Lagos, and Cairo. Each edition often partners with local universities like University of São Paulo, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, University of Buenos Aires, University of Cape Town, and University of the Philippines.

Keynote Speakers and Notable Presentations

Keynotes have featured leaders affiliated with Nobel Prize-adjacent institutions, senior scientists from Royal Society fellows, and industry executives from BP, Shell, BASF, Dow, and DuPont. Notable presentations included breakthroughs related to hydrodynamics by teams from Princeton University and Caltech, catalyst and reactor design from Johnson Matthey and Umicore, scale-up case studies from Shell Technology Centre, and numerical advances from groups at ETH Zurich, INRIA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories. Sessions have highlighted collaborations with consortia such as CEN, EERA, Horizon 2020, EUREKA, and national initiatives like Manufacturing USA.

Proceedings and Publications

Proceedings are typically published in partnership with journals and publishers such as Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, and IOM Communications, and appear in special issues of Chemical Engineering Science, Powder Technology, AIChE Journal, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, and conference books indexed by Scopus and Web of Science. Editors and contributors often hold editorial roles with Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Physics of Fluids, Langmuir, Advanced Materials, and citation metrics reflect cross-citation with works from Nature, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Physical Review Letters.

Impact and Applications in Industry and Research

The conference has influenced reactor designs used by Sasol, Linde plc, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and China National Chemical Corporation, and has guided research programs at institutions like DARPA, European Space Agency, US Department of Energy, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Applications span chemical synthesis in plants operated by ExxonMobil Chemical, pharmaceutical manufacturing at Pfizer, Roche, and Novartis, energy conversion systems developed with Siemens Energy and GE Renewable Energy, and environmental technologies implemented by Veolia and SUEZ. The meeting continues to shape pedagogy at universities including University of Manchester, University of California, Santa Barbara, Nanyang Technological University, University of Queensland, and Monash University.

Category:Chemical engineering conferences