Ir. Michelle van der Helm
Faculty of Applied Sciences
Michelle chose a graduation project at the crossroads of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. During her time in the
Bio-catalysis section, she has worked through the entire path from the isolation and purification of an enzyme to the immobilization of this biological catalyst on an inorganic carrier material and to testing a continuous synthesis.
Michelle is an excellent scientist ànd engineer with a strong work ethic. Her graduation work is a fantastic example of a complete and very carefully conducted research.
During her research, Michelle worked quite autonomously. Yet, she did not hesitate to stop by if she needed feedback on a new idea - and she had many good new ideas. As such, her master research project resulted in the highest grade: 10, and her work will soon be published.
It was my privilege to have worked with Michelle. The Faculty of Applied Sciences is very proud of Michelle and her excellent accomplishments.
prof.dr. U. Hanefeld
Enzyme Reactions in Monolithic Microreactors
Worldwide the chemical industry generates tremendous amounts of waste and intensive waste separation steps are required to end up with high quality products. Creating clean and sustainable processes with zero waste is therefore the call of the hour. Here, nature can assist us as the waste problem can be overcome by making use of enzymes from plants to selectively produce the desired product in high purity, prevent waste generation and avoid problematic waste separations.
On top of that, nature’s enzymes can even be recycled and used multiple times in the same process, creating an environmental-friendly and economically attractive system. In that context, enzymes were deployed for the production of important industrial products. A small scale system resulted in an exceedingly fast and efficient production of the desired product and high yields were achieved within minutes. Overall, the system showed great potential for future industrial application.
