Professor of Energy and Thermodynamics, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge

Professor Scott’s research is focussed primarily on carbon capture and other processes for the abatement of CO2. This includes detailed investigations into specific technologies, with a large effort on processes which are based on gasification, combustion and thermochemical cycles, as well as more general process and reactor modelling and sustainability assessment.

Recent work has looked at combined gasification and metal oxygen donor processes (often called chemical looping combustion), in which the oxygen for combustion comes from a solid oxygen carrier (usually a metal oxide) rather than air. These high temperature processes have the potential to dramatically reduce the energy penalty associated with carbon capture and storage (CCS), and can also be used to produce hydrogen. Dr Scott's research in this area goes from the understanding and development of the materials, through to lab-scale testing and process modelling of the scaled up systems.

Many of the reactor systems required for either fuel conversion technologies require multiphase flows, in particular the use of fluidised beds. Dr Scott continues to work on fundamental models of these systems via Discrete Element Modelling, in addition to higher level reactor models.

Many of the carbon abatement technologies investigated make claims on either efficiency or environmental credentials. It is therefore important both to be able to model the entire process and to some extent the wider system. Dr Scott’s work includes the modelling of carbon abatement technologies, from the reactor scale through to the process flow sheet and the wider system scale. This has led to work on Lifecycle Assessment of Biofuels, including those which make use of novel biological systems (i.e. algae).