Tuomo Sainio Chemical separations

Member introduction

Tuomo Sainio is professor of Chemical Separations in Laboratory of Separation and purification at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT), Finland.

About Chemical Separations:

About Tuomo Sainio:

Brief Biography:

• 2005 Doctor of Science, LUT, “Ion-Exchange Resins as Stationary Phase in Reactive Chromatography”
• 2005-2012, Post-doc researcher at LUT Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry
• 2006, 2008 Post-doc researcher exchange at Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, research group of prof. Andreas Seidel-Morgenstern, Magdeburg, Germany
• 2008-2014, Title of Docent (Separation technology, especially Industrial chromatography), Department of Chemical Technology, LUT
• 2012-2013, Professor, Industrial Chemistry, Laboratory of Separation Technology, LUT
• 2014-, Professor, Separation processes, LUT School of Engineering Science
• 2013-2016, Head of B.Sc and M.Sc degree programs, Chemical Engineering, LUT
• 2016-, Director of Chemical and Process Engineering M.Sc degree program, LUT

Research interests:

His research interests range from the fundamental phenomena to the development of process design methods for integrated separation processes and include:

• Mathematical modeling
  • Physical phenomena in chemical rectors and separation units.
• Industrial chromatography
  • Theoretical analysis of chromatographic separation process and their modes of operation
  • Recycling schemes for chromatographic separation processes
  • Continuous chromatography (various SMB configurations)
  • Applications in bio-refining, especially fractionation of biomass hydrolysates and extracts
  • Applications in food and fine chemicals industries
• Adsorption and Ion exchange: 
  • Treatment of drinking and process waters (e.g. removal of antibiotics, hormones, phenolic compounds, surfactants, etc.)
  • Treatment of process waters and effluents
  • Purification of hydrometallurgical solutions- Development and design of continuous SMB type ion exchange processes
  • Ion-exchange resins as catalysts and adsorbent
• Solvent extraction 
  • Hydrometallurgical recovery of valuable metals from secondary sources
  • Development of process design methods
  • Process intensification
  • Chromatographic reactors, thermal effects in reactive chromatography
  • Intensification of solvent extraction by using high-shear mixers
  • Integrated reactor-separator systems

Statistics:

• 63 peer-reviewed articles in international scientific journals
• 3 peer-reviewed articles in edited books
• 1 international patent application (EU and US regions)
• 75+ papers and presentations in international scientific conferences
• Number of citations:
  • 636 in Google Scholar,
  • 485 in Scopus
  • – h-index: 15 in Google Scholar, 13 in Scopus
  • – i10-index: 23 in Google Scholar (number of papers with ≥ 10 citations)