Christian Ludwig

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Adjunct Professor

christian.ludwig@epfl.ch +41 56 310 26 96

Citizenship: Swiss

Birth date: 30.03.1963

EPFL ENAC IIE GR-LUD
CH B2 398 (Bâtiment CH)
Station 6
CH-1015 Lausanne

+41 56 310 26 96
+41 21 693 37 75
+41 21 693 62 17
Office: GC A3 475
EPFL > ENAC > IIE > GR-LUD

Web site: Web site: https://www.psi.ch/cpm

EPFL ENAC SSIE-GE
GR A2 392 (Bâtiment GR)
Station 2
CH-1015 Lausanne

+41 56 310 26 96
+41 21 693 76 78
Office: GR A2 392
EPFL > ENAC > ENAC-SSIE > SSIE-ENS

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Administrative data

Fields of expertise

Solid Waste Treatment with a focus on Chemical Processes and Materials in thermal as well as aqueous systems
- Waste and Bioenergy Technology development
- Synthesis and Characterization (incl. Synchrotron Methods) of Nano-Particle-based materials for biofuel synthesis, gascleaning, and other CleanTech applications
- Development of Analytical Devices and Methods for on-line and in-situ investigations
- Analyzing, Modeling, and Controlling the Fate of Trace Elements and (Nano-)Particles in waste and biofuel applications
- Natural Resources Management
- Recycling of Minerals, Metals (incl. REEs), and Nutrients

Mission

The technological development in the last 100 years has strongly increased the demands for energy and materials and this is increasingly affecting the natural materials cycles. Within the general subject of sustainable resources management our group is contributing to the technology development in the following fields:

- New materials for resource efficient (energy) technologies

- Controlling the fate of valuable and/or harmful materials

- Recycling, recovery and reuse of raw materials

In this context nanoparticles and nanoobjects, their synthesis, fate, physical-chemical characterization and behavior, are of particular interest.

Environmental sciences and research investigate and describe the natural processes and try to quantify the influence of human activities. From this it is possible to derive the aims for an environmentally sound course of action. Afterwards, implementation on the technological, political and social level is necessary. In coordination with the industrial sector, the authorities issue guidelines and adapt laws. In the past a series of environmental standards have been implemented. However, such improvements are based on state-of-the-art technologies, as they can only be realized under economically acceptable boundary conditions. Often a technological gap remains between the desirable goals and the practicable solutions. It is our mission to fill or at least to minimize such technological gaps.

Current work

Recent work focussed on
* nucleation and crystallization processes *
* size-resolved elemental anaylysis of gasborne nanoparticles *
* sorption processes for the cleaning of gases and fluids *
* recovery of rare earth elements and phosphor from wastes and residues *
* algal biomass and its applications for waste water treatment, biofuels and chemicals *

Biography

2005 - today:
Adjunct Professor at EPFL in the field of Solid Waste Treatment and head of the Chemical Processes and Materials research group (CPM) at Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Joint EPFL-PSI Professorship on Solid Waste Treatment.

2000 - today:
Head, Group of Chemical Processes and Materials (CPM) at Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI).
In 2009 the LEM unit was closed and the CPM group is now affiliated to the Bioenergy and Catalysis Laboratory (LBK) of the Energy and Environment Research Division (ENE).
Since June 2002 permanent position ("tenure").

1997 - 1999:
Senior Scientist. Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), General Energy Research Department, Element Cycles Section.

1995 - 1997:
Research Fellow. Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (EAWAG), Department of Resource and Waste Management.

1993 - 1995:
Post-doc Fellow. University of California Davis, Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources (LAWR).

1990 - 1993:
PhD Student. University of Berne, Department of Inorganic, Analytical, and Physical Chemistry.

1989 - 1990:
Master Student. University of Berne, Department of Inorganic, Analytical, and Physical Chemistry.

Publications

Infoscience publications

Solid Waste Treatment on InfoScience

An elution-based method for estimating efficiencies of aerosol collection devices not affected by their pressure drops

Y.-B. Zhao; T. Cen; J. Tang; W. He; C. Ludwig et al.

Separation and Purification Technology. 2022-01-30. DOI : 10.1016/j.seppur.2022.120590.

Ludwig, Chr. and Valdivia, S. (Eds.) Book, a publication of World Resources Forum, printed by Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, (2019) - 232 pages (ISBN 978-3-9521409-8-7)	Progress towards the Resource Revolution
Ludwig, Chr. and Matasci, C. (Eds.) Book, a publication of World Resources Forum, printed by Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, (2017) - 429 pages	Boosting Resource Productivity by Adopting the Circular Economy
Ludwig, Chr. and Casey, W.H. Book chapter, in: Encyclopedia of Geochemistry, White, W.M. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, Springer International Publishing, 1-5 (2017), ISBN: 978-3-319-39193-9	Surface Geochemistry
Worrell, W.A., Vesilid, P.A., Ludwig, Chr. Book, Cengage Learning (2017) - 499 pages	Solid Waste Engineering - A Global Perspective
Worrell, W.A., Vesilind, P.A., Ludwig, Chr. Book, Cengage Learning (2017) - 499 pages	Solid Waste Engineering - A Global Perspective, SI Edition (3e)
Ludwig, Chr., Matasci, C., Edelmann, X. (Eds.) Book, A publication of World Resources Forum, printed by Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, 2015 - 351 pages	Natural Resources - Sustainable Targets, Technologies, Lifestyles and Governance
Ludwig, Chr., Lehmann, M., Edelmann, X. (Eds.) Special Issue (Part II), in Science Of The Total Environment, vol. 481, 637ff, Elsevier, 2014	Shaping the Future of Natural Resources
Ludwig, Chr., Lehmann, M., Edelmann, X. (Eds.) Special Issue (Part I), in Science Of The Total Environment, vol. 461, 773ff, Elsevier, 2013.	How to do with less - Shaping the Future of Natural Resources
Edited by Edelmann X. and Ludwig Chr. A publication of Empa - 58 pages	Book of Abstracts, World Resources Forum 2011 (WRF 2011)
Edited by Mishra, B., Ludwig, Chr., Das, S. A publication of TMS - 1849 pages	Proceedings of the 2008 Global Symposium on Recycling, Waste Treatment and Clean Technology (REWAS 2008)
Ludwig, Chr., Hellweg, S., Stucki, S. Book, Springer (2003) - 534 pages	Municipal Solid Waste Management - Strategies and Technologies for Sustainable Solutions
Ludwig, Chr., Hellweg, S., Stucki, S. Brochure, Synthesis of the knowledge gained during the Integrated Project Waste of the Priority Program Environment (Swiss National Science Foundation 1996-1999), Villigen PSI (2000) - 32 pages	Directing Material Fluxes, Advances in Municipal Solid Waste Management and Technology
Wochele, J., Ludwig, Chr., Stucki, S., Auer, P. O., Schuler, A. J. Book chapter, in: Forschung für eine nachhaltige Abfallwirtschaft, Eds. S. Stucki et al., ISBN 3-9521409-1-0, Villigen, Switzerland, Eigenverlag Paul Scherrer Institut und Schweizerischer Nationalfonds (1999)	Abfall- und Rückstandsbehandlung: Grundlagen zur thermischen Schwermetallseparation
Casey, W. H., Ludwig, Chr., Holmén, B. Book chapter, in: Proceedings of the Rome Seminar on Environmental Geochemistry, Castelnuovo di Porto 22-26 Maggio 1996, Eds. Marini L. and Ottonello G., Pacini Editore, Pisa (1998)	Towards Understanding the Rates of Reactions at Mineral Surfaces
Casey, W. H., Ludwig, Chr. Book chapter, In: Chemical Weathering Rates of Silicate Minerals, Eds. White, A. F., and Brantley S. L., Reviews in Mineralogy Vol. 31, Ser. Ed. Ribbe, H. P., Mineralogical Society of America, BookCrafters Inc (1995)	Silicate Mineral Dissolution as a Ligand-Exchange-Reaction

Christian Ludwig

Adjunct Professor

Fields of expertise

Mission

Current work

Biography

Publications

Infoscience publications

Solid Waste Treatment on InfoScience

An elution-based method for estimating efficiencies of aerosol collection devices not affected by their pressure drops

Integrated Aerodynamic/Electrochemical Microsystem for Collection and Detection of Nanogram-level Airborne Bioaccessible Metals

Insights about inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy interferences of major rare earth elements in complex e-waste feeds

Separation and Recycling Potential of Rare Earth Elements from Energy Systems: Feed and Economic Viability Review

Enhancing Algae Biomass Production by Using Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells as Filters

Investigating active phase loss from supported ruthenium catalysts during supercritical water gasification

Cultivation of microalgae at high-density with pretreated liquid digestate as a nitrogen source: Fate of nitrogen and improvements on growth limitations

Coexistence of reactive functional groups at the interface of a powdered activated amorphous carbon: a molecular view

Elemental and Thermo-gravimetric Characterization of Trace Metals in Leaves and Soils as Bioindicators of Pollution in Kyiv City

Sampling, on-line and off-line measurement of organic silicon compounds at an industrial biogas-fed 175-kWe SOFC plant

Algal cellulose, production and potential use in plastics: Challenges and opportunities

Understanding Degradation Effects of Elevated Temperature Operating Conditions in Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolyzers

Rapid Noninvasive Skin Monitoring by Surface Mass Recording and Data Learning

Soft-probe-scanning electrochemical microscopy reveals electrochemical surface reactivity of E. coli biofilms

Detection of trace metals in biogas using extractive electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry

Robust and sustainable cultivation of microalgae: recycling of nitrogen from liquid digestate and control of biological contamination

The effect of alkali hydroxides and equilibration time on Al uptake by calcium silicate hydrates (C-S-H)

The effect of equilibration time on Al uptake in C-S-H

Extraction of Rare Earth Metals: The New Thermodynamic Considerations Toward Process Hydrometallurgy

Thermodynamics and Dynamics of Supercritical Water Pseudo‐Boiling

Exploiting end-of-life lamps fluorescent powder e-waste as a secondary resource for critical rare earth metals

The G protein coupled receptor CXCR4 designed by the QTY code becomes more hydrophilic and retains cell signaling activity

CaP bone‐like coating for fast osseointegration of dental implants

Global uncertainty-sensitivity analysis on mechanistic kinetic models: From model assessment to theory-driven design of nanoparticles

Multifunctional electrolyte additive for improved interfacial stability in Ni-rich layered oxide full-cells

The effect of sodium hydroxide on Al uptake by calcium silicate hydrates (C S H)

HillCity - Future city, living and working under the same roof

Precipitation Pathways: In Situ Liquid SAXS Studies on the Early Stage of Calcium Carbonate Formation (Part. Part. Syst. Charact. 6/2019)

A novel proposition for a citrate-modified photo-Fenton process against bacterial contamination of microalgae cultures

Evaporation of Metals during the Thermal Treatment of Oxide Nanomaterials in Cellulose-Based Matrices

Metal-organic frameworks as kinetic modulators for branched selectivity in hydroformylation

Understanding the effects of material properties and operating conditions on component aging in polymer electrolyte water electrolyzers

Siloxane compounds in biogas from manure and mixed organic waste: Method development and speciation analysis with GC-ICP-MS

Real-Time Detection of Aerosol Metals Using Online Extractive Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Mit Kollaboration zu erfolgreicher Innovation

Production of Algae for Biomaterials and Bioenergy: Closing the Nutrient Cycle and Enhancing the Light Utilisation Efficiency

Quantifying Litter Emissions into the Swiss Environment - A bottom-up approach focusing on roads

Supercritical water anomalies in the vicinity of the Widom line

Visualization of supercritical water pseudo-boiling at Widom line crossover

In Situ Liquid SAXS Studies on the Early Stage of Calcium Carbonate Formation

A dilute gold nanoparticle suspension as small-angle X-ray scattering standard for an absolute scale using an extended Guinier approximation

PROGRESS TOWARDS THE RESOURCE REVOLUTION

Rare Earth Metals Recycling from E-Wastes: Strategy and Perspective

Gülle zu Biomethan - Eine techno-ökonomische Bewertung innovativer Kleinanlagen

Kinetics and Mechanism of Metal Nanoparticle Growth via Optical Extinction Spectroscopy and Computational Modeling: The Curious Case of Colloidal Gold

A combined hydrothermal gasification - solid oxide fuel cell system for sustainable production of algal biomass and energy

Hyphenated Analytical Techniques for Studying the Speciation and Fate of Contaminants and Nanoparticles in Waste Treatment and Bioenergy Processes

Combustion generated nanomaterials: online characterization via an ICP-MS based technique. Part II: resolving power for heterogeneous matrices

Combustion generated nanomaterials: online characterization via an ICP-MS based technique. Part I: calibration strategy with a TGA

Formation and transformation of calcium phosphate phases under biologically relevant conditions: Experiments and modelling

Fate and reuse of nitrogen-containing organics from the hydrothermal conversion of algal biomass

Thermophilic cyanobacteria Leptolyngbya sp

Unravelling the precipitation pathway of biorelevant minerals: from fundamental studies to biomedical applications

Emissions of Secondary Formed ZnO Nano-Objects from the Combustion of Impregnated Wood. An Online Size-Resolved Elemental Investigation

On the mesoscale mechanism of synthetic calcium–silicate–hydrate precipitation: a population balance modeling approach

Bending properties of two- and three-dimensional-shaped nanoparticles fabricated via substrate conformal imprint lithography

Thermodynamic properties of the Ba 0.75 Sr 0.25 TiO 3 nanopowders obtained by hydrothermal synthesis

Boosting Resource Productivity by Adopting the Circular Economy

Supercritical water gasification of effluents from composted human excreta and recycling of the aqueous phases for microalgae cultivation

Advanced Nanopowder Synthesis

Dopant-Free Hole-Transporting Materials for Stable and Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells

Adsorption of thiophene by activated carbon: A global sensitivity analysis

Structural Reversibility and Nickel Particle stability in Lanthanum Iron Nickel Perovskite-Type Catalysts

Extraction of carotenoids from Chlorella vulgaris using green solvents and syngas production from residual biomass

The impact of sorbent geometry on the sulphur adsorption under supercritical water conditions: a numerical study

Surface Geochemistry

Catalytic Supercritical Water Gasification: Continuous Methanization of Chlorella vulgaris

Analysis and Removal of Product Gas Contaminants Present in Gasification Processes

Deactivation Aspects of Methane Oxidation Catalysts Based on Palladium and ZSM-5

A Practical Guide on Coupling a Scanning Mobility Sizer and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (SMPS-ICPMS)

Iron phosphate nanoparticles for food fortification: Biological effects in rats and human cell lines