缅北禁地

Qualification(s)

MA, MEng, PhD (Cantab)

Professional Membership(s)

FHEA

Teaching

• Lecturer, Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering
• Degree Programme Director, Chemical Engineering with Year in Industry (MEng Honours)

Research

• Areas of expertise: gas-solid reactions, chemical reaction engineering and reactor modelling
• Current research: developing materials and processes for chemical-looping applications such as carbon capture, blue hydrogen production, air separation, ammonia synthesis and selective oxidation

External links

Research interests

My research focuses on the development of novel, energy-efficient processes for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. By bridging fundamental materials science with process design, my work contributes to the development of next-generation chemical technologies that are more efficient, flexible, and scalable for future energy and manufacturing systems. I am particularly interested in process intensification strategies that integrate reaction and separation, enabling more compact systems with significantly reduced energy demand compared to conventional approaches.

A central theme of my research is chemical looping, a versatile process platform that employs solid carriers to transform conventional gas-phase reactions into cyclic gas–solid redox processes. This approach intrinsically combines reaction and separation, alleviates thermodynamic constraints, and enhances overall process efficiency while reducing reliance on energy-intensive downstream operations.

My work includes the design and characterisation of advanced oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen carrier materials, with a focus on their thermodynamic properties, reaction kinetics, and long-term stability under realistic operating conditions. By tailoring these materials, chemical looping systems can be optimised for a wide range of intensified processes.

These processes span applications such as low carbon combustion for power generation, low-temperature reforming, oxygen separation, thermochemical energy storage, and alternative routes to chemical synthesis, including hydrogen, syngas and ammonia production.

I currently accept self-funded PhD students on all relevant research topics. Funded studentships on specific topics may also be available.

More information is available on the site /postgraduate/degrees/8030f-12/

Chemical Engineering BEng/MEng programmes

CME2022 : Separation Processes 1

CME3033 : Separation Processes 2

CME3039 : Plant Design

CME3040 : Chemical Engineering Laboratory III

CME8120 : Advanced Design Project

CME8128 : MEng Research Project

MEng in Chemical Engineering with Year in Industry - placement year (Stage 3)

CME3042: Industrial Design Project

CME8110: Chemical Engineering Knowledge

• Articles

  • Liu W, Zhao H, Wu X, Wu J, Chou L, Dury G, Hu W, Polynski MV, Subramanian A, Kozlov SM, Liu W. . ACS Catalysis 2026, 16(4), 3464-3478.
  • Yan Y, Fella M, Hu W, Metcalfe IS. . Energy Conversion and Management 2026, 350, 120950.
  • Telford DM, Martinez Martin A, Guy MD, Henry PF, Jones MO, Hu W, Metcalfe IS, Evans JSO. . Nature Chemical Engineering 2025, 2(7), 447-455.
  • McNeil L, Chen G, Hu W, Papaioannou E, Metcalfe IS, Mutch GA. . Reaction Chemistry & Engineering 2025, 10(2), 294-299.
  • Ungut MS, Metcalfe IS, Hu W. . Reaction Chemistry & Engineering 2025, 10(4), 800-809.
  • Liu W, Zhao H, Wu X, Dury G, Hu W, Liu W. . Journal of Energy Chemistry 2025, 111, 178-189.
  • Telford DM, Hu W, Metcalfe IS, Jones MO, Henry PF, Evans JSO. . Chemistry of Materials 2025, 37(9), 3471-3482.
  • Martinez Martin A, Saini S, Neagu D, Hu W, Metcalfe IS, Kousi K. . Journal of CO2 Utilization 2024, 83, 102784.
  • Yan Y, Lee Pereira RJ, Fella M, Li Z, Hu W, Larring Y, Metcalfe IS. . Journal of CO2 Utilization 2024, 88, 102935.
  • Zaidi A, de Leeuwe C, Yan Y, Fella M, Hu W, Metcalfe IS, Spallina V. . International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 2024, 94, 535-544.
  • Penn J, Hu W, Metcalfe IS, Mutch GA. . Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2024, 12(44), 30821-30830.
  • Lee Pereira RJ, Metcalfe IS, Hu W. . Applications in Energy and Combustion Science 2023, 16, 100226.
  • Lee Pereira RJ, Hu W, Metcalfe IS. . Energy & Fuels 2022, 36(17), 9757–9767.