Dr. Nicolas Abatzoglou

Dr. Nicolas Abatzoglou is full professor at the department of Chemical Engineering of the Université de Sherbrooke. He is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, Department of Chemical Engineering. He is the holder of the UdeS/Wyeth Industrial Chair in Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) in Pharmaceutical Engineering. He is a specialist in Process Engineering involving particulate systems in reactive and non-reactive environments.

Dr. Nicolas Abatzoglou earned his Ph.D from the NTU Polytechnic School Metsovion, Athens, Greece in 1989. He is co-founder of the company Enerkem Technologies Inc., a spin-off of the Université de Sherbrooke. Enerkem commercializes technologies in the field of energy from renewable resources (i.e. biomass and waste streams gasification). He has a career of many years at both the academic and industrial levels. He represented Canada at the International Energy Agency (Gasification Task) from 1997-2001 and was the secretary of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the AQME from 1996-2000. A specialist of the chemical reactors and the use of granular materials in reactive and non-reactive environments Prof. Abatzoglou has focused his research activities during the six last years to:

Study steam and dry reforming of methane, ethanol and biofuels for catalyst-supported SOFC (recent US Patent application).
Establish industry-university R&D collaborative programs with pharmaceutical companies (Wyeth and Merck-Frosst) to study the mechanisms of particulate matter segregation and develop new prediction tools in order to improve the industrial processes.
Develop a technology for Carbon sequestration through CO2 (dry) reforming (recent US patent Application).
Study new Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis nanocatalytic formulations for the production of Biofuels (Green Diesel and Higher Alcohols) from biosyngas and biogas.
Develop a biogas purification technology: removal of odorous, corrosive and toxic compounds like H2S).
Study and simulate the behavior of a new granular hot gas mobile bed filter, which has been patented in USA & Canada.

His production as a researcher includes many scores of publications in scientific reviews, international conferences, plenary and invited lectures, patents and a book chapter. He currently supervises or co-supervises 12 graduate students and 2 undergraduate students in specialty projects or training sessions. His professional experience as engineer spreads over a dozen of years and includes a number of mandates connected to: a) design and dimensioning of reactional systems (mainly fluid beds) and various unit operations of the chemical and pharmaceutical industry; c) participations in multidisciplinary projects; d) scientific and technical direction of three companies in the sectors of energy and environment and e) technical representations worldwide: 1) European Union (England, France, Spain, Greece), 2) North and Central America (Canada, United States of America, Honduras), 3) Asia (China), 4) Africa (Morocco).

He has won twice the first price in environmental R&D at the Quebec Eastern Townships. He is a recognized chemical engineering teacher (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Bazinet awards for the best Chem. Eng. Professor) at the department of Chem. Engineering of the University of Sherbrooke. He teaches mainly: Reactor Engineering, Design of Chemical Processes and Pharmaceutical Process Engineering.