NU Students Develop Mathematical Methods to Prevent “Dead Zones” in Catalytic Reactors
Researchers and students from Nazarbayev University’s School of Sciences and Humanities and School of Engineering and Digital Sciences have achieved a major advance in chemical reaction modeling by developing new mathematical and computational tools that help prevent the formation of so-called “dead zones” in catalytic reactors areas where chemical reactions stop due to lack of reactants.
The interdisciplinary project, led by Dr. Piotr Sebastian Skrzypacz, Associate Professor of Mathematics, and Dr. Boris Golman, Associate Professor of Chemical and Materials Engineering, integrates optimal control theory and reaction–diffusion modeling to improve the design and efficiency of industrial catalytic systems.
Understanding the Challenge
Catalysts are essential to modern industry from energy production to pharmaceuticals yet parts of a catalyst bed often become inactive, creating dead zones that reduce efficiency and waste costly materials. Dead-core formation has been observed in processes such as propylene hydrogenation, microbial fuel cells, and bioreactors with immobilized enzymes.
Student-Led Innovation
Under the supervision of Profs. Skrzypacz and Golman, NU students developed analytical and numerical methods for solving complex steady-state and non-steady-state reaction–diffusion–convection problems with and without dead zones. Their new numerical algorithm, created by Kazakh and international master’s students Askar Amirali and Qaiser Abbas, provides the first efficient approximation of dead-core solutions and opens the door to more precise reactor design.
The results were published in the top Q1 journal Engineered Science (2025, 36, 1646; DOI: 10.30919/es1646), ranked among the top 10% in Applied Mathematics (Scopus). This follows an earlier Q1 publication by the same student in Chemical Engineering Science (2024, 120283; DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2024.120283).
Expanding the Frontier
These studies continue a broader research program on reaction–diffusion systems, catalytic membrane reactors, and Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetics, with NU students serving as co-authors and research assistants.
Recent publications include:
-
Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences (2025) – critical Thiele modulus analysis
-
Chemical Engineering Science (2024) – Gaussian catalyst activity modeling
-
Reaction Chemistry and Engineering (2023) – distributed catalyst and external mass transfer
-
Scientific Reports (2022) – diffusion–reaction processes with generalized flux
-
Chemical Engineering Journal (2022) – fast diffusion-reaction with power-law kinetics
Global Collaboration and Impact
The projects unite researchers from Kazakhstan, Russia, Poland, and Germany, highlighting Nazarbayev University’s leadership in interdisciplinary and international research.
These advances will inform the next generation of catalyst reactor design, improving reaction yield, reducing energy waste, and supporting the transition to sustainable and efficient chemical technologies.