ProfessorJason Hallett

Prof Jason Hallett performs research involving the solution behaviour of ionic liquids and the use of ionic liquids in the production of lignocellulosic biofuels, sustainable chemical feedstocks, vaccine manufacturing and waste recycling (particularly for metal-contaminated solid materials). This research is supported by both the UKRI and industry.

Prof Hallett currently serves as co-Director of the Supergen Bioenergy Hub.

He is also co-founder of 7 spin-out companies based on the group's research:

Lixea, a circular bioeconomy company which uses low-cost ionic liquids to fractionate waste biomass for biofuel, chemical and material production from cellulose and lignin. Lixea operates a pilot plant in Sweden for the Dendronic process, which is the commercial version of the group's ionoSolv process. www.lixea.co

Nanomox, which produces advanced materials, especially metal oxides, from metallic waste streams using the ionic-liquid based technology Oxidative Ionothermal Synthesis (OIS), developed in the group. www.nanomox.net

Bioataraxis, which produces bio-derived furan-based surfactants for detergent and personal care applications. The surfactants demonstarte superior performance to petrochemical surfactants but are fully biodegradable, non-toxic and renewable. They have a similar cost point to market detergents.www.bioatx.com

DyeRecycle, which extracts dyes from waste textiles and transfers them to new fabrics, enabling easier textile recycling and creating the first circular dyeing process. DyeRecycle uses ionic liquids to achieve a waterless dyeing solution. www.dyerecycle.com

Vanadion, which manufactures vanadium redox flow battery electrolytes from waste sources using ionic liquids.

CO2Co, which is a recently launched direct air capture company developing extremely large-scale CO2 removal solutions. www.co2co.earth

Ionic Recovery, which is a circular economy company that de-metallizes a wide range of waste bio-based feedstocks, such as sewage sludge.

A very special company was also founded by one of the group's PhD studnts:

Oorja (Dr Clementine Chambon) is a social enterprise dedicated to changing the lives of rural farmers i nIndia by bring solar electricity for irrigation, commercial and home use to communities without adequate access to power. www.oorjasolutions.org/

Prof Hallett received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He joined Imperial College, first with a Marshall-Sherfield Postdoctoral Fellowship in Sustainable Chemistry and in 2014 was appointed a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering, before promotion to Reader in 2016 and Professor in 2018. He has authored over 200 articles and holds more than 10 patents.


Integrated Biorefinery Research:

This area of research focusses on the simultaneous production of both biofuels and chemical feedstocks from renewable resources, such as from lignocellulosic biomass. This involves a range of research areas in my group, including:

Deconstruction of Biomass using Ionic liquids

Enzymatic Biocatalysis in Protein-friendly Ionic Liquids

Bioprocess Development and Scale-up

Other Ionic Liquids Research:

Vaccine Formulation Development for Room Temperature Storage and Enhanced Delivery

Metal Recovery from Waste Streams

Process, Techno-economic, and Socio-economic Modelling of Ionic Liquid Biorefining

Catalytic Production of Platform Chemicals from Biomass using Ionic Liquids

Interactions of Ionic Liquids with Biopolymers

Recycling Ionic Liquids

Textile and Dye Recycling using Ionic Liquids

Wastewater Treatment using Supported Ionic Liquids

Corrosion in Ionic liquids

Other Research Topics:

Biobased Surfactant Production from Biorefinery Waste

Solvent-based Carbon Capture and Storage Perspectives

Current PhD students:

Yiyan Chen, Surface Modification of Proteins for Delivery Applications

Juliana Cumming (co-supervisors Maria Charalambides, Koonyang Lee), Sustainable Balloons

Bo Gu, Modelling and catalytic processes for the production of aromatics from biomass

Masahiro Hara (co-supervisor Qilei Song), Development of gel/polymer materials utilizing ionic liquids and their application

Shadrach Ibhafidon, Developemnt of biobased surfactants for industrial application

Harriet Judah (co-supervisors Agnieszka Brandt-Talbot and Paul Fennell), Rapid Ionic Liquid Screening for Enhanced Recycling Systems (RISERS)

Sophie Kay (co-supervisors Julian Jones and Elena Dieckmann), Biobased materials for automotive applications

Franklin Keck (co-supervisors Karen Polizzi and Paul Fennell), Enhancing Phytoremediation via Engineering Soil Microbe Interactions

Priyanka Kumar (co-supervisor Agnieszka Brandt-Talbot), Building a Spent Grain Biorefinery Based on Low Cost Ionic Liquids

Ruihua Luo, Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC) for Packaging Use

Monica McCall (co-supervisor Mark Sephton), Algal biochar integrated with carbon dioxide removal

Suhaib Nisar (co-supervisors Benoit Chachuat and Agnieszka Brandt-Talbot), Optimisation of Ionic Liquid-based Biomass Processing

Phuthiphong Ouitrakoon (co-supervisors Agi Brandt-Talbot and Milo Shaffer), Designing lignins for improving the graphitization of biobased carbon fibers

James Perry (co-supervisor Agnieszka Brandt-Talbot), Bio-derived Green Surfactants

Sasha Rabiner, Biobased materials from ionic liquid biorefining

Sarah Seidner (co-supervisor Paul Fennell), IonoSolv Pretreatment with Non-Corrosive Ionic Liquids

James Strain (co-supervisor Paul Fennell), Sustainable Value Enhancement via Ionic Liquid Recycling and Materials
Developments for the Automotive Industry

Matthew Spry (co-supervisors Ifan Stephens and Magda Titirici), Probing Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction Intermediates Using in situ Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

Tom Upcraft (co-supervisor Miao Guo, Kings College London), Modelling of Integrative Technology Solutions for Lignocellulosic Biorefining

Chaoyue Zhang (co-supervisor Paul Fennell), Towards an Economically and Environmentally Feasible Protic Ionic Liquid Based Biorefinery: Focusing on Optimization of Process Parameters and Life Cycle Assessment of Whole Process

Current Research Associates:

Paris Bistis, Applications of furan-based surfactants in home and personal care products

Amir Dezashibi, Recovery of energy storage metals from ores using ionic liquids

Giacomo Damilano, Chemical recycling of multilayer plastic packaging using ionic liquids

Stephen Doliente, A systems analysis of the UK fine chemicals industry

Iliyas Khan, Vaccine stabilisation and enhanced delivery using ionic liquid formulations

Antonio Ovejero, Recycling of Textiles Using Ionic Liquids

Pedro Nakasu, Building a Spent Grain Biorefinery using Low-cost Ionic Liquids

Ryan O'Shea, Life cycle analysis of integrtaed multilayer plastic recycling

Cariny Polesca, Biobased Materials Produced Using Ionic Liquids

Xuantong Sun, Recycling of polycotton textile waste using ionic liquids

Past PhD students:

Aida Abouelela, Development of Sustainable Chemical Technologies using Lowcost Ionic liquids for Waste Decontamination and Valorization

Amir Al Ghatta (joint with James Wilton-Ely), Chemical Routes for the Valorisation of Biomass into High Value Added Chemicals Using Ionic Liquids as Solvents

Samson Anuchi (co-supervisor Kyra Campbell, University of Sheffield), Ionic liquid-assisted process: biomass-derived carbonaceous materials

Raul Aravena, Ionic Liquid Technologies for recovering Plant Sterols from Tall Oil

Hazeeq Azman (joint with Tony Cass and James Wilton-Ely), Bioligninolysis: Degradation of Ionic Liquid Derived Lignin by Rhodococcus

Husain Baaqel (joint with Benoit Chachuat and Gonzalo Guillen Gosalbez, ETH Zurich), Sustainability-Based Assessment and Optimization of Ionic Liquid Large-Scale Production

Charlotte Borrill (co-supervisor Kyra Campbell, University of Sheffield), An investigation into Ionic Liquids, their physicochemcial properties, and corrosion of industrially relevant metals

Patrick Brandl joint with Niall Mac Dowell), A Framework for the Techno-Economic Screening of Absorption-based CO2 Capture

Liem Bui-le, Stabilisation of Therapeutic Proteins using Surface Engineering and Ionic Liquids

Clementine Chambon (joint with Paul Fennell), Towards an Economically Viable Ionic Liquids Based Biorefinery: Lignocellulose Fractionation and Value-added Products from Lignin

Meng (Angela) Chen, Design of a Hybrid Organosolv-ionoSolv Lignin Fractionation Method and Lignin-like Polymer Synthesis for Value-added Applications

Paul Corbett, The Synthesis and Utilisation of Ionic Liquids in the Removal of Harmful Impurities from Fuel

Gilbert De Gregorio (joint with Tom Welton), Lignin Depolymerisation in Acidic Ionic Liquids

Amir Dezashibi (co-supervisors Paul Fennell and Geoff Kelsall), An Investigation for Utilisation of Ionic liquids in the Removal of Transition Metals from Refinery Waste/Feedstock and Their Potential Applications

Sanan Eminov (joint with James Wilton-Ely), Catalytic Conversion of Fructrose, Glucose and Cellulose to 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF)

Vivi Filippousi (joint with Paul Fennell and James Wilton-Ely), Synthesis of Aromatic and Heterocyclic Platform Chemicals from Bio-derived Furans

Anton Firth (joint with Paul Fennell), Integration of Ionic Liquid Biorefinery with Constructed Wetland Remediation of Wastewater

Sebastian Green (joint with James Bull and Philip Miller), Thermal Hazard Assessment and Safe, Scalable Synthesis of Energetic Diazo and Azide Compounds

Florence Gschwend (joint with Paul Fennell), Towards an Economical Ionic Liquid Based Biorefinery

Louis Hennequin (joint with Paul Fennell), Towards the Valorisation of Marginal Areas for Biomass Utilisation: Combining Phytoremediation and Biorefinery for Environmental Remediation

Shaochen Huang (joint with Martin Trusler), Investigations of Thermophysical Properties of Ionic Liquids Used for Carbon Capture

Liyana Ismail (joint with with Tom Welton), Reactivity of Biomass Relevant Esters and Alcohols in Acidic Ionic Liquids

Latiffah Karim (joint with Karen Polizzi), Probing Cellulase Stability in Low Cost Mineral Acid Ionic Liquids

Ollie Levers (joint with Rob Law and Jon Lloyd), Particulate Organic Matter in Artificial Soils

Francisco Malaret (joint with Kyra Campbell, University of Sheffield), En Route to the Industrial Applications of Ionic Liquids for Metal Oxide Production and Biomass Fractionation: A Sustainable Avenue to Advanced Materials

Enrico Manfredi-Haylock (co-supervisor David Payne), Development and Scale-up of More Efficient Chemical Recycling Processes for Lead Acid Batteries

Bing Tian, Novel hemicellulose extraction techniques.

Wei-Chien Tu, Impact of the IonoSolv Process on Cellulose Quality and Cellulose-derived Materials

Lisa Weigand (joint with Tom Welton), Towards a Cost-competitive Biorefinery: Fractionation of Willow with Low-cost Ionic Liquids and Synthesis of Lignin-based Copolymers

Shahrul Shikh Nizan Zahari (joint with Tom Welton), Deconstruction of Biomass in Ionic Liquids: Reactivity of Cellulose

Past Research Associates:

Aida Abouelela, Dyerecycle

Amir Al Ghatta, Bioataraxis

Agnieszka Brandt-Talbot, Imperial College London.

Alex Brogan, Kings College London.

Andreas Brohl, Bayer Pharmaceuticals

Clementine Chambon, Oorja

Coby Clarke, University of Nottingham

Paul Corbett, Shell

Vivi Filippousi, European Commission

Anton Firth, DyeRecycle

Almudena Garcia Sanchez, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Florence Gschwend, Lixea

James Hogg

Cynthia Hopson, Crismachem

Xiaoyan (Jane) Lin, Lonza

Francisco Malaret, Nanomox

Richard Matthews, University of East London

Josiel Martins Costa, Unicamp

Mayte Mota Martinez, Inprocess Technology

Alastair McIntosh, UK Department for Transport

Charles Romain, Imperial College London

Somnath Shinde, Conagen

Talia Shmool, Imperial College London

Sze Yin Tan

Wei-Chien Tu

Chetna Vaghela, Imperial College London

Pedro Verdia, Compultense University of Madrid

Charles Vriamont, Trasis

Gillian Whyte, Essen Bioscience

Joseph Yao, Shell

Shahrul Shikh Nizan Zahari, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia