"Conceptual Design of Tribo-Plasma Fluidised Beds through Multi-Scale Multi-Physics Modelling "

Static electricity from colliding particles could soon power chemical reactions inside industrial reactors. For centuries, engineers have known that materials charge up when they rub together—the same effect that makes a balloon stick to a wall—but they have mostly treated it as a nuisance or a hazard. In factories that handle powders, tribocharging can trigger dangerous electrostatic discharges, igniting explosive dust. This project turns that problem on its head. The researchers plan to deliberately generate tribocharging inside gas-solid fluidised bed reactors—tall vessels where particles are suspended in a gas stream—by making particles collide frequently with the walls and each other. The resulting electrical discharges would then drive chemical reactions, effectively using static electricity as a free energy source. If successful, the work could transform manufacturing processes that rely on gas-solid reactions, from producing pharmaceuticals to processing fuels, by reducing external energy inputs and eliminating the need for separate power sources. The project is fundamental engineering science—it uses multi-scale, multi-physics computer models to design a reactor concept that has never been built. But similar fundamental work on tribocharging already underpins photocopiers and laser printers, showing how a deeper understanding of contact electrification can lead to unexpected industrial tools.