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Hire Ann-Joelle M.

Germany

USD 30 /hr

PhD, Chemical Process Systems Engineer | Process Simulation, Life Cycle Assessment, TEA & Sustainable Process Assessment

Profile Summary

I am a chemical and process systems engineer specialising in the environmental and techno-economic assessment of emerging chemical, recycling, and circular technologies. I combine process engineering, life cycle assessment, and computational modelling to help R&D teams, technology developers, and engineering organisations determine whether a new process is environmentally credible, technically feasible, and economically viable before major scale-up and investment decisions are made. My expertise includes: • Aspen Plus process simulation and conceptual process design • automated Python-based modelling workflows • detailed mass and energy balances • process-specific life cycle inventory development • comparative and parametric life cycle assessment • techno-economic and scale-up assessment • sensitivity and Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis • environmental hotspot and break-even analysis • process-route and technology benchmarking • customised Python and Excel decision-support models • technical literature reviews and scientific reporting Rather than producing a single static environmental footprint, I develop transparent and adaptable assessment models that show how process yields, energy demand, raw materials, recovery systems, operating conditions, and scale-up assumptions influence environmental performance and economic viability. My research has focused particularly on the chemical and solvent-based recycling of polymers. As first author of a study published in Environmental Science & Technology, I developed an automated Python-Aspen Plus-LCA workflow to compare four chemical recycling routes for nylon 6 under changing process conditions and uncertain feedstock compositions. The work identified the technical conditions and process parameters that determine when different recycling routes become environmentally advantageous. I also led a techno-economic assessment of nylon-6 chemical recycling published in the Chemical Engineering Journal and contributed to research on ionic-liquid-based recycling, solvent-based polymer separation, and sustainable separation processes. I support clients in comparing alternative technologies, evaluating environmental and economic scale-up risks, identifying critical process improvements, and developing robust technical evidence for R&D, investment, and technology-development decisions. My objective is not simply to calculate environmental impacts. I identify the process parameters, technology choices, and scale-up conditions that determine whether a technology can succeed, and where development efforts can create the greatest environmental and economic value.

Subject Matter Expertise

• ☆ Green Chemistry
• ☆ Computer-Aided Engineering
• ☆ Engineering Thermodynamics/Thermophysical Engineering
• ☆ Systems Engineering
• ☆ Engineering Economics
• ☆ Heat Transfer & Calorimetry
• ☆ Environmental Engineering and Technology
• ☆ Industrial Engineering
• ☆ Data Collection
• ☆ Environmental Science
• ☆ Environmental Biotechnology
• ☆ Environmental Chemistry
• ☆ Process Engineering
• ☆ Engineering Design
• ☆ Industrial Design
• ☆ Python
• ☆ Matlab
• ☆ SQL
• ☆ Excel
• ☆ Scikit-learn

Services

• Writing

Writing Technical Writing

Work Experience

CSIRO

- Present

Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems

April 2020 - Present

Education

MSc.

Delft University of Technology

October 2018 - December 2020

BSc in Biochemical Engineering

Technical University Dortmund

October 2014 - May 2018

Certifications

• Resilience Training for Researchers

  Mind Matters

  May 2026 - Present

• Project Management

  Mind Matters

  November 2021 - Present

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Ann-Joelle Minor, Ruben Goldhahn, Liisa Rihko-Struckmann, Kai Sundmacher (2026). Solvent-Based Separation of PA6 and PET Using Solubility Data from Differential Scanning Calorimetry . Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.

Ann-Joelle Minor, Ruben Goldhahn, Caroline Ganzer, Michaël Lejeune, Liisa Rihko-Struckmann, Kai Sundmacher (2026). Parametric Life Cycle Assessment of Chemical Recycling of Nylon-6 to Caprolactam . Environmental Science & Technology.

Edgar Ivan Sanchez Medina, Ruben Goldhahn, Steffen Linke, Liisa Rihko-Struckmann, Kai Sundmacher, Ann-Joelle Minor (2025). Chemical recycling of nylon 6 using ionic liquids: From solvent screening to techno-economic assessment . Separation and Purification Technology.

Ann-Joelle Minor, Ruben Goldhahn, Liisa Rihko-Struckmann, Siew-Wan Ohl, Patricia Pfeiffer, Claus-Dieter Ohl, Kai Sundmacher (2025). Recycling of Bulk Polyamide 6 by Dissolution-Precipitation in CaCl2-EtOH-H2O Mixtures . Recycling.

Kiani, Ali; Conway, Will; Abdellah, Mohamed; Minor, Ann-Joelle; Kluivers, Gerard; Puxty, Graeme; et al. A study on degradation and CO2 capture performance of aqueous amino acid salts for direct air capture applications. Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology. 2024. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ghg.2302 .

Ann-Joelle Minor, Ruben Goldhahn, Liisa Rihko-Struckmann, Kai Sundmacher (2023). Chemical Recycling Processes of Nylon 6 to Caprolactam: Review and Techno-Economic Assessment . Chemical Engineering Journal.

Ann-Joelle Minor, Ruben Goldhahn, Liisa Rihko-Struckmann, Kai Sundmacher (2023). Chemical Recycling Processes of Nylon 6 to Caprolactam: Review and Techno-Economic Assessment . Chemical Engineering Journal.

A study on degradation and CO2 capture performance of aqueous amino acid salts for direct air capture applications @article{https://doi.org/10.1002/ghg.2302,author={Kiani, Ali and Conway, Will and Abdellah, Mohamed H. and Puxty, Graeme and Minor, Ann-Joelle and Kluivers, Gerard and Bennett, Robert and Feron, Paul},title={A study on degradation and CO2 capture performance of aqueous amino acid salts for direct air capture applications},journal={Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology},volume={n/a},number={n/a},pages={},keywords={direct air capture, amino acid salt, degradation, mass transfer, absorption liquid},doi={https://doi.org/10.1002/ghg.2302},url={https://scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ghg.2302},eprint={https://scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ghg.2302},abstract={Abstract We have previously proposed amino acid salts solutions as potential absorption liquids for direct air capture (DAC) of CO2 from the atmosphere. However, little is known about their relevant CO2 solubilities, CO2 mass transfer rates, and susceptibility to oxidative and thermal degradation under conditions relevant to DAC. We report here on the overall solubility of CO2 and CO2 mass transfer rates into a series of amino acid salts solutions. Additionally, the robustness of various amino acid salt solutions to thermal and oxidative degradation has been assessed. CO2 absorption rates into the amino acid salts solutions were observed to be in the same order of magnitude as aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA), with sarcosinate and lysinate solutions providing the fastest and slowest CO2 mass transfer rates at 25°C, respectively. Degradation data revealed that all amino acid salt solutions investigated in this study displayed elevated rates of thermal degradation at both 120 and 150°C relative to MEA. The opposite trend was observed with respect to oxidative degradation where all amino acid salt solutions showed a greater resistance to oxidative degradation than that observed for MEA under the conditions investigated here. Considering the degradation, CO2 absorption capacity, and CO2 mass transfer rate data, we propose the potassium salts of proline and sarcosine as the most promising amino acid salts (of those considered here) for further evaluation in DAC processes. Overall, this study provides valuable insight into the suitability of various amino acid salt solutions as absorption liquid for DAC. © 2024 The Author(s). Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley \& Sons Ltd.}} . Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology.

PREPRINT

Ann-Joelle Minor, Ruben Goldhahn, Liisa Rihko-Struckmann, Siew-Wan Ohl, Patricia Pfeiffer, Claus-Dieter Ohl, Kai Sundmacher (2024). Recycling of Bulk Polyamide 6 by Dissolution- Precipitation in CaCl2-EtOH-H2O Mixtures .

BOOK CHAPTER

Ann-Joelle Minor, Ruben Goldhahn, Liisa Rihko-Struckmann, Kai Sundmacher(2023). Techno-Economic Process Analysis of the Chemical Recycling of Nylon 6 Using Phosphoric Acid . Computer Aided Chemical Engineering. Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 2393--2398. Elsevier