Conferences

Mark your calendars!

We cordially invite all researchers with relevant research in processes to submit abstracts for The 5th International Electronic Conference on Processes, taking place online from 20-22 October 2026, Central European Summer Time (CEST).

Organized by MDPI and the open access journal Processes (ISSN: 2227-9717, Impact Factor: 2.8), this conference will bring together scientists and researchers presenting their latest studies and findings in process-related research in fields of chemistry, environment, engineering, and much more. The goal is to highlight the status, challenges, and opportunities as well as future trends in cutting-edge processe-related research.

Event Chair
Prof. Dr. Giancarlo Cravotto
University of Turin, Turin, Italy

Abstract Submission
Do not miss this opportunity to showcase your work to peers and leading experts!

Submit an abstract to ECP 2026 here:
https://sciforum.net/user/submission/create/1689

Find out more about the instructions for authors here:
https://sciforum.net/event/ECP2026?section=#instructions

Session Topics
S1. Environmental and Green Processes
S2. Chemical Processes and Systems
S3. Food Process Engineering
S4. Process Control, Monitoring and Machine Learning
S5. Materials Manufacturing and Sustainable Packaging
S6. Energy Systems

Find out more about the session topics here:
https://sciforum.net/event/ECP2026?section=#sessions

Find more information about registration to ICAS 2026 here: https://sciforum.net/event/ECP2026?section=#registration

Please feel free to share the information about this conference with your colleagues and students.
We look forward to seeing your insightful research!

The Organizing Committee,
The 5th International Electronic Conference on Processes (ECP 2026)
ecp2026@mdpi.com

https://sciforum.net/event/ECP2026

A welcome message from the webinar Chair:

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to this Processes webinar entitled “Is Microkinetic Modeling the New Standard in Reaction Engineering?”.

For decades, catalytic kinetics has often been described using empirical or semi-empirical rate expressions. Although these approaches remain useful for reactor design and process optimization, they provide limited insight into the molecular-level events that ultimately control activity, selectivity, and stability. Microkinetic modeling represents a profound shift: instead of assuming the rate-determining steps or the most abundant surface intermediates, it builds kinetics from elementary surface reactions, enforcing stoichiometric and thermodynamic consistency.

At its core, microkinetic modeling aims to bridge scales—from electronic structure and adsorption energetics to reactor performance. By integrating reaction networks, surface coverages, scaling relations, and increasingly data-driven or machine learning-based tools, MKM allows us to move from describing kinetics to predicting catalytic behavior. In this sense, it is not merely a modeling tool but a framework for rational catalyst design.

However, with this development comes challenges. The construction of reaction networks requires a careful balance between completeness and tractability. The choice of energetics, approximations such as mean-field treatments, uncertainty quantification, and transferability across catalysts and conditions remain active research questions. As highlighted in the recent literature, issues of stiffness, computational cost, and even the need for surrogate models continue to shape the field’s evolution. At the same time, scaling relations and sensitivity analyses reveal both the opportunities and intrinsic limitations imposed by thermodynamics and kinetics.

So, we may ask the following: Is microkinetic modeling simply a more detailed description of known kinetics? Or is it becoming an essential, predictive tool for the next generation of catalytic processes?

Today’s speakers bring complementary perspectives—from the fundamental kinetic modeling of catalytic reactions to state- and site-specific microkinetic frameworks, to applications in CO₂ and nitrogen reduction. Together, they illustrate both the maturity of the methodology and the open questions that still drive research in this area.

I hope this webinar will stimulate discussion on the true potential of microkinetic modeling: its power, its limitations, and its role in shaping the future of reaction engineering.

Date: 6 May 2026 at 02:00 p.m. CEST | 8:00 a.m. EDT | 8:00 p.m. CST Asia
Landing Page: https://sciforum.net/event/Processes-22?subscribe

Register now for free!

Program:

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the workshop. Registrations using academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.

Unable to attend? Register anyway and we’ll let you know when the recording is available to watch.

Webinar Chair and Keynote Speakers:

• Professor Sébastien Leveneur, Lyon 1 University, Villeurbanne, France;
• Professor Dmitry Yu. Murzin, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland;
• Prof. Dr. Blaž Likozar, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
• Professor Dionisios G. Vlachos, University of Delaware, Newark, USA.

Relevant Special Issue:
“Preparation, Characterization and Application of Heterogeneous Catalysts”
Guest Editor: Wladimir Reschetilowski
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2026

https://sciforum.net/event/Processes-22?subscribe