Staff Profile

Qualification(s)

MA, MEng, PhD (Cantab)

Professional Membership(s)

FHEA

Teaching

• Lecturer, Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering
• Degree Programme Director, Chemical Engineering with Year in Industry (MEng Honours)

Research

• Areas of expertise: gas-solid reactions, chemical reaction engineering and reactor modelling
• Current research: developing materials and processes for chemical-looping applications such as carbon capture, blue hydrogen production, air separation, ammonia synthesis and selective oxidation

External links

Google Scholar profile

Scopus profile

Research interests

My research focuses on the development of novel, energy-efficient processes for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. By bridging fundamental materials science with process design, my work contributes to the development of next-generation chemical technologies that are more efficient, flexible, and scalable for future energy and manufacturing systems. I am particularly interested in process intensification strategies that integrate reaction and separation, enabling more compact systems with significantly reduced energy demand compared to conventional approaches.

A central theme of my research is chemical looping, a versatile process platform that employs solid carriers to transform conventional gas-phase reactions into cyclic gas–solid redox processes. This approach intrinsically combines reaction and separation, alleviates thermodynamic constraints, and enhances overall process efficiency while reducing reliance on energy-intensive downstream operations.

My work includes the design and characterisation of advanced oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen carrier materials, with a focus on their thermodynamic properties, reaction kinetics, and long-term stability under realistic operating conditions. By tailoring these materials, chemical looping systems can be optimised for a wide range of intensified processes.

These processes span applications such as low carbon combustion for power generation, low-temperature reforming, oxygen separation, thermochemical energy storage, and alternative routes to chemical synthesis, including hydrogen, syngas and ammonia production.

I currently accept self-funded PhD students on all relevant research topics. Funded studentships on specific topics may also be available.

More information is available on the site https://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/degrees/8030f-12/

Chemical Engineering BEng/MEng programmes

CME2022 : Separation Processes 1

CME3033 : Separation Processes 2

CME3039 : Plant Design

CME3040 : Chemical Engineering Laboratory III

CME8120 : Advanced Design Project

CME8128 : MEng Research Project

MEng in Chemical Engineering with Year in Industry - placement year (Stage 3)

CME3042: Industrial Design Project

CME8110: Chemical Engineering Knowledge

• Articles

  • Liu W, Zhao H, Wu X, Wu J, Chou L, Dury G, Hu W, Polynski MV, Subramanian A, Kozlov SM, Liu W. Selectivity Anomaly in CO₂ Hydrogenation over In–Pd Intermetallic Compounds. ACS Catalysis 2026, 16(4), 3464-3478.
  • Yan Y, Fella M, Hu W, Metcalfe IS. Experimental demonstration of a sub-pilot scale counter-current chemical looping reactor with a non-stoichiometric oxygen carrier for low-carbon hydrogen production. Energy Conversion and Management 2026, 350, 120950.
  • Telford DM, Martinez Martin A, Guy MD, Henry PF, Jones MO, Hu W, Metcalfe IS, Evans JSO. Probing dynamic oxygen exchange for hydrogen production with operando neutron diffraction. Nature Chemical Engineering 2025, 2(7), 447-455.
  • McNeil L, Chen G, Hu W, Papaioannou E, Metcalfe IS, Mutch GA. Metallic sealants increase flux and change selectivity in supported molten-salt membranes. Reaction Chemistry & Engineering 2025, 10(2), 294-299.
  • Ungut MS, Metcalfe IS, Hu W. Identifying the ideal thermodynamics of non-stoichiometric oxygen-carrier materials for chemical looping water-gas shift. Reaction Chemistry & Engineering 2025, 10(4), 800-809.
  • Liu W, Zhao H, Wu X, Dury G, Hu W, Liu W. Brønsted acid sites modulation of InPd/In₂O₃ interfaces for CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol. Journal of Energy Chemistry 2025, 111, 178-189.
  • Telford DM, Hu W, Metcalfe IS, Jones MO, Henry PF, Evans JSO. Average and Local Structure of La_1–xSr_xFe_1–yMn_yO_3−δ Chemical Looping Oxygen Carrier Materials. Chemistry of Materials 2025, 37(9), 3471-3482.
  • Martinez Martin A, Saini S, Neagu D, Hu W, Metcalfe IS, Kousi K. Tailoring the A and B site of Fe-based perovskites for high selectivity in the reverse water-gas shift reaction. Journal of CO2 Utilization 2024, 83, 102784.
  • Yan Y, Lee Pereira RJ, Fella M, Li Z, Hu W, Larring Y, Metcalfe IS. Experimental investigation of La_0.6Sr_0.4FeO_3-δ pellets as oxygen carriers in a counter-current packed-bed reactor for efficient chemical looping CO₂ splitting. Journal of CO2 Utilization 2024, 88, 102935.
  • Zaidi A, de Leeuwe C, Yan Y, Fella M, Hu W, Metcalfe IS, Spallina V. Experimental investigation of La_0.6Sr_0.4FeO_{3 -δ} pellets as oxygen carriers for chemical-looping applications. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 2024, 94, 535-544.
  • Penn J, Hu W, Metcalfe IS, Mutch GA. Controlling CO₂ flux in a CO₂-permeable membrane with a H₂O driving force. Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2024, 12(44), 30821-30830.
  • Lee Pereira RJ, Metcalfe IS, Hu W. High-throughput screening of suitable nitrogen carriers for chemical looping ammonia synthesis. Applications in Energy and Combustion Science 2023, 16, 100226.
  • Lee Pereira RJ, Hu W, Metcalfe IS. Impact of Gas–Solid Reaction Thermodynamics on the Performance of a Chemical Looping Ammonia Synthesis Process. Energy & Fuels 2022, 36(17), 9757–9767.