Maximilian Medicus has been working as a PhD student in the Systems Engineering Group at Fraunhofer IKTS, Dresden, since 2019. He completed his M.Sc. at TU Dresden with investigations of FSP-synthesized Fe-Mn/CeO2 catalysts in heterogeneously catalyzed gas-phase reactions. 

As part of his doctoral research, Max is investigating the scaling and shaping of iron-based Fischer-Tropsch catalysts for the production of fine chemicals such as higher alcohols in fixed-bed reactors. His experiments specifically vary catalyst composition and Fischer-Tropsch operating conditions to quantify and predict effects on target productivity. 

He has also conducted experiments on cobalt-based catalysts and is an expert in catalyst characterization and GC analysis. As part of the CARE-O-SENE project, he is assisting with both experimental and evaluation activities of the fixed-bed reactor experiments.

Judith Mettke came to Fraunhofer IKTS in 2021 to write her master's thesis and was able to gain initial experience in the field of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. After completing her master's degree in chemical engineering and process technology at Nuremberg University of Applied Sciences, she has been continuing her work as a PhD student in the Systems Process Engineering group under the supervision of Dr. Erik Reichelt since 2022. 

In the context of her PhD thesis, she is working on the kinetics of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis using spatially resolved concentration profiles and the fixed-bed catalytic testing of catalysts developed in the course of the CARE-O-SENE project.