Mert Atilhan

Associate Professor
Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering
Western Michigan University

  • PhD, 2007, Texas A&M University, USA, Chemical Engineering
  • MSc, 2004, Texas A&M University, USA, Chemical Engineering
  • BSc, 2002, Ege University, Turkey, Chemical Engineering

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Recent Articles

#197 On the Behavior of Quercetin + Organic Solvent Solutions and Their Role for C60 Fullerene (2022, J. Chem. Phys.)

#196 Nanoscopic Study on Carvone-Terpene Based Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (2021, J. Chem. Phys.)

#195 Review on Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery: Utilization of Ionic Liquids and Deep Eutectic Solvents (2021, J. Pet. Sci. Eng.)

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New Researchers

I am looking for a Postdoctoral scholar (starting in June 2025) and fast-track MSc students. Please contact me and send…

Spring’25 Teaching

I will teach CHEG 3300 Mass Transfer and CHEG 4810 Unit Operations Lab in the Spring’25 Semester.

Publications

Check our latest publications and most recent scientific works. GoogleScholar

About

Professor of Chemical Engineering
Prof. Mert Atilhan is an internationally recognized researcher in chemical engineering, specializing in applied and computational thermodynamics. He currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering at Western Michigan University. Prof. Atilhan earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Ege University, graduating as the top student in his class. He received both his M.S. (2004) and Ph.D. (2007) in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University.

With over two decades of research experience, Prof. Atilhan focuses on designing sustainable, high-impact technologies that address global energy and environmental challenges. His research spans a diverse range of application areas, including:

    • Carbon Capture & Storage: Development of advanced materials and scalable systems for capturing CO₂—both at the point of emission and directly from the atmosphere.
    • Advanced Solvent Systems: Design, synthesis and application of ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DES) for gas separation, sour gas treatment, active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) delivery, and many other process applications.
    • Biomass Treatment & Delignification: Innovation in biomass valorization and industrial decarbonization through enzyme- and solvent-assisted delignification processes, particularly for the pulp and paper industry.
    • Gaseous Energy Storage: Utilization of covalent organic polymers (COPs) and porous materials for efficient storage of methane (CH₄) and hydrogen (H₂).
    • Water Treatment: Targeted removal of organic contaminants and PFAS using novel micro-filtration and solvent extraction techniques.
    • Next-Generation Batteries: Development of green liquid and solid-state electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries.
    • High-Accuracy Thermophysical Properties: Expertise in property measurements such as PVT, density, and viscosity of complex fluids; gas phase equations of state; and hydrate inhibition via IL-based additives.

Prof. Atilhan has published extensively, received numerous national and international awards.

News & Announcements

Looking for fast-track MSc Students

I am looking for both fast-track MSc students for my ongoing experimental and theoretical research at WMU. For those who are interested please contact me and send me your resume.

Fall 2024 Teaching

I am teaching CHEG 3200  Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics and CHEG 6100 Advanced  Chemical Thermodynamics in Fall 2024 semester.

Outstanding Educator and Mentoring Award!

I was honored with a 2023 Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring Award in Spring 2024.

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Research Activities

“Measure what is measurable and make measurable what is not so.” Galileo Galilei

Research Group Activities

  • Experimental & theoretical thermodynamics, computational chemistry methods (molecular dynamics and density functional theory) for energy/environmental applications, and novel materials design.
  • High-pressure gas capture and storage applications via advanced porous materials (e,g., covalent organic polymers).
  • Novel solvent design (ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents…) and property determination for gas capture and their use in biopolymer extraction.
  • State-of-the-art drug delivery vehicles and shuttles for active pharmaceutical ingredients.
  • New-class of battery electrolyte and binder design, and lithium-ion battery recycling.
  • Thermo-physical property determination (density, viscosity, VLE…) and multi-component system characterization via experimental and computational techniques.

Research Projects

Enzyme/Deep Eutectic Solvent Enhanced Kraft Pulping to Reduce Its Carbon Intensity

The goal of this proposed project is to develop technologies that can utilize enzymes and deep eutectic solvents (DES) to enhance the kraft pulping process to reduce chemical consumption and thermal energy while increasing pulp yield, resulting in improved overall process efficiency and reduced overall carbon intensity of the wood…

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Novel Solvents for Biomass Treatment in Pulp and Paper Industries

This awarded Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award (FRACAA) project proposes a systemic approach to developing nature-based deep eutectic solvents (NADES) to establish proof of concept on the design of environmentally friendly novel biomass delignification alternatives for paper and pulping processes.

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Enabling Advanced Electrode Architecture through Printing Technique

This project is on seeking ways to create more cost-effective, fast-charging and high-energy lithium-ion batteries for use in electric vehicles and other consumer products such as drones and portable devices.

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Novel Solvents as Drug Delivery Vehicles

Solvents develop a pivotal role in the pharmaceutical industry considering that they may account up to 90% of drug delivery operations. The development of new solvents for pharmaceutical applications, especially for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), is a pivotal task in order to improve API purification by crystallization, to develop API…

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Publications

GoogleScholar: Mert Atilhan *** Scopus: 12801317600 *** Citations: 7542 *** Total Publications: 215 *** H-Index: 42 (source: Google Scholar & Scopus)

Nanoscopic study on carvone-terpene based natural deep eutectic solvents

Terpene-based natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) formed by using carvone as the hydrogen bond acceptor and a series of organic acids including tartaric, succinic, malic, and lactic acids as hydrogen bond donors are studied using a combination of molecular simulation methods. Density functional theory was used to study small molecular…

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Molecular dynamics study on the use of Deep Eutectic Solvents for Enhanced Oil Recovery

The suitability of using Deep Eutectic Solvents for chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery operations is analyzed from the nanoscopic viewpoint using classical molecular dynamics simulations. Four different eutectics were considered based on Choline Chloride, as hydrogen bond acceptor, plus urea, glycerol, ethylene glycol or levulinic acid, as hydrogen bond donors. Two…

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Contact

Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan

mert.atilhan (at) wmich.edu
mert.atilhan (at) gmail.com
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