Professor Jim Jones teaches into the Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering degree and is the Research Director for SEAT.  He conducts research across a number of fields, principally in pyrolysis and particle technology which includes current projects such as pyrolysis kinetics, pyrolyser design, life cycle assessment of biochar systems, mastication of food, coating of powders, spray-drying of emulsions, flow of food powders, pyroclastic density currents and lahars.  Previous projects include agglomeration of milk powder, coating of high fat powders, granulation modelling, secondary nucleation of lactose, truck spreading of fertiliser, ballistic modelling for topdressing and hopper flow of lime fertiliser.he has completed his Batchelor Engineering (Hons) - Chemical and Process Engineering - Canterbury University (1988) MS - University of Idaho (1990) PhD - University of Cambridge (1998)  

He has a broad range of research interests that cover many aspects of chemical engineering science and interdisciplinary science.  The following list is indicative and explains each field: Pyrolysis kinetics - the heating of organic carbonaceous materials in the absence of oxygen to make a range of products, char, oil and gas.   Pyrolyser design - the design issues around safe design, safe operation and emission control of pyrolysis reactors. Biochar - the char resulting from pyrolysis that is then sequestered in soil to remove carbon from the atmospheric carbon cycle and improve soil function Charcoal - when the char is used for purposes other than biochar, e.g., fuel, reductant, adsorbent. Granular flow - flow of materials such as pyroclastic flows, lahars, fertilisers (e.g. from topdressing aircraft), food powders (both in the powder flow properties and the design of blending equipment) Mastication - modelling of food as it is chewed by humans Coating and encapsulation - spray-droplet coating of high fat powders, film coating of high-value powders and study of parameters influencing surface composition of food emulsions, slow release coatings for denitrification inhibitors Agglomeration, granulation and stickiness - agglomeration of dairy powders, granulation of dairy powders, stickiness of amorphous lactose. Crystallization - secondary nucleation kinetics of lactose Jamming - important in solid object dispenser design