With the increasingly strict environmental legislation and increasing demand for cleaner products, separation technologies are constantly gaining in significance. Separation technologies have long been one of the focus areas of the research conducted at the department. All laboratories in the department participate in the research on separation technologies. To coordinate the research, the laboratories have established a Centre for Separation Technology. Its main tasks include maintaining the high scientific level of the research, promoting cooperation between various operators in the field, and conveying expertise to industry. The centre has over 20 corporate members that utilize the services it provides. The Centre for Separation Technology has several times been chosen as the top research unit within the university. The separation technologies are applied extensively within business life. The main areas of application are found within the forest industry, chemical industry, metallurgic industry, and environmental protection.
Of the department’s research groups, crystallization, filtration, hydrometallurgy, chromatography, and membrane technology concentrate almost solely on separation technologies while all other research groups have at least some input to the field. As a result, the department features the most comprehensive expertise cluster in the field in Finland.