TAC Annual Meeting 2026

Join us for the PSRI 2026 Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, from June 22 to June 24, 2026, hosted at The Wade Hotel, a premier venue offering effortless luxury and stunning views of Lake Michigan. This event is a unique opportunity for employees of PSRI Member Companies to engage with cutting-edge research, collaborate with industry leaders, and contribute to the future of fluidization and particle technology. The meeting includes a mix of technical presentations, committee meetings, networking opportunities, and a facility tour, designed to foster innovation and collaboration.

Registration button is located toward the bottom of this page, right above the map. 

Event Highlights: PSRI Annual Meeting 2026

Monday, June 22, 2026

•  Safety Advisory Committee Meeting: PSRI Offices, Chicago (open to all attendees).
  • Register for the SAC Meeting here (Required)
  • Detailed Schedule:
    • 8:30–9:00 AM: Shuttle – The Wade Hotel to PSRI.
    • 9:00–9:30 AM: Breakfast.
    • 9:30 AM–12:00 PM: Meeting.
    • 12:00–12:45 PM: Lunch.
    • 12:45–1:15 PM: Shuttle – PSRI to The Wade Hotel.
• PSRI Facility Tour: Open to registered attendees (safety guidelines apply).
  • Detailed Schedule:
    • 1:30–2:00 PM: Shuttle – The Wade Hotel to PSRI.
    • 2:00–3:30 PM: Tour.
    • 3:30–4:00 PM: Shuttle – PSRI to The Wade Hotel.
• Executive Committee Meeting: PSRI Offices, Chicago 
  • Open only to Exeuctive Committee Members. 
  • Seperate Registration required. 

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

CPFD Meeting: A separate meeting starting at 3:30 PM at The Wade Hotel (open to PSRI attendees who wish to stay, seperate registration required). More Information

Accommodations

The Wade Hotel, the event venue for the Technical Advisory Committee Meeting, offers a discounted room block rate for attendees, available for a few days before and after the event. Secure your reservation early to enjoy the hotel’s sophisticated amenities and prime waterfront location. Booking details are available here.

Please note, that the hotel is sold out on the night of Tuesday, June 23rd. 2026. 

https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1746827268266&key=GRP&guestreslink2=true&app=resvlink

Guest Talk: Sustainable Industrial Process Innovation and Scale-up

Sustainable Industrial Process Innovation and Scale-up is a hot topic for companies in view of contributing to the Paris Agreement to combat climate change and to Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. To these ends many new process ideas are generated by established companies, as well as by start-ups. The big question is: How to rapidly develop these ideas and have a successful commercial scale implementation. Presently half of all commercial scale process start-ups fail, because of poor concept design, poor process development, wrong engineering, and, or, insufficient start-up preparation.
The talk will present critical success factors for all innovation stages, ideation, concept, feasibility, development, EPC, and start-up. The impact of process intensification concept design to obtain low cost processes, which are also more reliable to scale-up will be illustrated by an industrial biofuels process development, with successful commercial scale implementation.

Jan Harmsen, is an independent sustainable process innovation consultant of Harmsen Consultancy. He has more than 40 years of industrial experience in research, development, design, and commercial scale implementation of processes in oil & gas, chemicals, biofuels, minerals and other. He has been a part-time professor of sustainable chemical technology at Delft Technical University. He authored recent books relevant to the lecture topic: [1] Jan Harmsen, Industrial Process Scale-up, 2nd revised Edition - A Practical Innovation Guide from Idea to Commercial Implementation, Elsevier, Amsterdam (2019). [2] Jan Harmsen, André B. de Haan, P.L.J Swinkels, Product and Process Design - Driving Sustainable Innovation, DEGRUYTER, 2nd revised edition, Berlin (2024). [3] Harmsen, Jan; Verkerk, Maarten. Process Intensification: Breakthrough in Design, Industrial Innovation Practices, and Education. De Gruyter, Berlin, (2020).

Jan Harmsen Harmsen Consultancy BV The Netherlands

Workshop: Coking in Various CFB Systems – Mechanisms, Process Conditions and Engineering Measures to Manage the Coking Issues

Coking in FCC Reactors, Fluid Cokers, Methane Pyrolysis, Dehydrogenation Reactors - Coking in Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) reactor cyclones is primarily caused by heavy feedstocks, poor feedstock vaporization, and cold spots that lead to condensation of heavy hydrocarbons. This results in solid carbon deposits that increase pressure drops, damage cyclone internals, trigger premature shutdowns, and reduce unit efficiency. It is often addressed through better feed atomization and increasing cyclone temperatures, incorporated V-anchors, etc.

Special Presentation: History & Success Stories of T.EN Weymouth R&D Center

The Technip Energies (T.EN) Weymouth Research Center has been a key driver of chemical process innovation since the 1950s, with decades of expertise in developing and scaling proprietary Badger technologies such as ethylbenzene, styrene, cumene, and bisphenol A. As part of a global R&D network, the center has evolved into a modern facility with state-of-the-art pilot plants and advanced analytical capabilities, enabling reliable data generation, long-term catalyst validation, and production of high-purity materials to support commercialization.
This presentation highlights Weymouth’s history, capabilities, and key success stories in process technology development, as well as its role in transforming early-stage concepts into commercial successes through a structured, de-risked scale-up approach from laboratory to industrial deployment. Drawing on a strong track record of innovation in licensed chemical processes, it showcases achievements spanning both legacy petrochemical technologies and emerging sustainable solutions, including bio-based processes such as Hummingbird®.
In close collaboration with the Boston Operating Center, Weymouth accelerates the path from concept to commercial deployment while minimizing technical and economic risk. The center remains a critical asset in advancing both established petrochemical technologies and next-generation sustainable processes.

Caroline Coton-Tranape is the Director of Technip Energies’ Research Center in Weymouth, Massachusetts, where she leads R&D programs focused on advancing innovative and sustainable process technologies. With over 20 years of experience in the chemical industry, she has held roles at Arkema (France), Total (Qatar), and Technip Energies, which she joined in 2013. Since moving to the Weymouth Research Center in 2015, she has led numerous process development initiatives for both internal programs and external clients, spanning petrochemicals, circular economy solutions, and emerging low-carbon technologies. In her current role, she drives innovation to support the energy transition, with a focus on sustainable chemistries and scalable industrial solutions. She holds master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering from ENSIC (Nancy, France) and in Environmental and Industrial Biotoxicology from the Faculté de Pharmacie in Lille.

CPFD Software 2026 Barracuda Virtual Reactor Users' Conference

PSRI is delighted to share that our modeling partner, CPFD Software, will host their biennial Barracuda Virtual Reactor Users' Conference at the same venue as the PSRI Annual Meeting. This event provides valuable insights into computational particle fluid dynamics and is open to all PSRI member companies at no cost, whether or not you use Barracuda software.

Maximize your trip by attending both the PSRI Annual Meeting and the CPFD Users' Conference. Register separately for the CPFD event via their website. Extend your stay at The Wade Hotel Chicago using the discounted hotel block rate reserved for the PSRI Annual Meeting; a single reservation covers both events.

Registration

There is no cost for registration or attendance for PSRI Member Company employees, though attendees are responsible for their own travel and lodging arrangements.

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with industry experts, explore innovative research, and network with peers in the vibrant setting of Chicago. Stay tuned for the full agenda and additional details!

We look forward to seeing you in Chicago!

Safety Information for PSRI Tour

• Closed Toe Shoes required (No High-Heals, Crocks, Sandals, etc)
• Pants Required (No Skirts, Shorts, Kilts, etc)
• We will provide the following safety items: 
  • Hard Hat (Return to PSRI after tour)
  • Safety Glasses (You Keep)
  • Hearing Protection (You Keep)
• Strictly NO Photography or Videography is allowed on the tour. 
• There are stairs involved in the tour. 
• Those afraid of heights should opt out of the tour.