Dr Hendrik (Deon) Brink's passion lies in understanding and deciphering how the natural sciences work and how this knowledge can be implemented for the improvement of the biosphere. Through the study of Chemical Engineering with specific emphasis on the study of reactor engineering, he has gained an in-depth appreciation for the significant dependence of human beings on relatively new scientific principles such as chemical reactivity.
Dr Brink has been employed as the resident Environmental Engineer in the Water Utilisation and Environmental Engineering Division of the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Pretoria, since September 2015. He has been awarded the "Exceptional Young Researcher" award by the university in 2019.
Some projects currently under investigation include the biological remediation and recovery of lead(II) and selenium(VI) from aqueous media, the production of valuable platform chemicals from lignocellulosic feedstocks (succinic- and malic acids), the carbon-negative phycological (using the local micro-algae Desmodesmus multivariabalis) production of biodiesel and platform chemicals from real municipal wastewater and CO2-containing flue gas. Dr Brink is also currently involved in the recovery of valuable pigments from real acid mine drainage, as well as focusing on research in sustainable raw materials for the cement industry, specifically looking for sustainable sources of calcium, iron, potassium, and silica.
He has published 22 articles throughout his career, all in highly reputable international peer-review journals (ISI accredited). His most notable recent articles (2019-2020) appeared in "Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology" (CiteScore 3.92, IF 3.889), "Sustainability" (CiteScore 3.08, IF 2.594), "Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering" (CiteScore 2.68, IF 2.371), and "International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology" (CiteScore 2.65, IF 2.396).
Dr Brink's postgraduate studies initially focused on fluidized bed reactors, a classical chemical engineering reactor type, and the work was published in the highly reputable Chemical Engineering Journal (CiteScore 8.47, IF 8.355). During his PhD his focus shifted to biochemical reaction engineering. Dr Brink focussed on liquid-solid biofilm fermentations - published in New Biotechnology (CiteScore 4.04, IF 3.739), and gas-liquid-solid biofilm fermentations - published in Microbial Cell Factories (CiteScore 4.43, IF 4.669).
He has participated in nine international conferences since 2015. Four full-length conference papers have resulted from this work.
Dr Brink's early career has been highly productive with constant creation of opportunities for future contributions to research.
