Dr Matt Keith MEng, PhD, AMIChemE

School of Chemical Engineering
Assistant Professor

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0) 7904582955
Email: m.j.keith@bham.ac.uk
Twitter: @drmattkeith

Address: Chemical Engineering
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Matt Keith is an Assistant Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering with a primary research interest in the recycling of complex materials.

Matt has published multiple research articles and conference papers alongside writing book chapters on the recycling of carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRPs). His PhD research investigated the use of supercritical fluids and different catalysts in order to recover carbon fibres from CFRPs.

Following his academic research, Matt worked within the Clean Air business of Johnson Matthey as an Applications Engineer (2019 - 21) and a Process Development Chemist (2021 - 22).

Upon returning to academia, Matt currently continues to conduct research into CFRPs, but also into other complex materials such as glass fibre reinforced composites (GFRPs), batteries and solar panels.

He is also an enthusiastic teacher and delivered multiple aspects of both the undergraduate and postgraduate chemical engineering courses during his PhD. He currently leads the second-year module Product Design Exercise in addition to lecturing in Sustainable Process Engineering. He also contributes to the delivery of undergraduate lab sessions and supports various outreach activities, including for the MSc Chemical Engineering course.

Tweets by @@drmattkeith

Qualifications

Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering:

Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCert HE), 2024
PhD in Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, 2020
MEng in Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, 2015

Teaching

Current Modules

Product Design Exercise (Module Co-ordinator) [10 credits]
Sustainable Process Engineering [20 credits]
Labs & Data Analysis (Lab Co-ordinator) [10 credits]
Design for Climate Change (Module Co-ordinator) [10 credits]
Design Project (Project supervisor) [40 credits]

Postgraduate supervision

Primary Supervision:
1. Advanced recycling of next-generation bioplastics
2. Recycling of carbon fibre reinforced polymers using Deep Eutectic Solvents
3. Development of sustainable aviation fuels from microalgae

Secondary Supervision
1. Solvent based recycling of Neodynium-Iron-Boron magnets

Research

Matt's research has two main themes. The first focusses on the development of sustainable chemical processes, primarily for advanced recycling technologies and clean fuels. He is currently the primary supervisor for 3 PhD projects:
1. Advanced recycling of next-generation bioplastics
2. Recycling of carbon fibre reinforced polymers using Deep Eutectic Solvents
3. Development of sustainable aviation fuels from microalgae
He is also the academic lead for Innovate UK funded projects with the SME Deeptech Recycling who aim to scale an efficient chemical recycling process for end-of-life plastic wastes. He collaborates closely with the National Composites Centre (UK) as well as DLR (Germany) to deliver recycling processes for end-of-life composites and manufacturing waste.

The second theme involves chemical engineering education, specifically the integration of advanced digital tools such as generative artificial intelligence (GAI) with the aim of enhancing learning outcomes and teaching the ethical, responsible, and accurate use of these technologies. He also has an interest in progressing the incorporation of climate change education into existing curricula to ensure that future engineers are well equipped to address sustainability challenges. To complement these areas, Matt also regularly supervisors Masters' level research projects and summer internships.

Other activities

Member of the EPSRC Early Career Forum for Circular Economy & Manufacturing
Member of the British Plastics Federation Sustainability Committee
Reviewer for scientific journals: Polymer Degradation & Stability, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Quarterly
Reviewer of British Council research grants
Outreach activities for the BEng / MEng / MSc Chemical Engineering courses
Associate Member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Branfoot, C, Folkvord, H, Keith, M & Leeke, GA 2023, 'Recovery of chemical recyclates from fibre-reinforced composites: A review of progress', Polymer Degradation and Stability , vol. 215, 110447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2023.110447

Keith, MJ, Leeke, GA, Khan, P & Ingram, A 2019, 'Catalytic degradation of a carbon fibre reinforced polymer for recycling applications', Polymer Degradation and Stability , vol. 166, pp. 188-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2019.05.020

Keith, M, Roman Ramirez, L, Leeke, G & Ingram, A 2019, 'Recycling a carbon fibre reinforced polymer with a supercritical acetone/water solvent mixture: comprehensive analysis of reaction kinetics', Polymer Degradation and Stability, vol. 161, pp. 225-234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2019.01.015

Conference contribution

Keith, M, Ingram, A & Leeke, G 2018, Catalytic degradation of a carbon fibre reinforced epoxy resin with an acetone/water solvent. in ECCM 2018 - 18th European Conference on Composite Materials. European Society for Composite Materials, 18th European Conference on Composite Materials, ECCM 2018, Athens, Greece, 24/06/18. <https://az659834.vo.msecnd.net/eventsairwesteuprod/production-pcoconvin-public/a887ec0a9b1248b089dcf33b7bcbbcf3>

Keith, M, Leeke, G & Ingram, A 2018, Recycling carbon fibre with an acetone/water solvent and zinc chloride catalyst: resin degradation and fibre characterisation. in SAMPE Europe Conference 18 Southampton. SAMPE Europe, pp. 399-406, SAMPE Europe Conference 18 Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom, 11/09/18. <https://www.nasampe.org/store/viewproduct.aspx?id=19508379>

Keith, M, Leeke, G & Ingram, A 2017, Chemical Recycling of Carbon Fibre Composites with a Super-critical Acetone/Water Solvent. in 21st International Conference on Composite Materials.

Keith, MJ, Ingram, A & Leeke, G 2017, Optimisation of recycling of carbon fibre composites with a supercritical acetone/water solvent. in ICCM21.

Keith, M 2016, OPTIMISATION OF SOLVOLYSIS FOR RECYCLING CARBON FIBRE REINFORCED COMPOSITES. in European Conference on Composite Materials 17.

Keith, MJ, Oliveux, G & Leeke, GA 2016, Optimisation of solvolysis for recycling carbon fibre reinforced composites. in ECCM 2016 - Proceeding of the 17th European Conference on Composite Materials. European Society for Composite Materials, 17th European Conference on Composite Materials, ECCM 2016, Munich, Germany, 26/06/16. <http://www.eccm17.org/ >

Keith, M, Oliveux, G & Leeke, G 2016, Optimisation of solvolysis for recycling carbon fibre reinforced composites. in ECCM 2016 - Proceeding of the 17th European Conference on Composite Materials.

Paper

Keith, MJ, Andrew, AI & Leeke, GA 2017, 'Optimisation of recycling of carbon fibre composites with a supercritical acetone/water solvent', Paper presented at 21st International Conference on Composite Materials, ICCM 2017, Xi'an, China, 20/08/17 - 25/08/17.

Review article

Keith, M, Koller, M & Lackner, M 2024, 'Carbon Recycling of High Value Bioplastics: A Route to a Zero-Waste Future', Polymers, vol. 16, no. 12, 1621. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16121621

View all publications in research portal