Alumna of chemical engineering master’s degree makes it possible to use cork in car interiors

Rita Almeida, who holds a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, has developed an innovative process that stabilises the natural characteristics of cork, preventing it from losing its colour and improving its performance in terms of protection against UV radiation and thermal ageing.

This innovative solution, which has already been patented, began to be developed during his master’s dissertation in the M.EQ, which took place in a business environment at TMG Automotive and was supervised by Professor Adélio Mendes, Professor of Chemical Engineering at DEQ.