Researchers

Dr. Muñoz holds a Master Degree in Chemical Engineering from Valladolid University (Spain) and a PhD Degree in Environmental Biotechnology from Lund University (2005). Raúl is Full Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at the University of Valladolid. His main fields of expertise are biological gas treatment, biogas upgrading, bioplastic valorization and wastewater treatment in algal-bacterial photobioreactors. Over the last 10 years, Raúl has published more than 180 ISI papers (H index = 56), 39 book chapters, 153 International Conference proceedings (99 oral platforms + 54 posters) + 27 Invited keynotes/Plenary Lectures and supervised 19 PhD theses and 22 Master theses.

Pedro A. García Encina (pedroantonio.garcia@uva.es)
Pedro is Professor of Environmental Technology. Since the 80´s he works in anaerobic processes and nutrients removal/recovery in wastewater treatment. His current research is focused on the use of molecular techniques to study waste and water treatment processes. Pedro has published more than 100 ISI papers and has supervised 17 PhD students. He actively colaborates with companies on technical evaluation and design of industrial wastewater treatment plants. To date, Pedro is the coordinator of the Master in Environmental Engineering of the University of Valladolid.

Raquel Lebrero (raquel.lebrero@uva.es)
Dr. Lebrero holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Valladolid where she also obtained the Grade in Chemical Engineering. Raquel did her final project design at the Imperial College of London, where she obtained the International Diploma. She has performed research stays in the laboratories of Richard Stuetz (UNSW Water Research Centre, Sydney) and Herman Van Langenhove (ENVOC Group, Gent University). Her research focuses on the design of bioreactors for treating odour and VOCs emissions from wastewater treatment plants.

Ignacio de Godos (ignacio.godos@uva.es)
Dr. Ignacio de Godos holds a PhD in Environmental Management and Ecology from the University of León. He has worked as researcher in R&D department of the multinational company FCC aqualia and in the research center IMDEA energy. Since 2017 Ignacio is Assistant Professor of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at the School of Forestry, Agronomic and Bioenergy Industry Engineering (University of Valladolid, Campus of Soria). His current research is focused in environmental applications of microalgae and bioenergy production from agricultural wastes.

Elisa Rodríguez (elisamaria.rodriguez@uva.es)
Dr. Elisa holds a PhD in Molecular Microbial Ecology from the University of Valladolid (Spain). She has collaborated with Professor Alfons J.M. Stams (Wageningen University, The Netherlands) and Professor André Bezerra Dos Santos (Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil). Elisa is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid. Her research focuses on the application of Molecular Microbial Ecology Tools to Facilitate the behavior prediction of the engineered ecosystems.

Sergio Bordel (sergio.bordel@uva.es
Sergio Bordel holds a PhD in Process Engineering from the University of Valladolid (Spain), where he also obtained the Grade in Chemical Engineering. He has been a Postdoc and Assistant Professor at the Systems Biology group of Chalmers University (Sweden). He has also worked at ThermoFisher Scientific and at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (Lithuania). His main fields of expertise are systems and computational biology, bioinformatics, and non-equilibrium thermodynamics, which has resulted in the publication of 38 ISI papers and 4 book chapters. His research will be focused on the overproduction of polyhydroxyalkanoates by methanotrophic bacteria through metabolic engineering.

Fernando Santos Beneit (fernando.santos.beneit@uva.es)
Dr. Santos holds a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of León (Spain), where he was awarded with the PhD Extraordinary Prize for the best thesis in Biology in 2012. He works for a private project between NESTLE and the environmental technology group of the University of Valladolid. Previously, he has worked in different research institutions either in Spain or abroad, such as the department of Molecular Cell Physiology of the Vrije University of Amsterdam, the Institute of Biotechnology of León, the CSIC Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria, the Department of Functional Biology of the University of Oviedo and the Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology at United Kingdom. Few years before, he got a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship of the European Union that he was able to get after a very competitive procedure for outstanding postdoctoral researchers. Over the last 12 years, Fernando has published more than 30 scientific works; including original research papers, reviews, book chapters and editorials, and he has been the first author in twenty of these publication, and the corresponding author of six of them. He has also disseminated his work through national and international scientific symposia, with more than 20 communications, as well as through invited talks in first class research institutions both in Spain and abroad.

Octavio García (octavio.garcia@uva.es)
Dr. García is a Mexican researcher, who holds a PhD in Innovation Sciences from the Center for Research and Assistance in Technology and Design of Jalisco, A.C., a public research center of the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), where he conducted research on the development of multi-stage anaerobic digestion schemes for the production of biohythane from distillery wastewaters. He has also undertaken short-term research stays abroad, for instance, at UNESCO-IHE in the Pollution Prevention and Resource Recovery chair group, working on the development of fungal-based bioreactors for selenium removal through nanotechnology. Additionally, he collaborated in the Cluster of Gaseous Biofuels of the Mexican Center for Innovation in Bioenergy through a one-year postdoc position. Over the last 4 years, Octavio has published 11 manuscripts, 1 book chapter and 3 patent applications. Currently, he has enrolled as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Sustainable Processes of the University of Valladolid under the supervision of Dr. Raúl Muñoz. His research focuses on i) biological gas treatment processes and ii) food waste valorisation through the application of a cascade fermentation approach coupled with biogas-based biopolymer production to foster next-generation biogas biorefineries. The latter research topic will be supported by a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship, in a joint collaboration with Wageningen University Research (WUR) and URBASER, S.A.

Manuel Toledo Padrón (manuel.toledo@uva.es)
Manuel Toledo studied Technical Industrial Engineering in Industrial Chemistry at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain) and completed a MSc degree in Industrial Process Control at the University of Córdoba (Spain). He holds a PhD in Biosciences and Agri-food sciences from the University of Córdoba (Spain), in the field of odor impact in the management and treatment of organic waste. During his doctoral studies, Manuel performed research stays at Ecole des Mines (Alès, France) and at Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (Leipzig, Germany). Manuel continued as postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of Cordoba and he extended his international experience conducting a post-doctoral stay at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering of Ghent University (Ghent, Belgium), where he studied industrial gas biofiltration technologies and odorous compounds in tap water. Currently, Manuel is involved as Juan de la Cierva – Formacion postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid (Spain). His research will be focused on the development of new strategies for the prevention of odoriferous pollution such as the appearance of septic conditions or the emission of hydrogen sulfide in sewage networks and wastewater treatment plants.

Viktoriia Komarysta (viktoriia.komarysta@uva.es)
Dr. Viktoriia Komarysta holds a PhD in Biochemistry from V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (Ukraine). She is a co-founder and chief technologist of the group of biotechnological companies Betacar-Ecobioton-Bestran LLC (Ukraine), implementing those technologies practically. She cooperated with Dr. Peter Keating, Managing Director of Bioscience Pty Ltd (Australia) and Maciej Kowalski, former CEO of HemPoland SP ZOO (Poland). In 2012 she was awarded as a winning solver for the technological solution proposed at the crowdsourcing platform InnoCentive (USA). Currently Dr. Komarysta joined the VOC & Microalgae Research Group and the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology (University of Valladolid) as a Visiting Professor. Her research focuses on the biotechnology of carotenoids from algal and fungal sources and downstream processing of their biomass including conventional solvent and supercritical CO2 extraction.

María del Rosario Rodero (mariarosario.rodero@uva.es)
Dr. María del Rosario Rodero studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Granada (Spain), and holds a PhD in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the University of Valladolid (Spain). She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid. Her research focuses on the optimization of the biogas bioconversion into ectoine within the DEEP PURPLE project.

Andrés Felipe Torres Franco (andresfelipe.torres@uva.es)
Andrés studied Sanitary Engineering at Universidad del Valle (Cali, Colombia). He holds a PhD in Sanitation, Environment and Water Resources from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Belo Horizonte, Brazil). He joined the VOC & Microalgae Research Group as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid. His research focuses on the assessment of the performance of emerging treatment technologies in the removal of microbial indicators from wastewater.

Sergio Paniagua Bermejo (sergio.paniagua@uva.es)
Sergio Paniagua studied Environmental Sciences at University of León (ULE) in 2019. He holds a Master's Degree in Biosystems Engineering and a Master's Degree in Docent Training. He carried out his PhD Degree at the Dept. of Applied Chemistry and Physics at ULE. His doctoral research activity focused mainly on i) energy valorization of biomass from traditional and non-traditional sources; ii) microalgae-based bioremediation of emerging contaminants in wastewaters. He has also published several indexed scientific works and have participated as associate lecturer in the Chemical Engineering and Applied Physics area of ULE. Currently, Sergio has joined the Department of Chemical and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid as Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral researcher. His research will be focused on the biomethanation of syngas.

Roxana Ángeles Torres (roxana.angeles@uva.es)
Roxana studied Environmental Engineering and holds a MSC in environmental Science from Veracruzana University (Mexico). She holds a PhD in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the University of Valladolid (Spain). Roxana has collaborated as a visiting researcher with the research center of Biotechnology in Resource Management at the Institute of Ecology, INECOL, (Mexico), the Gas Treatment-Microalgae Research Group (University of Valladolid, Spain) and Department of Process and Technology (Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico). Currently, Roxana has joined the Department of Chemical and Environmental Technology as a Margarita Salas postdoctoral researcher. Her investigation will be focused on the development of a sustainable phototrophic process for the valorization and conversion of CO2 into biopolymers. The first stage of the investigation will be conducted at the Biochemical Engineering Group at the NOVA School of Science and Technology (Portugal). The second stage will be conducted at the Institute of Sustainable Processes (ISP) in the University of Valladolid (Spain).

Sara Sáez Orviz (ssaezo@funge.uva.es)
Sara studied Biotechnology at the University of Oviedo (Spain) and completed a MSc in Food Biotechnology. She holds a PhD in Chemical, Environmental and Bio-food Engineering from the University of Oviedo. Her doctoral research activity focused on food fermentations and the development and characterization of food packaging materials with probiotic microorganisms and prebiotic compounds. During her doctoral studies, Sara performed a research stay at Federico II University (Naples). She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid. Her research will be focused on the development of an innovative process to reduce the odour impact of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP’s) through the effective reuse of waste materials from the WWTP’s own activity.

Yadira Rodríguez (yadira.rodriguez@uva.es)
Yadira studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Malaga (UMA, Spain) and holds an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Environmental Technology and Engineering (IMETE Programme) from Ghent University (UGent, Belgium), IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (The Netherlands) and University of Chemistry and Technology of Prague (UCTP, Czech Republic). She has collaborated as a visiting researcher with groups from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (Chile), Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research (Portugal) and UCTP. Currently, Yadira is a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid. Her research focuses on exploring new strategies for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates through biogas valorisation.

Dr. Paula Bucci studied Biotechnology at the University of Quilmes (Argentine). She holds a PhD in Engineering from the Food Development and Cryotechnology Institute, a public research center of the University of la Plata, Argentina (UNLP). Additionally, she has performed short-term research stays working on the development of aerobic granules by using sequential batch reactors. Currently, she joined the VOC & Microalgae Research at the University of Valladolid as a postdoctoral researcher supported by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship program. Her research is focused on the use of industrial by-products for the generation of biogas.

Masatoshi Kishi (kishi.masatoshi@uva.es)
Dr. Kishi obtained his PhD in Engineering from Soka University (Japan). His expertise lies in applied phycology, including photobioreactor development, wastewater treatment and waste valorization. He has been involved in managing and implementing three government-led international collaborative research projects, in partnership with Malaysia and Ethiopia, aimed at valorizing unused biomass through algal mass-cultivation. This interest has been furthered through various research projects he has undertaken, including his postdoctoral research stay at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. Dr. Kishi joined the VOC and Microalgae Research Group as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions postdoctoral researcher under the supervision of Prof. Raúl Muñoz, in collaboration with Centre Algatech of the Czech Academy of Science (Czech Republic). His current research focuses on the development of chlorophyll fluorescence-based technologies to monitor and control the mass cultivation of algae using waste streams.

Antonio León Vaz (antonio.leon@uva.es)
Dr. Antonio León Vaz studied Chemistry at University of Huelva (Spain), where he also completed a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. After that, Antonio obtained a 'Margarita Salas’ postdoctoral fellowship at Umeå University (Sweden) for a year. Currently, Antonio joined the VOC and Microalgae Research Group and the Institute of Sustainable Processes (ISP) as a ‘Juan de la Cierva’ postdoctoral researcher. His research is focused on the inactivation of viruses using microalgae-based wastewater treatment systems.

Rebecca García Serna (rebecca.serna@uva.es)
Dr. Rebecca Serna-García obtained her Degree in Biotechnology at the University of Valencia (Spain), where she also completed a Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering. In 2021, she obtained her PhD in Chemical, Environmental and Process Engineering (University of Valencia), specializing in the field of wastewater treatment and anaerobic digestion. Following a two-years Margarita Salas postdoctoral fellowship (Next Generation EU founds), which included a one-year stay at the University of Padova (2022), she joined the the VOC and Microalgae Research Group as a postdoctoral researcher, supported by an APOSTD grant co-founded by the European Social Found. Her research will be focused on the optimization of technologies for the extraction of high added-value products such as ectoine from biogas.

Minerva Elizabeth Maya Yescas (minervaelizabeth.maya@uva.es)
Minerva Maya obtained her bachelor's degree in Industrial Biochemical Engineering, and holds a master's degree in Biotechnology. Dr. Maya completed her doctorate in Natural Sciences and Engineering at the Autonomous Metropolitan University (Mexico). Currently, she joined the VOC and Microalgae Research Group and the Institute of Sustainable Processes (ISP) as a visiting postdoctoral researcher. Her research, linked to the SYNBIOCONV project, is based on the production of biomethane and bioethanol from synthesis gas derived from solid waste gasification as a clean technology alternative to fossil fuel generation.

Víctor holds a Msc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Valladolid. He has performed two research stays at Turku University (Finland) and Hamburg University of Technology (Germany) focused on agricultural waste crops valorisation. Currently, Víctor is a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid. His research focuses on the scaling-up of microalgae technologies for the conversion of municipal solid waste into new bio-based products within the URBIOFIN project.

Celia Pascual (celia.pascual@iq.uva.es)
Celia Pascual studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Valladolid (Spain) and she holds Msc. in Environmental Engineering. She is currently a PhD student at Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid. Her current research focuses on the development of innovative biotechnologies for the removal of siloxanes from biogas prior injection within the natural gas grid.

Javier González Martín (javier.gonzalezm@uva.es)
Javier studied Chemistry at the University of Valladolid (Spain) and he holds an MSc in Advanced Techniques in Chemistry. Javier is currently a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at University of Valladolid. His current research focuses on indoor air treatment by biological elimination of air pollutants.

Cristian Alfredo Severi (cristian.severi@iq.uva.es)
Cristian studied Industrial Engineering and MSc in Environmental Engineering, both degrees obtained at the University National of Cuyo (Argentine). Additionally, Cristian worked in many companies in areas as Quality Control Production, Environmental Regulation and Quality Assurance. He is also an assistant professor of Environmental Impacts and Prevention and Control Process at the University Juan Agustin Maza (Argentine). Cristian is currently a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid. His research focuses on microalgae technologies for the conversion of municipal solid waste into new bio-based products within the URBIOFIN project.

Fanny Maritza Rivera Mejía (fannymaritza.rivera@uva.es)
Fanny Rivera studied Civil Engineering at the Catholic University of Honduras (Honduras) and she holds a MSc. in Environmental Engineering at the University of Valladolid (Spain). Fanny is currently a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid, collaborating with the group of Porous Materials and Surfaces of the Department of Applied Physics (University of Valladolid, Spain). Her current research focuses on the optimization of membrane processes for ammonia recovery and improvement of agro-industrial wastewater treatment.

Lois Regueira Marcos (loisrema@gmail.com
Lois studied a Degree in Biology and he holds a MSc in Advanced Biotechnology, both from the University of Vigo (Spain). Currently, Lois is a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid. His research focuses on the development of an innovative process for the production of biogas, biohydrogen, PHAs and microalgae from food waste. He is also carrying out a research based on the optimization of photosynthetic biological process for the reuse of treated domestic wastewater in a research contract from Elecnor.

Leonardo José Martínez Mendoza (leonardojose.martinez@uva.es)
Leonardo studied chemical engineer at the Technological Institute of Tepic (Mexico) and holds a MSc in Biotechnological Innovation from the Center for Research and Assistance in Technology and Design of the State of Jalisco, A.C. (Mexico). Leonardo is currently a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at University of Valladolid. His current research focuses on integral valorization of food waste through cascade recovery of hydrogen, methane and ectoine.

Diego Martín González (diego.marting@alumnos.uva.es)
Diego studied Biotechnology at the University of León (Spain). He holds a Master´s Degree in Microbiology at the Autonomous University of Madrid (Madrid). Diego is currently a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at University of Valladolid His research focuses on optimizing the production of high added-value compounds synthesized by Paracoccus denitrificans.

Edwin Hoyos Durán (eghoyosd@funge.uva.es)
Edwin studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Valladolid, in which he obtained the Extraordinary End of Degree award. He holds a MSc degree in Chemical Engineering. Edwin is currently a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at University of Valladolid. His project is focused on the development of basic engineering and support in bioreactors for the conversion of biogas to microbial protein and photobioreactors for the production of microalgae from pre-treated digestates, within the framework of the CIRCULAR BIOCARBON project.

María Sol Montaluisa Mantilla (mariasol.montaluisa@uva.es)
María Sol studied Environmental Engineer at the Central University of Ecuador in Quito, Ecuador. She holds an MSc in Management of Occupational Risk Prevention, Quality and Environment. In addition, she specialized in Industrial Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Ergonomics, Applied Psychosociology, and Construction Safety while attending the University of Valladolid in Spain. María Sol is currently a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at the University of Valladolid. Her current research focuses on indoor air treatment by biological elimination of air pollutants.

Eva Marcos Rodrigo (eva.marcos@uva.es)
Eva studied Biotechnology at the University of León (Spain) and holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Valladolid. She joined the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid as a PhD student. Her research focuses on the valorization of synthesis gases through the biological production of high added-value compounds.

Nataliia Kurnikova (nataliia.kurnikova@uva.es)
Nataliia studied Environmental Sciences and holds a MSc in Environmental Engineering, both obtained at ITMO University (Saint Petersburg, Russia). She joined the VOC & Microalgae Research Group as a PhD student. Her research will be focused on the modeling of the production and spreading of odorous Sulphur compounds in wastewater treatment plants.

Irina Bausa Ortiz (irinabortiz@gmail.com)
Irina studied Automatic Engineering at University of Oriente (Cuba), and holds an MSc. in Automatics from University of Oriente and MSc. from University of Alcalá (Spain). Irina is currently a PhD student of Industrial Engineering. Her research focuses on modelling and control strategies development on photobioreactors of algae and bacteria for waste water treatment.

Jessica San Martin Davison (jsandavis@gmail.com)
Jessica is an Environmental Engineer and MSc. with a mention in Environmental Engineering, both degrees obtained at the Catholic University of Temuco (Chile). She is also an Assistant Professor at the Universidad de los Andes (Chile). Jessica has carried out research stays at the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico and the Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research of Spain, within the framework of scholarships granted by Conicyt Chile. Moreover, she has collaborated in research projects, which have allowed her to develop 5 scientific publications. Currently, Jessica is a PhD student in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid. Her research focuses on biological elimination of indoor air pollutants.

Silvia studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Valladolid (Spain) and she holds a Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering. Silvia is currently a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at University of Valladolid. Her research focuses on the valorization of syngas through the biological production of high added-value compounds.

Raquel Herrero Lobo (raquelzdp11@gmail.com)
Raquel Herrero studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Valladolid (Spain), where she also completed a Master in Environmental Engineering. Currently, Raquel is a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at University of Valladolid. Her research is focused on the bioconversion of biogas into ectoine, a high added-value product.

Elisa Huang Lin (ehuangl@funge.uva.es)
Elisa studied Environmental Science at the Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain) and she holds a Master's Degree in Microbiology. Elisa is currently a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at University of Valladolid. Her research focuses on the conversion of greenhouse gases into high added-value compounds synthesized by extremophilic microorganisms.

Nicolás Díaz Moreno (nicolas.diaz@uva.es)
Nicolás Díaz studied Biotechnology and holds a MSc in Circular Bioeconomy and Sustainability, both obtained at the University of Almería (Spain). Currently, Nicolás is a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at the University of Valladolid (Spain). His research is focused on the valorization of residual volatile organic compounds into high added-value products within the ReCOVery project.

Bárbara Muñoz Madariaga (barbarajosefa.munoz@estudiantes.uva.es)
Bárbara studied Chemical and Civil Engineering at Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María (Chile) and she holds a Master Degree in Chemical Engineering at University of Valladolid (Spain). Currently, Bárbara is a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at University of Valladolid. Her research is focused on the production of bioplastics, such as PHAs, from bacterial cultures grown on waste biomass hydrolysates.

Elisa Leonor García Cruz (elisaleonor.garcia22@estudiantes.uva.es)
Elisa studied Biology at the Universidad Nacional Autonóma de México (UNAM), where she also obtained a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering. Elisa is currently a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at the University of Valladolid Spain). Her research is focused on integral valorization of food waste through cascade recovery of hydrogen with simultaneous production of bioplastics (PHA).

Enrique Regidor Alfageme (enrique.regidor23@estudiantes.uva.es)
Enrique studied Chemical Engineering at University of Valladolid. He holds a Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering from both University of Valladolid and Soka University due to participating in the double master's degree program. Currently, Enrique is a PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at University of Valladolid. His research is focused on the abatement of VOCs at EU waste treatment plants, decreasing CO2 emissions and energy consumption.

Bart Kraakman (Bart.Kraakman@jacobs.com)
Bart studied Molecular Sciences at the Wageningen University and Research Center (The Netherlands) and he holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering and Microbiology. Bart is currently a part-time PhD student at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at University of Valladolid. His research focuses on bioavailability and mass-transfer in relation to biological gas purification.

Leonel Rojas Romero (leonel.rojas23@estudiantes.uva.es)
Leonel studied Chemical Engineering at National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he also obtained a MSc degree in Environmental Engineering. He worked as Process Engineer in the design of a brewery wastewater treatment plant by Constelations Brands Incorporated. Leonel is currently a PhD student at the Departament of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at University of Valladolid. His research is focused on the optimization of livestock wastewater treatment in new configurations of membrane photobioreactors, and the further study of strategies for the valorization of purple phototrophic bacteria and microalgae.

Claudia Amabile studied Environmental Engineering at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” (Italy), where she also earned a MSc in Environmental Risk Assessment. Currently, she is a PhD student at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”. Claudia joined the VOC & Microalgae Research Group in April 2022 as a co-supervised PhD student in a 1-year stay at University of Valladolid, where she will develop the experimental part of her doctoral thesis. Her work will be focused on the production of biobased and biodegradable polymers (PHAs) from renewable resources, such as biogas and volatile fatty acids.

Teresa Abate studied Environmental Engineering at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, where she also earned a MSc in Environmental Risk Assessment. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”. Teresa joined the VOC & Microalgae Research Group in April 2022 as a PhD student in 9-month cotutelle with the University of Valladolid working at the experimental part of her doctoral thesis. Her research will be focused on the extraction of added-value products, such as PHAs, from bacterial cells by using environmental-friendly materials.

Fabiana Romano (fabiana.romano@uva.es)
Fabiana studied Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Salerno (Italy), where she also obtained a Master's degree in Environmental Engineering, specializing in Environmental Remediation. Fabiana is currently a PhD student at the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Salerno, in the Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED). In September 2023, joined the joined the VOC and Microalgae Research Group for a 6-month research stay working on the experimental part of her PhD thesis. Her current research focuses on the optimization of added-value compound production from food waste and the use of membrane processes for ammonia recovery.

André do Vale Borges (andreborges@usp.br)
André studied a degree in Chemical Engineering (Brazil) and gained 1.5 years of international experience at the University of Delaware (USA). Currently, he is a PhD student in Hydraulic Engineering and Sanitation at São Carlos School of Engineering (São Paulo, Brazil), investigating the two-phase anaerobic digestion of sugarcane vinasse. As part of his thesis, André has joined the VOC and Microalgae Research Group for a 1-year research stay. His research is focused on the removal of high-strength H2S streams from biogas obtained from the sugarcane dark fermentation.

Bruna Sampaio de Mello (bruna.sampaio@uva.es)
Bruna studied Chemical Engineering at Maringa State University (Brazil). She holds a Master’s in Chemistry and currently she is a PhD student at Institute of Chemistry in São Paulo State University (Brazil). Bruna joined the VOC and Microalgae Research Group for a 1-year research stay as part of her doctoral thesis. Her research is focused on the influence of nanoparticles on microalgae cultivation during photosynthetic biogas upgrading.

Thalita dos Santos Lacerda (thalita.lacerda@uva.es)
Thalita studied Chemical Engineering at Campinas State University (UNICAMP - Brazil). She holds a Master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and currently, she is a PhD student at the Institute of Civil and Environmental Engineering at São Paulo State University (Brazil). Thalita joined the VOC and Microalgae Research Group for a 1-year research stay as part of her doctoral thesis. Her research is focused on evaluating the performance of photobioreactors for domestic wastewater treatment using a consortium of microalgae and bacteria.

Ingrid Hernández Martínez (ingrid.hernandez@uva.es)
Ingrid studied Biological Engineering at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Unidad Cuajimalpa(UAM-C) (Mexico), where she also obtained a MSc. degree in Natural Science and Engineering. Ingridis currently a PhD student at UAM-C (Mexico) and she joined the VOC and Microalgae Research Group for a research stay as part of her doctoral thesis. Her research is focused on microalgaecultures for the obtaining of high-value compounds.

Estheisy López Bello (estheisy.lopez@uva.es)
Estheisy studied Environmental Engineering at Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana(UAM) inMexico and she holds a MSc. degree in Toxicology at CINVESTAV (Mexico). Currently, Estheisy is aPhD student at the Environmental Science Department in IPICYT (Mexico), and she joined the VOCand Microalgae Research Group for a research stay as part of her doctoral thesis. Her currentresearch focuses on the magnetic stimulation of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae toimprove the biological elimination of air pollutants.

Shafana Farveen Mohamed (shafanafarveen.mohamed@uva.es)
Shafana Farveen studied Microbiology at the Madras Christian College (India). She obtained a MSc degree in Applied Microbiology from VIT University (India). She also acquired industry experience as a Molecular Biologist at Hindustan Unilever Ltd. and Lifecell International Pvt Ltd. Currently, Shafana is a PhD student in Genetic Engineering at SRM Institute of Science and Technology (India). She joined the VOC and Microalgae Research Group for a 6-month research stay as part of her doctoral thesis. Her research is focused on the microbe-mediated degradation of bioplastics and its metagenomic insights.

Musavir Rafiq (musavir.rafiq@uva.es)
Musavir Rafiq studied B. Tech in Civil Engineering at Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar (India). He also holds a M. Tech (Civil/Environmental Engineering) from the National Institute of Technology in Hamirpur (India). Currently, Musavir is a PhD student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Durban University of Technology (South Africa). He joined VOC and Microalgae research group for 5 months as an Erasmus exchange student. His research is focused on the production of VFAs from alkaline pre-treated polylactic acid via acidogenic fermentation, and its further transformation into PHA.

Dennise Ortiz García (dennise.ortiz22@estudiantes.uva.es)
Dennise completed her degree in Biotechnology at the Polytechnic University of Cuautitlán Izcalli (Mexico). She is currently a MSc student in Chemical Engineering at the University of Valladolid (Spain). Denisse joined the VOC and Microalgae Research Group to carry out her final master’s project. Her current research focuses on the cultivation of N. linkia in a biogas-rich atmosphere through anaerobic digestion centrate and domestic wastewater.

Cristina Martínez Fraile (cmartinezf@funge.uva.es)
Cristina studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Valladolid (Spain), where she also obtained a Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering. Cristina joined the VOC & Microalgae Research Group to complete her Masters thesis, and currently she works as an assistant researcher. Her research is focused on waste valorization coupled with biogas and biohydrogen production.

Deborah Leroy Freitas (deborah.leroy@estudiantes.uva.es)
Deborah studied Biological Sciences and holds a Master’s in Sanitation, Environment and Water Resources, both obtained in the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil). Currently, she is a Master student in Environmental Engineering at the University of Valladolid (Spain). Deborah joined the VOC & Microalgae Research Group in March 2022 to finish her final Master’s project. Her research will be focused on the production of biohydrogen through lactate-driven dark fermentation using cheese whey as substrate.

Víctor Rodríguez Gallego (victor.rodriguez.gallego@uva.es)
Víctor studied Biotechnology at the University of Salamanca (Spain) and completed a MSc degree in Advanced Biotechnology at Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain). He joined the VOC and Microalgae Research Group in April 2023 as a researcher. His work will be focused on the enrichment and characterization of microbial communities for syngas biomethanation within the All-to-gas project.

Sergio is an undergraduate student of Chemical Engineering at the University of Valladolid (Spain). He joined the gas treatment and microalgae research group to carry out his final degree project. His research will be focused on the biotransformation of CO2 and H2 into high market value compounds.


Technicians

Sara Rodríguez Vega (srodriguezv@funge.uva.es)
Sara is a Higher Education Technician in Environmental Chemistry from the IES Ramón y Cajal in Valladolid (Spain). Between the years 2009 to 2019 she worked in the group of Porous Surfaces and Materials of the University of Valladolid. In July 2020, she joined the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology of the University of Valladolid to support researchers with their experiments.