Mariano Martín

Universidad de Salamanca · Department of Chemical and Textile Engineering

Dependence on fossil fuels, coupled with continuous supply disruptions by the most important natural gas suppliers, has jeopardized the energy security of most European countries. Therefore, determining the regions that can significantly increase their natural gas independence through the circular economy of their wastes is more important than ever...

CONTEXT A mismatch between nutrient demand and consumption in livestock and cropping systems makes these sectors responsible for 24.5% of greenhouse gas emissions. In order to reduce the gap between the two industries, approaches focused on integrating livestock and crop management have been presented. Location is a key factor in the sustainable op...

Today, one of the main lines of solar energy development is the creation of environmentally friendly, waste-free and inexpensive solar grade silicon production technologies. Presently, the main solar grade silicon production technologies are based on the reduction of silicon hydrogen chloride compounds (trichlorosilane, tetrachlorosilane and silane...

This work addresses the design of utility plants incorporating technologies to process biomass, manure, solar radiation, and wind to generate steam and electricity. To capture the hourly and interannual variability of solar and wind resources, an optimization framework is proposed. The framework involves clustering methods to capture the variabilit...

The use of municipal solid waste and sludge within the waste to power initiative is evaluated following a multiscale approach. A techno-economic analysis is performed following a systematic procedure to determine the optimal operating conditions and to estimate the production and investment cost of the facilities as a function of the waste processi...

RAFIQUL GANI, PhD, is currently CEO of PSE for SPEED Company and, an adjunct professor at KAIST (South Korea) and HKUST (Guangzhou). For 34 years, starting from 1985, Prof Gani worked at the Department of Chemical & Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, and is the former head and co-founder of CAPEC. In 2018, Prof Gani co-founde...

The viability of bio-based processes is linked to key factors, such as technical, economic, environmental, social, experimental and logistic performance. The suitable synergy between these factors allows achieving a sustainable process. In this sense, two biorefineries based on Coffee Cut-Stems (CCS), which have already been assessed from the five...

The increasing demand of power and the need to reduce our dependency on fossil resources represent an opportunity to valorise low-to-medium grade heat streams such as mild hot streams from industry and natural brines into electricity. A systematic approach is required for the simultaneous selection of thermodynamic cycle which includes its configur...

The intensification of agricultural systems has increased the food production efficiency, increasing the productivity while the production costs are reduced. Although these factors are key to global food security in a context of continued human population growth, the use of intensive agricultural techniques results in different environmental issues...

Modeling and optimization are essential tasks that arise in the analysis and design of supply chains (SCs). SC models are essential for understanding emergent behavior such as transactions between participants, inherent value of products exchanged, as well as impact of externalities (e.g., policy and climate) and of constraints. Unfortunately, most...

The most abundant energy on Earth is solar and it is a versatile resource that is to be used to improve the sustainability of the chemical and process industry. Two main pillars support these industries, the raw materials and energy. Energy in the chemical industry is to be provided in the form of utilities such as steam, thermal energy and power....

The use of CO2 towards the production of chemicals can help in the decarbonization of industry, but the transformation of such a stable compound is a challenge. This work uses genetic algorithms for the design of multi bed reactors for the hydrogenation of CO2 towards handy products. Two cases of study were evaluated. The production of biomethane f...

The present work aims to obtain an optimal design of a multi-product solar grade silicon refinery under a systematic approach, considering different equity schemes and always seeking to maximize the profit of the facility. The proposed refinery is intensified to satisfy the demands with the use of minimum resources. Our motivation is to include a f...

Livestock operations have been highly intensified over the last decades, resulting in the advent of large concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Intensification decreases production costs but also leads to substantial environmental impacts. Specifically, nutrient runoff from livestock waste results in eutrophication, harmful algal blooms,...

In this perspective paper, we present challenges and opportunities that the chemical, biochemical and related industries pose to the process system engineering community to help deliver reliable and novel sustainable alternatives. More specifically, we highlight the need for a systems approach where model-based sustainable process synthesis, design...

This work presents the development of a reduced order compartment model for a counter-current spray dryer. The compartment model is formulated using adaptable compartments and introducing the use of correlations based on dimensionless groups. These correlations can capture the mean residence time they but are unable to reproduce the variance of the...

In this chapter we analyze the digestion of biomass wastes and the processing, upgrading, and valorization of the major products, biogas and digestate, toward the production of chemicals and fertilizers. The mechanisms, thermodynamics, and kinetics of the various stages involved are studied, from the anaerobic digestion to the biogas clean-up, upgr...

This chapter presents and analyzes the technologies that capture thermal solar energy to produce electricity, also known as the concentrated solar power facilities. The different sections of the facility from the solar field, including the heliostat field, the receiver, and the storage system, to the thermodynamic cycle, where the most common ones...

In this chapter, we present the basics of the systematic techniques that will help design renewable and sustainable processes including modeling approaches, the pillar for simulation and optimization, the numerical techniques behind equation and modular based simulation, the different types of optimization problems that we can formulate and face as...

In this chapter, the production of added-value products and the design of products are analyzed. The formulation of the design problems toward the selection of the appropriate raw materials for the optimal operation of a facility, as well as the production of optimal blends combining ingredients is presented, the so-called pooling and blending prob...

In this chapter, we analyze the processes that decompose biomass at moderate temperatures producing sugars and oils as intermediates. We divide the chapter in the processing of sugar-based biomass species, such as lignocellulosic biomass, starch and others, and lipid ones, including seeds and algae. We present the stages of processing toward the pa...

This chapter evaluates the capture of wind energy and its transformation into power as well as its use for the production of hydrogen for further use. First, the wind turbines are evaluated and characterized presenting the concept of power curve. Next, the wind farm is studied aiming at the optimal location of turbines to make the most of the wind....

This chapter presents the basic concepts of geothermal energy from the extraction of the hot brine to its use in a thermodynamic cycle for the production of power. The analysis of the well is presented first to determine the temperature and flow of the brine. Next different thermodynamics cycles, flash, binaries, and hybrid cycles are analyzed from...

In this chapter, we analyze the processes that decompose biomass at high temperatures, their thermodynamics and kinetics, as well as the production of chemicals out of the intermediates. Four major technologies are studied: gasification, pyrolysis, combustion, and hydrothermal liquefaction with the mechanisms and the equipment used in each case to...

This chapter evaluates the synthesis of polysilicon and the development of photovoltaic panels for the production of electricity from solar energy. The process from quartz to solar grade silicon is analyzed unit by units presenting the mechanism and its kinetics as well as the units themselves. Next, the solar cells are analyzed and their efficienc...

This chapter presents the use of water in all aspects as a resource for renewable energy and chemicals. First energy production from the sea is evaluated, presenting the principles and the technologies to collect tidal, wave. We also consider rivers and the use of water for hydropower, a widely used renewable technology. In a second section, the us...

Intensive farming activities release large amounts of phosphorus into the environment in the form livestock manure, contributing to the eutrophication of waterbodies, and can lead to algal bloom episodes. This work conducts a study on the design and analysis of incentive policies to promote the implementation of phosphorus recovery systems at inten...

Changes have always been taking place on earth. However, the latest changes related to the climate, the COVID-19 pandemic, natural resources, pollution, to name a few, have changed our world and a new normal is emerging. The energy-water-environment-food-health nexus is becoming more complex. These challenges, however, also provide opportunities to...

This work compares integrated facilities to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and use it for the production of bulk chemicals, methanol. Two different alternatives have been proposed. On the one hand, the use of direct air capture (DAC) employing either alkaline CO2 solutions based in KOH or a bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BPMED). The captured is...

The use of municipal solid waste and sludge within the waste to power initiative is evaluated following a multiscale approach. At process level, a techno-economic analysis based on systematic process design is developed to determine the optimal operating conditions and to estimate the yield and investment cost of the facilities as a function of the...

The world is undergoing a profound transformation towards a more sustainable paradigm. This transformation will directly affect all sectors of society, with the chemical industry being one of those that will undergo the greatest conversion. Ammonia synthesis is one of the most important chemical processes in the world due to the high rate of produc...

Nutrient pollution of waterbodies is a major worldwide water quality problem. Excessive use and discharge of nutrients can lead to eutrophication and algal blooms in fresh and marine waters, resulting in environmental problems associated with hypoxia, public health issues related to the release of toxins and freshwater scarcity. A promising option...

The energy transition is one of the main challenges in mitigating the CO2 emissions from the power sector. Solar and wind resources are presented as the two most promising alternatives in the future energy mix. However, the inherent fluctuations of these two resources jeopardize the stability of the grid. To overcome this issue, the combination of...

The presence of chemicals causing significant adverse human health and environmental effects during end-of-life (EoL) stages is a challenge for implementing sustainable management efforts and transitioning towards a safer circular life cycle. Conducting chemical risk evaluation and exposure assessment of potential EoL scenarios can help understand...

This work studies the dispersion of solids in the cold isothermal operation of swirl counter current spray dryers. Residence time distributions (RTDs) of glass beads and detergent powder are obtained in a semi-industrial unit under varying Reynolds and injection positions and validated with the results of a novel Reynolds average Navier Stokes-disc...

This work presents the formulation of a two-stage stochastic mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model to include uncertainty in the design of renewable-based utility plants. The model is based on a superstructure that integrates technologies to process biomass, waste, solar radiation, and wind and considers uncertainty in availability of the r...

Sustainable initiatives for converting end-of-life (EoL) material flows into feedstocks would make a crucial contribution towards protecting our environment and mitigating the negative impacts of anthropogenic activities. Chemical flow analysis enables decision-makers to identify potential environmental releases and exposure pathways at the EoL sta...

The separation between cropping systems and livestock has caused an imbalance in the nutrients, increasing the environmental impact of both industries. In this work, an integrated system comprising intensive livestock and crop management is compared with traditional systems, from the economic and environmental points of view. A model for estimating...

In this work a CFD numerical study is performed to evaluate the influence of the geometry of the swirl generation chamber on the flow behaviour, the swirl intensity and the unstable oscillations in the airflow pattern. The study shows four different regimes for the flow, separated by three critical swirl intensities. The first one is used to identi...

In order to achieve the goal of a carbon neutral EU by 2050 and meet the climate targets of the Paris Agreement, a sustainable, efficient, competitive and secure energy system needs to be developed. This paper presents the synthesis of sustainable renewable energy supply networks within the EU-27, proposing a stepwise energy transition in the trans...

Agricultural residues are considered abundant raw materials that can be used to produce valuable chemicals like furfural. Currently, furfural production is characterized by extensive use of energy and low conversions. However, these challenges can be overcome through process intensification in conjunction with a suitable process synthesis. This wor...

Energy storage is key in enabling high penetration of intermittent renewable sources into the energy supply mix. One attractive way of storing energy is to do so in the form of chemical fuels produced from electricity, also referred to as “power-to-fuels”. Apart from its promise for large-scale seasonal energy storage, it also has advantages at the...

In this work, an integrated framework and a solution procedure are developed for the design of formulated products. The framework considers the design of the manufacturing process, the products, and supply chains simultaneously. The problem is a multi-period MINLP. A solution procedure consisting of two stages is developed. In stage 1, the model is...

A multistage multilayer systematic procedure has been developed for the selection of the optimal product portfolio from waste biomass as feedstock for systems involving water−energy−food nexus. It consists of a hybrid heuristic, metric-based, and optimization methodology that evaluates the economic and environmental performance of added-value produ...

Energy storage will be necessary for a future power system with high penetration of renewable sources, mainly, wind and solar, to ensure the stability of the grid. In this context, power-to-chemicals is a promising concept for a medium/long-term storage horizon and a wide range of capacities. Within this alternative, ammonia rises as one of the fue...

This work deals with the design of integrated facilities for the production of xylitol and sorbitol from lignocellulosic biomass. Xylitol can be obtained from xylose via fermentation or catalytic hydrogenation. Sorbitol is obtained from glucose, but preferably from fructose, and also via fermentation or catalytic hydrogenation. Fructose can be obta...

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants capture abundantly available solar radiation and offer a renewable energy supply. The optimal design and operation of air coolers in such plants is key to their efficiency, however their dynamic performance is impaired due to fouling and variable external conditions. First, the air cooler section design is opti...

Biomass waste is a naturally occurring agricultural byproduct. It is estimated that about 60 million tons per year can be extracted sustainably without altering land use patterns or competing with existing demands. Utilizing this waste is logistically challenging due to the inherent low density and distributed availability of biomass. This work pro...

In this work we contextualize the energy transition problem to highlight the importance to develop mathematical models to simulate and optimize large scale energy systems for the replacement of systems based on fossil fuels with renewable technologies. We briefly present the most widely used energy system models, their main applications, and the av...

This study evaluates the single droplet drying (SDD) of detergents. Experimental data are used to validate a theoretical multistage model. The experiments are carried out in an acoustic levitator analysing six different detergent formulations at 393 K. The work is completed by developing a model based on conservation equations. The model is compose...

A systematic comparison of the performance and economics of concentrated solar power plants using various heat transfer fluids including molten salts and synthetic fluids (Dowtherm A, Syltherm, HELISOL, Malotherm and Therminol VP1) is carried out. First, a process systems approach is used to determine the yield of the thermodynamic cycle using diff...

Although the decentralized and centralized strategies are widely known in today’s supply chain realm, few studies have investigated their impacts on the bio-based waste management context. This study aims to formulate a multi-echelon structure for evaluating the influence of these supply chain strategies on optimal utilization of the biomass feedst...

Sawdust is a by-product of the forestry industry which can be used as raw material for the production of added-value bio-based chemicals, leading to the development of a circular economy based on this organic resource. One of the most promising approaches for the reuse of sawdust is the production of polyols, which in turn can be used as raw materi...

In this work we contextualize the energy transition problem to highlight the importance to develop mathematical models to simulate and optimize large scale energy systems for the replacement of systems based on fossil fuels with renewable technologies. We briefly present the most widely used energy system models, their main applications, and the av...

A multiscale analysis is performed to evaluate the substitution of base load power production by facilities based on the storage of renewable energy using metal hydrides. At process level, a technoeconomic analysis is carried out to compute the economics and the performance of the facility. Next, a macroscopic study identifies the technology, PV so...

The circular economy concept applied to the management of spent coffee grounds (SCG) is an opportunity to obtain a portfolio of high added-value products and reducing the environmental impact while increasing the profitability and reducing the energy consumption of the soluble coffee production process. A systematic analysis of the alternatives is...

This work deals with the design of integrated facilities for the simultaneous production of xylitol and sorbitol from lignocellulosic biomass. A superstructure of alternatives is formulated. Different pretreatments, such as dilute acid or AFEX for the fractionation of the biomass are considered. Next, after hydrolysis, the C5 and C6 sugars are proc...

Biochemicals produced from lignocellulosic residues appear to be a feasible alternative to replace current chemicals derived from oil. Nevertheless, some important challenges need to be overcome in order to achieve a feasible transition towards biochemicals. These challenges are the biomass seasonality and availability, selection of suitable feedst...

The operation performance of air-coolers in concentrated solar power plants decays due to particulate deposition on heat transfer surfaces. The deposition process can be seen as a stochastic phenomenon. A modelling approach is proposed to capture the uncertainty and the effect of extreme events, such as sandstorms, affecting the performance of plan...

Increasing the use of renewable energy sources is one of the most important goals of energy policies in several countries to build a sustainable energy future. This contribution proposes the synthesis of a biorefinery supply network for a case study of the European Union (EU-27) under several scenarios based on a mathematical programming approach....

A new energy system represents investment and job creation opportunities across any region. The use of economic and/or social criteria to locate the collecting technologies and the power production plants can strengthen the economy and mitigate the effect of the substitution of fossil based power plants. Economy growth, employment and population eq...

This chapter examines all the stages, starting with the analysis of the individual transformations from the biomass to make the most of its components either in the form of sugar or the elemental composition. There is a need to evaluate systems at a multiscale level. The first stage for the process design is the modeling unit. The development of op...

Performing risk evaluation is necessary to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health or the environment across its life cycle stages. Data gathering, reconciliation, and management for supporting risk evaluation are time-consuming and challenging, especially for end-of-life (EoL) activities due t...

To protect human health and the environment, communities should develop (or) implement sustainable infrastructures to manage waste. Critically, livestock waste may cause some air quality degradation from emissions of ammonia and greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide, soil quality detriment due to in-excess nutrients and acidification,...

Nutrient pollution is one of the major worldwide water quality problems, resulting in environmental and public health issues. Agricultural activities are the main source of nutrient release emissions, and the livestock industry has been proven to be directly related to the presence of high concentrations of phosphorus in the soil, which potentially...

This work presents a process optimization study of the production of H2 and methanol via dark fermentation. A kinetic model is developed for dark fermentation and it is implemented in the process optimization by means of orthogonal collocation. As a result from the entire process optimization, the optimal operating conditions of the process are det...

An extended pooling problem is developed for the design of detergents, that include process and product design together with suppliers’ selection. It is a multiperiod and multi-objective optimization problem since it considers the economic benefit and environmental impact as well as the contract length. This problem can be considered as a previous...

A hybrid polycrystalline silicon production route is optimized following a two-step procedure. First, surrogate models for the main units are developed following different techniques which depend on the available information. Secondly, the optimization of the entire process flowsheet allows determining the optimal tradeoff between yield and energy...

The silicon industry is a source of various types of products, including materials for the implementation of renewable energy systems, with a comparatively lower environmental impact than conventional fossil energy sources and high added value by-products. In this context, the exploitation of the different by-products generated in the production of...

A systematic approach is developed for the conceptual optimal design of biomethane production via carbon capture. A hybrid heuristic-mathematical procedure is proposed to determine the optimal technology and operating conditions. The heuristic step consists of a literature-based screening of the available technologies. After the prescreening stage,...

Renewable based power plants must be installed where the main resource is available. The weather affects the design and the water footprint of these plants. Two types of power cycles, a regenerative Rankine cycle, representing biomass and solar thermal plants, and the combined cycle, corresponding to biogas or gasification based processes, are stud...

An integrated facility for the processing of oranges is designed. The process begins with juice production. From the peel, two pretreatments are considered for the production of limonene, steam explosion and solvent extraction. Next, the waste is digested to produce utilities and fertilizers. The flue gas from the gas turbine can either be used to...

In this work we provide an overview of the current trend in process and product design as a multidisciplinary area within process system engineering. This problem shows a strong link between different fields including economics, marketing, molecular chemistry, physico-chemistry as well as process design and all the way up to ingredients and final p...

The search for the design of sustainable systems for the production of chemicals and utilities based on renewable sources has been recently considered with special interest. In this work, a methodology for the design of flexible renewable-based utility plants is presented. The methodology is based on the formulation of a multi-period mixed-integer...

In this paper the features of hybrid CSP – Waste power plants are evaluated as a function of the location. The process integrates waste and concentrated solar within a combined cycle. The model is solved as a non-linear optimization problem within a multiperiod scheme to decide on the contribution of the energy resources and the operating condition...

This work presents a novel methodology using machine learning techniques to generate a robust compartment model for unit operations that process particulate materials. The methodology is based on generating a multi-level model from multiple CFD simulations. The reduced-order model comprises flexible phenomenological compartments that modify their s...

The silicon industry is a source of different types of products, including materials for the implementation of renewable energy systems, with a comparatively lower environmental impact than conventional fossil energy sources, and high added value byproducts. In this context, the exploitation of the different by-products generated in the production...

In this work, we present an extended pooling problem for the design of formulated detergents that includes process and product design and supplier’s selection. It was a multiobjective, multiperiod and multiscale optimization product. The integrated problem presented was highly non-linear and non-convex. To address the problem, two different mathema...

Upgrading biomass waste to energy is a promising technology which enhances the economic values of crop residues such as wheat straw and corn stover, which are typically present in excess in highly agricultural regions such as the United States Midwest. In this work, gasification of biomass to turn a gas turbine is considered as a technology for upg...

Energy storage plays a key role in the modern power system. Recently, the use of chemicals for energy storage, especially in long-term applications, has attracted significant attention. In this work, the potential benefit of using different chemicals –namely methane, methanol, dimethyl ether (DME), and ammonia – as energy carriers is evaluated. For...

In this work the design, synthesis and optimization of a furfural production plant, considering the most abundant and common lignocellulosic wastes of Mexico is proposed. For the process, different pretreatment technologies and different purification process including intensified schemes are considered giving a total of 32 possible process alternat...

In this work, the production of liquid fuels from algae via hydrothermal liquefaction has been analyzed. The process consists of algae growing and harvesting, biomass liquefaction, hydrocracking of the biocrude and the separation of the products into fuels. Surrogate models for all the units are developed to evaluate the optimal operating condition...

Oxy-combustion is recognized as the cleanest technology to use coal as energy source. Flue gas clean-up is essential for the sustainable operation. In this work the optimal selection of the flue gas treatment technologies in oxy-combustion power plants is determined. A two-stage procedure combining heuristics and mathematical programming is used to...