Sustainable Process Systems Engineering — Design, Intensification, and Integration of Biological and Resource-Recovery Processes

Dr. Konstantina A. Papadopoulou is a Chemical Engineer (Ph.D.) at the School of Chemical Engineering, NTUA, working across the full process-development chain — from lab-scale kinetics to pilot-scale reactor systems — under a consistent framework: Design → Intensification → Integration → Sustainability.

Her process portfolio spans four connected axes:

1. Sustainable Bioprocess Engineering — design and optimization of biological processes for energy and bioproduct generation: anaerobic digestion and biomethane production with ADM1 modelling; thermophilic dark fermentation for biohydrogen; composting process development supported by machine-learning performance prediction; polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and bioethanol production from food-waste-derived streams via high-solids non-isothermal SSF; and CO2 capture with bioconversion to methane in trickle bed reactors, including biological biogas upgrading with green hydrogen.

2. Process Intensification — advancing reactor systems from lab to pilot scale: Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors (AnMBR) with CuO-nanoparticle membrane modification; Periodic Anaerobic Baffled Reactors (PABR) with hydraulic modelling; and Trickle Bed Reactors (TBR) for semi-pilot biological hydrogen biomethanation (500 L–5.5 m³ scale).

3. Circular Process Systems — integrated process design for industrial-urban symbiosis: co-treatment of municipal wastewater and biowaste with industrial effluents (e.g., olive mill waste), biogas-to-bioCNG conversion, digestate valorization for nutrient recovery, and LCA/LCC evaluation of integrated waste-management scenarios.

4. Resource Recovery & Circular Materials — process routes for recovering value from waste streams: thermal and hydrometallurgical recovery of Si and Ag from end-of-life photovoltaic panels; bioleaching of scandium and critical metals (Sc, Li, Co) from bauxite residue and spent Li-ion batteries; biochar and adsorbent production for contaminant removal; and geopolymer/low-carbon concrete production from PV panel waste.

Her process-engineering competencies are supported by advanced modelling and design-of-experiments tools (COMSOL Multiphysics, AQUASIM, OpenLCA, Box-Behnken and factorial DoE, multi-objective optimization) and validated through 39+ peer-reviewed publications, 95+ conference presentations, and participation in 20+ EU and national research programs.