Dr. Chuck Coronella is the Principal Investigator of the NEWIR Manure project, with responsibility of coordinating research between the teams and communicating with NSF. He leads efforts related to hydrothermal carbonization and process development.
Our work on hydrothermal carbonization has focused on separating the energy fraction of manure (primarily made up of carbon) from the fraction consisting of important macro nutrients useful as fertilizer (primarily consisting of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium). The hydrothermal process produces a solid, carbonized solid from manure known as hydrochar. The hydrochar has fuel properties comparable to lignite. We have been evaluating the hydrothermal reaction conditions, and determined that most of the NPK nutrients can be partitioned to the aqueous phase with the use of some acid. Subsequently, the nutrients can be used for growth of algae or they can be precipitated in a separate reactor to produce a dense, solid fertilizer. Much of this experimental work has been performed by Mr. Saeed Vahed Qaramaleki.
Process development work has focused on process design from a traditional chemical engineering perspective. We have developed a detailed flow sheet for the NEWIR manure process and performed mass balances around all the unit operations. We plan to complete size calculations and to determine capital and operating costs of the integrated process. Detailed calculations for the elemental balances of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus are being performed for each step in the process. This information will allow us to assess the economic feasibility of the process, establish economic impacts of implementing this process, and will provide essential data required to perform a life cycle assessment. Much of this work has been performed by Mr. Carlos Silva Rocha.
Dr. Yonas Zeslase Belete is a postdoctoral researcher in the Chemical and Materials Engineering Department at the University of Nevada, Reno (USA). He is currently engaged in a project focusing on removing PFAS from wastewater, technologies for their destruction, and resource regeneration. He completed his B.Sc. (2014) in Biological and Chemical Engineering from Mekelle University (Ethiopia), followed by his M.Sc. (2019), Ph.D. (2023), and one-year postdoctoral fellowship (2023-2024) at the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel). His research mainly focused on valorizing organic wastes using thermochemical technology, exploring potential applications, as well as wastewater treatment and resource recovery.
Cordel Bever is a master’s student in chemical engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. He received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the same institution in May of 2022 where he assisted in hydrothermal carbonization experimentation and analysis. His research focuses on alternate hydrochar applications, specifically in evaluating its potential use as a soil amendment for bolstering soil organic carbon pools through carbon sequestration.
Angesom Aregawi Gebretsadkan is a Ph.D. student in chemical engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. He received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Mekelle Institute of Technology (Ethiopia) in July 2019. He then earned his master’s degree in Hydrology and Water Quality from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel) in 2023, where his thesis focused on hydrothermal carbonization of wastewater sludge and investigated the agricultural application of Hydrochar. His Ph.D. research focuses on modeling the reaction kinetics of HTC of biomass and studying the removal of PFAS using the hydrothermal defluorination process.
Saeed Vahed Qaramaleki is a PhD student at the University of Nevada, Reno in chemical engineering. Before coming to UNR, he completed a Masters Degree in chemical engineering at Tabriz University. He is an experimentalist, and has developed expertise in hydrothermal carbonization. Graduated August 2022, PhD
Carlos Silva Rocha is a Ph.D. student at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is an expert in process control and is developing expertise in process modeling. Before coming to UNR, he worked for ANDRITZ and spent his time designing advanced controls for the Suzano Imperatriz mill in Brazil. He has also done two internships at the Nevada Gold Mines process control department. Graduated 2022, Masters
Chemical Engineering at unr 