The PROCESSES unit brings together a multidisciplinary team of physicists, mathematicians, electronic engineers, chemical engineers, and environmental science experts. It focuses on the design, optimization, and evaluation of biological and technological processes and systems. With an emphasis on automation and control of complex systems in the process industry, and through advanced modeling and simulation tools, it enhances industrial system performance, improves operational efficiency, and promotes sustainability. In bioprocesses, the unit applies modeling techniques to design new or improved metabolic capabilities of microorganisms, aiming at environmental protection and sustainability. It also evaluates techno-economic feasibility, eco-efficiency, risk management, and the resilience of industrial processes, particularly in the urban water cycle.
Design, optimization, and control of biological and technological systems.
Modeling and simulation techniques for industrial processes.
Automation of complex systems in the process industry.
Genomic-scale metabolic modeling for innovation and sustainability in bioprocesses.
Industrial computing and bioinformatics.
Techno-economic evaluation techniques for industrial processes.
Eco-efficiency analysis and risk management in industrial processes.
This subproject is part of the coordinated project \'Advanced Components for Industrial Digital Twins.\' It focuses on the development of distributed optimization methods and algorithms to address parameter estimation problems, modifier adaptation techniques, and real-time data reconciliation. Additionally, the architecture and integration of its components within a Digital Twin (DT) will be analyzed. Two case studies—the manufacturing of fiber panels and a laboratory pilot plant—will be used to evaluate the project outcomes.
This project focuses on the development of a digital twin for wood product production lines, based on AI technologies, digital modeling, and simulation. The integration of AI with the digital twin will result in significantly improved productivity, safety, reliability, quality, and protection.
WATER2WATTS develops practical designs to achieve maximum efficiency in osmotic renewable energy generation processes. The project focuses on the development of practical control and optimization algorithms that robustly maximize plant efficiency by adapting to variations in input sources, as well as to temperature and concentration changes caused by climatic or environmental fluctuations. The developed algorithms are validated using field measurements in a specific case study.
FormalCircular aims to explore the technical feasibility of using biogas produced from the anaerobic digestion of waste as a feedstock for formaldehyde production. This is achieved through the use of methanotrophic microorganisms of the species Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum, from which a specific gene has been deleted to enable this transformation.
Venturini, M., Bucci, P., Muñoz, R. (2025) Novel Fluidized Bed Bioreactor with Density-Graded Carriers for Bioremediation of Nitrate in Uranium Industry Effluent. Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ew00077g
Abdykarimov, B., Alimzhanova, M., Syrgabek, Y., López-Serna, R. (2025) Green analytical procedure index assessment for total petroleum hydrocarbons determination methods in soil and sediments. A review. Trends in Environmental Analytical Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teac.2025.e00262
Rodríguez-Reyes, J.J., García-Depraect, O., Cantera, S., Mena-Navarro, V., León-Becerril, E. (2025) Assessment of the recovery of hydrogen production activity in dark fermentation reactors after a long period of shutdown. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.04.025
León-Vaz, A., Torres-Franco, A.F., García-Encina, P.A., Muñoz, R. (2025) Developing a microalgal-bacterial consortium for the removal of organic pollutants from petrochemical industry. Journal of Water Process Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107663
Fernández-Delgado, M., Plaza, P.E., García-Cubero, M.T., Lucas, S., Coca, M., López-Linares, J.C. (2025) Examining mixotrophic fermentation in fed-batch mode for C1-gas valorization. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jctb.7874
