Dr Ioanna Dimitriou

Email: i.dimitriou@sheffield.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 114 222 7599

Biography

Originally from Greece, I obtained an MEng in Chemical Engineering from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2006. The same year I was awarded a scholarship from the School of Civil Engineering of the University of Leeds to study for an MSc in Environmental Engineering and Project Management, which I graduated from in 2007.

I completed my PhD in Chemical Engineering at Aston University in 2012 under the supervision of Professor Tony Bridgwater. As a member of the Bioenergy Research Group (BERG) I focused on the research of the thermochemical conversion of biomass to synthetic fuels. My doctoral research involved process simulation and cost modelling of the most promising, in terms of efficiency and costs, thermochemical process routes for large-scale production of liquid transport biofuels. By conducting an uncertainty analysis of my models, I was able to predict and give probabilistic bounds on the level of subsidy necessary for biofuel production plants to compete economically with conventional transport fuel plants.

I joined the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield in December 2012 as a postdoctoral researcher working for Professor Phillip Wright and Professor Ray Allen. My current research involves computer simulation and optimisation of carbon capture and utilisation processes and biorefinery systems including industrial standard processes and novel technologies.

Supervisors

• Prof. Phillip Wright
• Prof. Ray Allen

Links

• PFG Group
• SUNLIBB

Research

My research work focuses on design, Aspen Plus modelling and economic analysis of chemical processes and is split between two large projects within the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering:

• Carbon Capture and Utilisation (4CU project)

This EPSRC funded project focuses on the conversion of carbon dioxide to liquid transport fuels as an alternative to geological storage (CCS).

• Biorefineries for liquid biofuels (SUNLIBB project)

The aim of the project is to combine European and Brazilian research strengths to open the way for cost-competitive lignocellulosic bioethanol production by including added-value product extraction, whilst ensuring that this also brings the anticipated environmental benefits.

Publications

I. Dimitriou, A.V. Bridgwater, T. Pröll. 2011. Process Analysis of Large-scale Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL) Plants Based On Gasification. Proceedings of the ICPS11 International Conference on Polygeneration Strategies, p. 233- 242, September 2011.

I. Dimitriou, A.V. Bridgwater. 2010. Syngas Production for Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL) Applications. Process Analysis and Optimisation, in Proceedings of the BioTen Conference on Biomass, Bioenergy, Biofuels and Biorefineries, Bridgwater A.V., (Ed.), p. 244-252, September 2010.

I. Dimitriou, A.V. Bridgwater. 2009. Biomass versus Bio-oil Gasification for Syngas Production for BTL. Proceedings of the ICPS09 International Conference on Polygeneration Strategies, September 2009.

I. Dimitriou, M.A. Sánchez-Monedero, E.I. Stentiford. 2008. Olive-mill Waste Management & Greenhouse Gases: A Life Cycle Assessment of Carbon Emissions. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference ORBIT 2008 on Moving Organic Waste Recycling Towards Resource Management and Biobased Economy, October 2008.