CRETUS STAFF

Almudena Hospido Quintana

• Professor of Chemical Engineering
• Department: Chemical Engineering
• Center: School of Engineering (ETSE)
• Research Group: Environmental Biotechnology Group (BIOGROUP)
• Tel .: +34 8818 16797
• Email: almudena.hospido@usc.es
• Group Web: https://biogroup.usc.es
• Personal website: https://biogroup.usc.es/users/almudena-hospido

Bio

My research interests are related to the application and development of Life Cycle Thinking, i.e. Life Cycle Assessment (both from a product and territorial perspective) and Environmental Footprints, with special focus on the water and wastewater sector and on the food production and processing industry. Besides, I has also worked on methodologies for energy efficiency analysis within the wastewater sector where she successful coordinated the ENERWATER project (CSA – H2020: 2015 – 2018), in which a methodology for the evaluation and improvement of energy efficiency in wastewater treatment plants was developed and then approved as the CEN/TR 17614 Standard method for assessing and improving the energy efficiency of wastewater treatment plans.

I was the PI for two European projects: USABLE Packaging, a BBI-JU started on June 2019 with the objective of developing bio-based packaging products that are biodegradable, compostable and/or recyclable, and PROTECT (Predictive mOdelling Tools to evaluate the Effects of Climate change on food safety), an MSC-ITN started on May 2019 where we are looking at improving the environmental sustainability of the dairy products value chains by the combined use of Life Cycle Assessment and Risk Assessment methodologies; as well as two national funded projects: ECOPOLYVER (Integrative process development for biopolymer production through the valorisation of lipidic waste streams), that follows up TREASURE project that demonstrated the feasibility of producing two different compounds, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and triacylglycerides (TAGs), from an oily waste stream generated by the fish-canning industry.

I have supervised nine PhD theses, which I think is one of the most rewarding part of our daily work. I am the subject editor responsible for the “Wastewater treatment and management” section of the “International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment” and of the “circular economy and water sensitive cities” section of IWA Open Water Journal.

Last but not least, I was Vice-Rector for Internationalization of the USC (01/09/2015-4/06/2018), being responsible for the first internationalisation strategic plan of the university, CEO of Cursos Internacionales de la USC (27/10/2015-22/06/2018) and Coordinator of Foreign Relations of the USC (01/09/2013-24/04/2014).

Research Lines
• Environmental management: application and development of different methodologies for evaluating products and more sustainable processes
– Methodologies: Life Cycle Analysis, Carbon Footprint, Water Footprint
– Application sectors: productive, for example food and beverage sector, and services, for example wastewater treatment and waste management
• Energy – water link: Energy efficiency in urban wastewater treatment

Pojects

Publications