Rate My Professor Luca Alibardi

Dr Luca Alibardi is Lecturer in Separation Processes at the Cranfield Water Science Institute within the School of Water, Energy and Environment at Cranfield University. He holds a degree and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Padova, Italy, with his doctoral research focusing on innovative treatments of tannery sludge sponsored by Acque del Chiampo S.p.A. Before joining Cranfield University in 2015 as a Research Fellow seconded to the Innovation Team of Severn Trent Water to deliver research and development projects for the UK water sector, he served as a research fellow at the University of Padova. There, he worked on biological hydrogen production from organic waste and co-treatment of source-segregated wastewater and organic waste through the AquaNova concept and EnergiaNova project with a pilot installation in a mountain hut. He developed expertise in Biochemical Methane Potential tests for organic substrates and provided technical support to public bodies and companies on anaerobic digestion. Currently, he is Centre Manager for the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Water Infrastructure and Resilience (WIRe) and Co-Leader of the Task Group on Waste Biorefinery of the International Waste Working Group (IWWG).

Dr Alibardi's research specializations include the development of separation technologies and systems integration for circular and hydrogen economies, the role of hydrogen in decarbonising the wastewater sector, biorefinery concepts for waste management, energy recovery from wastewater networks, and coarse separation systems as alternatives to conventional membranes for recovering value-added products from waste. His areas of expertise cover biomass and waste, waste management and resource efficiency, and water science and engineering. He has collaborated with clients including Anglian Water, Scottish Water, Severn Trent Water, Yorkshire Water, and EPSRC. Key publications feature 'Food waste generation and industrial uses: A review' (Waste Management, 2015), 'Effects of carbohydrate, protein and lipid content of organic waste on hydrogen production and fermentation products' (Waste Management, 2016), 'Organic waste biorefineries: Looking towards implementation' (Waste Management, 2020), and 'Full-scale trials to achieve low total phosphorus in effluents from sewage treatment works' (Journal of Water Process Engineering, 2021). His work has garnered over 3,300 citations, influencing advancements in waste management, wastewater treatment, bioenergy, anaerobic digestion, and biological hydrogen production.