Dr Silvia Tedesco PhD, FHEA
Senior Lecturer in Engineering (Energy/Mechanical/Design)
My profile
Biography
I have a BEng and an MSc in Industrial and Management Engineering from the Polytechnic of Bari, Italy. I then received my Italian qualification to CEng in 2010. In my Ph.D. sponsored by IRCSET (Ireland) I optimised mechanical pretreatment techniques for increased generation of Biogas for renewable and sustainable energy production, title awarded by Dublin City University in 2013. After that I was a postdoc and a part-time lecturer in the same university for two years, working on seaweed bioenergy and biorefining. I then joined MMU’s Department of Engineering and now teach on UG courses in Product design and Design Engineering, and Sustainable Energy Systems/Engineering Sustainability at MSc level.
Academic and professional qualifications
Ph.D. Dublin City University, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering (2013). Topic: “Mechanical pre-treatment of marine biomass”.
C.Eng. Italian Professional Qualification to Chartered Industrial & Management Engineer (2010).
MSc. Polytechnic of Bari, Industrial & Management Engineering (2009).Thesis: “Optimization of parameters for Refuse Derived Fuel (R.D.F.) processing and improvement using advanced statistical analysis”.
Languages
English. Italian.
Prizes and awards
Award for ‘Outstanding Keynote Presentation’ 2022
at 14th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environmental Protection (SEEP).
Winner of the ‘Sustainability Impact’ Award 2022
By Manchester Met: Staff Awards, Manchester, Business School building.
SEAI, Sustainable Energy Award Finalist (Research Category) 2015. By Sustainable Energy
Authority of Ireland. http://www.seai.ie/Your_Business/Sustainable_Energy_Awards/Shortlist_2015/Energy-Awards-Shortlist-2015.html
Young Researcher Forum Award 2015. 1st International Congress and Expo on Biofuels
and Bioenergy.
RIA Charlemont Awardee 2015. Funded by Royal Irish Academy.
Best Presentation Award at SEEP 2012. 5th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environmental Protection.
PhD Scholarship 2010. RS/2010/2934 Funded by IRCSET, worth €72,000+.
Invited expert reviewer for external bodies
Invited Expert Reviewer for BBSRC: Standard Grant, Engineering Biotech Award (Invited by BBSRC), PoC Award and Innovation Business Vouchers (Invited by Ebnet).
Manuscript Reviews for Journals in Elsevier and Springer such as: Bioresource Technology, BioEnergy Research,Waste Management, Renewable Energy, Biodegradation, J. of Applied Phycology and Chemical Papers.
Membership of professional associations
FHEA.
Personal website address
Interests and expertise
I am passionate about the importance of the bioeconomy and that humanity lives in a more sustainable and environmentally-cognizant manner. I am playing an active role in achieving these goals through my teaching and, in particular, through my scientific research which is focused on using biomass and waste organic materials to produce the energy, fuels, and chemicals for which we are currently over-reliant on non-renewable resources. I am part of the low carbon fuels (LCF) cross-disciplinary research group and a member of the Circular Economy Network at Manchester Metropolitan University and am a member of a number of national and international networks focused on collaboration in this space. My research has also featured significant involvement with SMEs, having collaborated with companies in Ireland and the UK. I have secured grants from a number of bodies in the UK and Ireland (e.g. EPSRC TFI+, Science Foundation Ireland, BBSRC NIBBs, Innovate UK, SUPERGEN Bioenergy Hub) and am currently preparing for a further round of grant proposal submissions to further advance the art in biomass conversion and valorisation. I am open to collaboration with interested parties that share my enthusiasm for the bioeconomy, particularly in international proposals.
Projects
Eco-I North West. 2021-2023. (Contributor). EU EDRF (03R19P03809), £13,852,185.
Exploring the decarbonisation potential of the concrete sector via use of digestate wastewaters for the hydration of cement in an industrial symbiosis scenario. 2022. (PI) externally match-funded PhD, £69,286.00.
Paper and Construction industry symbiosis via Anaerobic Digestion for enhanced resource efficiency and a low carbon future. 2021. (PI) funded by EPSRC via Transforming Foundation Industries Network+, £70,726.42.
Build-a-Bear 2.0 : your favourite animal made from plastic waste. 2021. (Co-I) ING2021\15\136 funded by the Royal Society of Engineering, £19,000 and led by Dr Marloes Peeters at NewCastle University.
LevWave - Defining cost effective way of accessing a key platform biochemical of the future via the valorisation of feedstreams from the paper industry. 2020. ISCF-50057 funded by Innovate UK, £298,363, (PI) for Manchester Met (£54,293.78).
Highly efficient synthesis of levulinic acid from lignocellulosic biomass using microwave irradiation (PI) 2020. RR 2020/4, funded by EPSRC via SUPERGEN Bioenergy Hub, £25,392.40.
Effects of photocatalytic treatments on lignocellulosic biomass for higher energy conversion efficiencies (PI) 2019. AMSE 2018/19, funded by Manchester metropolitan University, worth ~£2k.
BBSRC NIBB Training funds (PI) 2018. CORE-TA – 19 funded by BBSRC NIBB’s HVCfP, £1k.
Characterisation of biomethane potential from lignocellulosic energy (PI) 2018. RAG 2017/18 - 113380, funded by Manchester metropolitan University, £5k.
Green biochemicals and biogas from biowaste: a circular economy approach (PI) 2017. CF-SciEng-ST-2017-1, funded by Manchester Metropolitan University, ca. £60k
TIDA Award (PI) 2014. 14/TIDA/2420 Funded by Science Foundation Ireland, €62,486.
ADbag project, Phase 3 – design for manufacturing and pilot demonstration (Co-I) 2016. Funded by SEAI - Sustainable Energy Research, Development & Demonstration Programme, €51,610.
Commercial case feasibility study (PI) 2015. CF-2015-0370-Y, funded by Enterprise Ireland, €15,000.
Project Feasibility Study (Co-I and Post-doc) 2014. IP-2014-0336Y Funded by Enterprise Ireland, €8,645.
Innovation Voucher standard (PI) 2016. INV/15782/001, Funded by Enterprise Ireland, €5,000.
Teaching
Postgraduate teaching
Engineering Project Management/ Electrical Smart Systems/ Mechanical Smart Systems:
6E7Z2121 Sustainable Energy Systems
6E7Z2148 Engineering Sustainability
Research project supervision: 6E7Z2150 Individual Engineering Research Project
Supervision
2022 (Completion) - Towards More Efficient and Sustainable Production of Platform Chemicals and Biogas – A Proposed Biomass Integrated Biorefinery approach.
Research outputs
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Media
Tedesco, S., Crapnell, R., Peeters, M. Circular economy: Project Build-A-Bear 2.0..
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Journal articles
Pashaki, S.G.A., Khojastehpour, M., Ebrahimi-Nik, M., Tedesco, S. (2024) 'Potential of ash from agricultural waste as substitute of commercial FeCl3 in primary treatment of landfill leachate.' Journal of Environmental Management, 351
Pashaki, S.G.A., Khojastehpour, M., Ebrahimi-Nik, M., Tedesco, S. (2023) 'Evaluation of combined thermo-chemical processes for the treatment of landfill leachate using virgin and recovered FeCl3 coagulants.' Journal of Environmental Management, 347pp. 118973-118973.
Welfle, A.J., Almena, A., Arshad, M.N., Banks, S.W., Butnar, I., Chong, K.J., Cooper, S.G., Daly, H., Garcia Freites, S., Güleç, F., Hardacre, C., Holland, R., Lan, L., Lee, C.S., Robertson, P., Rowe, R., Shepherd, A., Skillen, N., Tedesco, S., Thornley, P., Verdía Barbará, P., Watson, I., Williams, O.S.A., Röder, M. (2023) 'Sustainability of bioenergy – mapping the risks & benefits to inform future bioenergy systems.' Biomass and Bioenergy, 177pp. 106919-106919.
Hurst, G., Ahmed, A., Taylor, S., Tedesco, S. (2023) 'Anaerobic digestion of recycled paper crumb and effects of digestate on concrete performance.' Renewable Energy, 208pp. 577-582.
Hurst, G., Ruiz-Lopez, S., Rivett, D., Tedesco, S. (2022) 'Effect of hydrochar from acid hydrolysis on anaerobic digestion of chicken manure.' Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 10(5) pp. 108343-108343.
Ebrahimzade, I., Ebrahimi-Nik, M., Rohani, A., Tedesco, S. (2022) 'Towards monitoring biodegradation of starch-based bioplastic in anaerobic condition: finding a proper kinetic model.' Bioresource Technology, 347pp. 126661-126661.
Tedesco, S., Hurst, G., Randviir, E.P., Francavilla, M. (2021) 'A comparative investigation of non-catalysed versus catalysed microwave-assisted hydrolysis of common North and South European seaweeds to produce biochemicals.' Algal Research, 60pp. 102489-102489.
Rezaei, M., Ebrahimi‐Nik, M., Tedesco, S., Zeynali, R. (2021) 'The use of sludge as a micronutrient for the improvement of biogas production from seaweed: the integration of two sources of environmental concern to bring new opportunities.' Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 15(6) pp. 1850-1858.
Hurst, G., González-Carballo, J.M., Tosheva, L., Tedesco, S. (2021) 'Synergistic Catalytic Effect of Sulphated Zirconia—HCl System for Levulinic Acid and Solid Residue Production Using Microwave Irradiation.' Energies, 14(6)
Ebrahimzade, I., Ebrahimi-Nik, M., Rohani, A., Tedesco, S. (2021) 'Higher energy conversion efficiency in anaerobic degradation of bioplastic by response surface methodology.' Journal of Cleaner Production, 290pp. 125840-125840.
Ahmed, A., Hurst, G., Peeters, M., Tedesco, S. (2020) 'Performance of Brewery Digestate as a Potential Water Substitute in Concrete Applications.' Research & Development in Material Science, 14(1) pp. 1505-1511.
Tedesco, S., Hurst, G., Imtiaz, A., Ratova, M., Tosheva, L., Kelly, P. (2020) 'TiO2 supported natural zeolites as biogas enhancers through photocatalytic pre-treatment of Miscanthus x giganteous crops.' Energy, 205pp. 117954-117954.
Hurst, G., Brangeli, I., Peeters, M., Tedesco, S. (2019) 'Solid residue and by-product yields from acid-catalysed conversion of poplar wood to levulinic acid.' Chemical Papers, 74(5) pp. 1647-1661.
Betlem, K., Kaur, A., Hudson, A.D., Crapnell, R.D., Hurst, G., Singla, P., Zubko, M., Tedesco, S., Banks, C.E., Whitehead, K., Peeters, M. (2019) 'Heat-Transfer Method: A Thermal Analysis Technique for the Real-Time Monitoring of Staphylococcus aureus Growth in Buffered Solutions and Digestate Samples.' ACS Applied Bio Materials, 2(9) pp. 3790-3798.
Tedesco, S., Daniels, S. (2019) 'Evaluation of inoculum acclimatation and biochemical seasonal variation for the production of renewable gaseous fuel from biorefined Laminaria sp. waste streams.' Renewable Energy, 139pp. 1-8.
Betlem, K., Mahmood, I., Seixas, R., Sadiki, I., Raimbault, R., Foster, C., Crapnell, R., Tedesco, S., Banks, C., Gruber, J., Peeters, M. (2018) 'Evaluating the Temperature Dependence of Heat-Transfer Based Detection: A Case Study with Caffeine and Molecularly Imprinted Polymers as Synthetic Receptors.' Chemical Engineering Journal, 359pp. 505-517.
Tedesco, S., Daniels, S. (2018) 'Optimisation of biogas generation from brown seaweed residues: compositional and geographical parameters affecting the viability of a biorefinery concept.' Applied Energy, 228pp. 712-723.
Tedesco, S., Stokes, J. (2017) 'Valorisation to biogas of macroalgal waste streams: a circular approach to bioproducts and bioenergy in Ireland.' Chemical Papers, pp. 1-8.
Montingelli, M.E., Tedesco, S., Olabi, A.G. (2015) 'Biogas production from algal biomass: A review.' Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 43pp. 961-972.
Tedesco, S., Mac Lochlainn, D., Olabi, A.G. (2014) 'Particle size reduction optimization of Laminaria spp. biomass for enhanced methane production.' Energy, 76pp. 857-862.
Tedesco, S., Marrero Barroso, T., Olabi, A.G. (2014) 'Optimization of mechanical pre-treatment of Laminariaceae spp. biomass-derived biogas.' Renewable Energy, 62pp. 527-534.
Tedesco, S., Benyounis, K.Y., Olabi, A.G. (2013) 'Mechanical pretreatment effects on macroalgae-derived biogas production in co-digestion with sludge in Ireland.' Energy, 61pp. 27-33.
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Conference papers
Hurst, G., Peeters, M., Tedesco, S. (2021) 'Integration of Catalytic Biofuel Production and Anaerobic Digestion for Biogas Production.' 10/9/2020 - 11/9/2020. Springer, Cham, pp. 125-131.
Chiumenti, A., Tedesco, S., Da Borso, F. (2021) 'Anaerobic Digestion of Spent Compost and Peat from the Cultivation of Mushroom.' 2. pp. 712-718.
Montingelli, M.E., Tedesco, S., Olabi, A.G. (2013) 'Production of biogas from macroalgal biomass.' In SEEP. I. Maribor, Slovenia, 19/8/2013 - 23/8/2013. pp. 538-546.
Tedesco, S., Montingelli, M.E., Olabi, A.G. (2013) 'Hollander beater operational parameters 'effect on macroalgal biogas production.'
Tedesco, S., Montingelli, M.E., Benyounnis, K.Y., Olabi, A.G. (2012) 'Mechanical pre-treatment effects investigation on biogas yields from different species of macroalgal biomass..' In SEEP. I. Dublin, Ireland, 5/6/2012 - 8/6/2012. pp. 17-22.
Montingelli, M.E., Tedesco, S., Dassisti, M., Olabi, A.G. (2012) 'Review of Mechanical and Physical Biomass Pretreatment to increase the biogas yield..' In SEEP. I. Dublin, Ireland, 5/6/2012 - 8/6/2012. pp. 47-52.
Tedesco, S., Olabi, A.G. (2011) 'Review of lignocellulosic biomass as bioenergy source with applications to anaerobic digestion and CHP..' In ICAE. Perugia, Italy, 16/5/2011 - 18/5/2011. pp. 513-522.
Tedesco, S., Dassisti, M., Olabi, A.G. (2009) 'Process optimization for re-plastic components via statistical experimentation..' In SEEP. Dublin, Ireland, 12/8/2009 - 15/8/2009. pp. 345-349.
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Presentations
Hurst, G., Ruiz-Lopez, S., Rivett, D., Tedesco, S. (2021) Solid residue by-product from levulinic acid production as biogas enhancers and promoters of microbial diversity in anaerobic digestion systems. [Presentation] Platform presentation (online),28/6/2021.
Hurst, G., Peeters, M., Tedesco, S. (2020) Bio-chars from microwave-assisted levulinic acid production: compositional properties and possible applications.. [Presentation] Conference - Flash Presentation,2/2/2020.
Hurst, G., Hayes, D., Peeters, M., Tedesco, S. An Integrated Biorefinery approach for the Sustainable Production of Lactic Acid.. [Presentation]
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Posters
Hurst, G., Peeters, M., Tedesco, S. (2019) 'Anaerobic digestion of solid residue from lignocellulose catalysis..' [Poster] In European Biosolids & Organic Resources Conference & Exhibition. Date viewed 19/11/2019.
Hurst, G., Peeters, M., Tedesco, S. (2019) 'Integration of Anaerobic Digestion of into Second Generation Biorefineries..' [Poster] In ICESF, Sheffield, UK, Sept 9th-11th, 2019.. Date viewed 9/9/2019.
Hurst, G., Peeters, M., Tedesco, S. (2019) 'Modelling catalytic parameters to integrate acid catalysis and anaerobic digestion technologies for enhanced lignocellulosic biorefineries..' [Poster] In RRB16, Toulouse, France, June 3rd-5th, 2019.. Date viewed 3/6/2019.
Hurst, G., Peeters, M., Hayes, D., Tedesco, S. (2019) 'Characterisation of a variety of biomass feedstocks for green chemicals and biomethane potential of catalytic residues in an integrated biorefinery approach..' [Poster] In ADNet Research Colloquium 2019, Manchester, Jan 23rd -25th, 2019.. Date viewed 23/1/2019.
Hurst, G., Peeters, M., Tedesco, S. (2018) 'Anaerobic Digestion of Catalytic Biorefinery Solid Waste..' [Poster] In ADNet ECR Conference, 16th -17th July 2018.. Date viewed 16/7/2018.
Tedesco, S., Daniels, S. (2018) 'EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF INOCULUM ACCLIMATATION AND BIOPRODUCTS EXTRACTION FOR MAXIMISED BIOGAS GENERATION FROM IRISH BROWN SEAWEED WASTE..' [Poster] In 15th International Conference on Renewable Resources and Biorefinery. Date viewed 1/6/2018.
Tedesco, S., Daniels, S. (2018) 'Evaluating the effect of inoculum acclimatation and bioproducts extraction for maximized biogas generation from Irish brown seaweed waste..' [Poster] In Proceedings of RRB14, Ghent, Belgium, May 30th - June 1st, 2018.. Date viewed 30/5/2018.
Tedesco, S., Mac Lochlainn, D., Olabi, A.G. 'Particle size distribution and drainability study to macroalgae-derived methane yield maximization..' [Poster] In EU BC&E.
Tedesco, S., Olabi, A.G. (2012) 'Algal Biomass Biogas Production via Anaerobic Digestion: The new Beating Treatment..' [Poster] In Sir Bernard Crossland Symposium. Date viewed 28/3/2012.