Andy Durrant

Andy Durrant is a Senior Lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland's School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences, leading chemical engineering programs at the Paisley campus. His academic expertise spans heat transfer, biomass processing, and microalgae cultivation for biofuels. He has extensive teaching experience and research history in composting systems and fouling of heat exchangers.

His current research focuses on optimizing microalgae cultivation processes for biodiesel production, particularly investigating pretreatment techniques like ultrasonication and microwave methods. He collaborates internationally as a guest lecturer at institutions such as Hochschule Furtwangen University (2017–2018) and Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (2011–2017).

Key research interests include sustainable energy technologies, lipid extraction efficiency in microalgae (e.g., Chlorella vulgaris and Nannochloropsis), and enhancing biomass productivity under varied environmental conditions. His work aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals related to affordable clean energy (SDG 7) and climate action (SDG 13).

Recent publications emphasize pretreatment optimization for biodiesel production, anaerobic digestion process stability, and computational modeling of fuel cell performance. He actively seeks supervisory roles for PhD/MSc students in heat transfer and biomass-related projects.