Francesco VALENTINO

Francesco Valentino is an Associate Professor at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, affiliated with the Department of Environmental Sciences, Computer Science and Statistics. He also holds roles at the Interdepartmental Center for Economics, Languages, and Entrepreneurship for International Exchanges and the Research Institute for Green and Blue Growth Safety. His research focuses on sustainable waste valorization, biorefinery processes, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production, and anaerobic fermentation technologies. He leads the Environmental Engineering Laboratory and has expertise in converting organic waste into bio-based products like biogas and platform chemicals. His work emphasizes innovation in wastewater treatment, membrane technologies, and circular economy strategies. Key contributions include pilot-scale demonstrations of urban biorefinery systems and optimization of nutrient recovery from industrial and municipal wastes.

He has extensive experience with mixed microbial cultures (MMC), zeolite-assisted processes, and membrane-based separation systems. His research spans topics such as hydrogen production from urban waste, nitrogen recovery via gas-permeable membranes, and SCFAs optimization from food and sewage sludge. He collaborates internationally on projects involving bioconversion of hydrocarbons and bioplastic synthesis from organic substrates. His lab focuses on holistic approaches to minimize landfilling of tannery sludge and other waste streams through anaerobic fermentation and bioreactor design.