Miguel Mauricio

Miguel Mauricio is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Santiago de Compostela, affiliated with the School of Engineering. He holds a PhD in Food Technology (Université de Montpellier, 2009) and a Chemical Engineering degree (USC, 2006). His research focuses on mathematical modeling for solving real-world challenges in chemical and biochemical engineering, particularly in anaerobic fermentation, wastewater treatment optimization, and biorefinery design. He leads projects like WATCHER (real-time bioprocess monitoring) and AGRILOOP (circular agriculture). His work emphasizes energy efficiency in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and sustainable valorization of organic waste.

Education:

• PhD in Food Technology, Université de Montpellier (2009)
• Chemical Engineering Degree, University of Santiago de Compostela (2006)
• Postdoctoral Research at Technical University of Denmark (2010–2014)
• Marie Curie IEF Fellow at Biogroup (2014–present)

Research Interests:

• Mathematical modeling of bioprocesses
• Anaerobic fermentation at metabolic level
• Biorefinery design for agricultural waste
• Energy efficiency in WWTPs
• VFAs production from food/industrial waste
• Process optimization via in-situ product removal

Key Projects:

• WATCHER (Spanish Government-funded): Real-time monitoring for efficient carbon-to-VFAs conversion
• AGRILOOP (EU Horizon): Circular agriculture through waste valorization
• ODDITY (NextGeneration EU): Odd-chain VFAs biorefinery platform

Scientific Awards:

• ENERWATER Project: Best Energy Efficiency Project 2018

Advising & Grants:

• Supervised doctoral theses: Lucas Van der Hauwaert (2025), Paola Guzman Luna (2023), Mateo Saavedra (2023)
• Total research funding: €652,799 (2022–present)

Labs/Groups:

Miguel leads the Biogroup’s efforts in bioprocess modeling and wastewater valorization, collaborating with institutions like INRAE, Wageningen University, and Southern Denmark University.