Julio Eduardo Sosa Parra, CV

Curriculum vitae of Julio Eduardo Sosa Parra, postdoctoral researcher at CEPIMA.

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Julio Eduardo Sosa Parra

Postdoctoral researcher, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)

Profile

Chemical engineer with a PhD in Sustainable Chemistry from NOVA University Lisbon. His research covers the development, characterisation and application of advanced materials and separation processes for gas capture, separation and purification, with a particular focus on fluorinated greenhouse gases and refrigerant mixtures.

He has measured gas adsorption and absorption equilibria on a wide range of materials, including metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), zeolites, activated carbons, ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents, and has designed, built and operated laboratory-scale equipment for gas sorption measurements and the validation of separation processes. This experimental work is complemented by mathematical modelling, thermodynamic property estimation and process simulation.

His main interests are pressure, vacuum and temperature swing adsorption (PSA, VSA, TSA) for gas separation and refrigerant recovery; porous materials such as MOFs, covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and biomass-derived activated carbons for selective gas capture; and sustainable solvents and hybrid separation approaches that combine molecular-level material selection with process simulation. Through the European projects LIFE-4-Fgases and KET4F-Gas he has contributed to technologies that reduce the environmental impact of fluorinated gases and promote refrigerant recovery and recycling. His broader goal is to advance sustainable, efficient and technically viable separation technologies by integrating experimental studies, molecular modelling and process design.

Research interests

  • Adsorption-based gas separation and purification: pressure swing (PSA), vacuum swing (VSA) and temperature swing (TSA) adsorption
  • Molecular simulation and thermodynamic modelling with COSMO-RS and openCOSMO-RS to predict thermophysical properties, gas solubility and molecular interactions
  • Molecular-based selection and design of ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents for gas absorption, extractive separation and the separation of azeotropic mixtures
  • Development and characterisation of porous adsorbents: MOFs, COFs, zeolites and biomass-derived activated carbons
  • Multiscale modelling, process simulation and optimisation of sustainable separation technologies with Aspen Plus, Aspen HYSYS and Aspen Adsorption

Education

  • PhD in Sustainable Chemistry, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal, 2019–2025
  • BSc in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, University of Pamplona, Colombia, 2013–2017

Projects

  • LIFE-4-Fgases: Towards a circular economy for refrigerants: novel hybrid approach to selectively recycling F-gases, research team member, 2021–2025 (LIFE20 CCM/ES/001748)
  • KET4F-Gas: Reduction of the environmental impact of fluorinated gases in the SUDOE space through key enabling technologies, research team member, 2018–2021 (SOE2/P1/P0823)

Selected publications

  • Sosa J.E., Ribeiro R.P.P.L., Kolakovic S., Mota J.P.B., Araújo J.M.M., Pereiro A.B. Capture and separation of sulphur hexafluoride: the most powerful greenhouse gas. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.molliq.2025.128704
  • Sosa J.E., Ribeiro R.P.P.L., Kolakovic S., Matos I., Bernardo M., Mota J.P.B., Araújo J.M.M., Pereiro A.B. Solid porous materials for selective capture and separation of sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆). ChemPlusChem, 2025. doi:10.1002/cplu.202500376
  • Sosa J.E., Freitas S.K.S., Correa L.R.C., Ribeiro R.P.P.L., Mota J.P.B., Mothé-Esteves P., Araújo J.M.M., Branco L.C., Pereiro A.B. Porous organic polymers for the adsorption of fluorinated gases. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.molliq.2025.128585
  • Sosa J.E., Ribeiro R.P.P.L., Matos I., Bernardo M., Fonseca I.M., Mota J.P.B., Araújo J.M.M., Pereiro A.B. Coconut shell derived activated carbon for effective separation of greenhouse gases. International Journal of Refrigeration, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2025.04.022
  • Sosa J.E., Ribeiro R.P.P.L., Matos I., Bernardo M., Fonseca I.M., Mota J.P.B., Araújo J.M.M., Pereiro A.B. Exploring the potential of biomass-derived carbons for the separation of fluorinated gases with high global warming potential. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2024. doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2024.107323
  • Ribeiro R.P.P.L., Sosa J.E., Araújo J.M.M., Pereiro A.B., Mota J.P.B. Vacuum swing adsorption for R-32 recovery from R-410A refrigerant blend. International Journal of Refrigeration, 2023. doi:10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2023.01.020
  • Sosa J.E., Malheiro C., Castro P.J., Ribeiro R.P.P.L., Piñeiro M.M., Plantier F., Mota J.P.B., Araújo J.M.M., Pereiro A.B. Exploring the potential of metal–organic frameworks for the separation of blends of fluorinated gases with high global warming potential. Global Challenges, 2022. doi:10.1002/gch2.202200107
  • Sosa J.E., Ribeiro R.P.P.L., Castro P.J., Mota J.P.B., Pereiro A.B., Araújo J.M.M. Sorption of fluorinated greenhouse gases in silica-supported fluorinated ionic liquids. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.jece.2022.108580
  • Sosa J.E., Santiago R., Redondo A.E., Avila J., Lepre L., Costa Gomes M., Araújo J.M.M., Palomar J., Pereiro A.B. Design of ionic liquids for fluorinated gases absorption: COSMO-RS selection and solubility experiments. Environmental Science & Technology, 2022. doi:10.1021/acs.est.2c00051
  • Sosa J.E., Santiago R., Hospital-Benito D., Costa Gomes M., Araújo J.M.M., Pereiro A.B., Palomar J. Process evaluation of fluorinated ionic liquids as F-gas absorbents. Environmental Science & Technology, 2020. doi:10.1021/acs.est.0c05305
  • Castro P.J., Redondo A.E., Sosa J.E., Zakrzewska M.E., Nunes A.V.M., Araújo J.M.M., Pereiro A.B. Absorption of fluorinated greenhouse gases in deep eutectic solvents. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2020. doi:10.1021/acs.iecr.0c01893
  • Sosa J.E., Malheiro C., Ribeiro R.P.P.L., Castro P.J., Piñeiro M.M., Araújo J.M.M., Pereiro A.B. Adsorption of fluorinated greenhouse gases on activated carbons: evaluation of their potential for gas separation. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology, 2020. doi:10.1002/jctb.6371
  • Sosa J.E., Araújo J.M.M., Amado-González E., Pereiro A.B. Separation of azeotropic mixtures using protic ionic liquids as extraction solvents. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 2020. doi:10.1016/j.molliq.2019.111733
  • Sosa J.E., Ribeiro R.P.P.L., Castro P.J., Mota J.P.B., Araújo J.M.M., Pereiro A.B. Absorption of fluorinated greenhouse gases using fluorinated ionic liquids. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2019. doi:10.1021/acs.iecr.9b04648