Lluc Aresté-Saló, CV

Curriculum vitae of Lluc Aresté-Saló, doctoral researcher at CEPIMA.

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Lluc Aresté-Saló

Doctoral researcher, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) Barcelona East School of Engineering (EEBE), Campus Diagonal Besòs, Av. Eduard Maristany, 16, 08019 Barcelona

Profile

Chemical engineer and doctoral researcher working at the intersection of process systems engineering, computational methods and circular economy. The research focuses on data- and knowledge-driven methods for the automatic identification, evaluation and recommendation of sustainable chemical process pathways, particularly for waste valorisation and resource recovery. It combines process modelling and simulation, mathematical optimisation, graph-based knowledge representation, databases and scientific programming to support the systematic exploration of complex process alternatives.

The work builds on earlier research on photocatalytic and advanced oxidation processes for water treatment, combining experimental data, kinetic modelling and process simulation. The overarching goal is to develop computational tools that help the process industries move towards more circular, resource-efficient and sustainable operation.

Keywords: process systems engineering; process integration; process synthesis; mathematical optimisation; process modelling and simulation; graph databases; knowledge representation; scientific programming; circular economy; waste valorisation; CO₂ utilisation; photocatalysis; advanced oxidation processes.

Research interests

  • Data- and knowledge-driven methods for the automatic synthesis and recommendation of waste-to-resource pathways
  • Graph-based knowledge representation and database management for chemical process networks
  • Process systems engineering, mathematical programming and multi-objective optimisation
  • Kinetic modelling, simulation and experimental validation of photocatalytic and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for water treatment

Education

  • PhD in Chemical Process Engineering, UPC, since 2025
  • MSc in Computer Engineering, Università di Genova, 2023–2025. 110 cum laude/110. Thesis: “Data and Knowledge Management for the Automatic Synthesis of Waste Revalorization Pathways”
  • MSc in Interdisciplinary and Innovative Engineering, UPC, 2023–2025. 8.87/10, 48 ECTS with honours. Thesis: “Data and Knowledge Management for the Automatic Synthesis of Waste Revalorization Pathways”
  • BSc in Chemical Engineering, UPC, 2019–2023. 9.04/10, 132 ECTS with honours. Thesis: “Modelling, simulation, and validation of AOPs for the degradation of CECs”
  • BSc studies in Computer Science, University of Barcelona, 2020–2022, 90 ECTS completed

Academic positions

  • Doctoral researcher, CEPIMA, UPC, since 2025. Initially funded by a Joan Oró predoctoral fellowship (FI-2025, AGAUR, Government of Catalonia), then by an FPU-2024 fellowship (Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities)
  • Research support technician, CEPIMA, UPC, 2023–2025, funded by the CEPI project
  • Collaboration grant (Beca de Colaboración), CEPIMA, UPC, 2022–2023, Spanish Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports

Research stays

  • ETH Zürich, SUPERlab, with Prof. Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez (2026)

Teaching

At UPC (see the teaching page for the current catalogue):

  • 295561: Process Integration (MSc)
  • 820525: Experimentation in Chemical Engineering I (BSc)

Thesis co-supervision

Completed (4 BSc, 1 MSc):

  • Desarrollo de un prototipo para la evaluación y selección automática de procesos químicos (BSc)
  • Desenvolupament d’una aplicació en codi obert per a l’automatització i la interoperabilitat de simuladors de processos químics (BSc)
  • Anàlisi, avaluació i propostes de millora de l’operació d’una línia de deshumidificació d’envasos de gasos tècnics (BSc)
  • Sistema de gestió de coneixement per a l’anàlisi de xarxes de reaccions químiques (BSc)
  • Capacity expansion of a water-based paint production line: a basic engineering project (MSc)

Ongoing (4 BSc, 1 MSc):

  • Estudi de la viabilitat d’un reactor fotocatalític amb TiO₂ immobilitzat per a la degradació de paracetamol (BSc)
  • Optimització de processos batch (BSc)
  • Anàlisi del rendiment de sistemes fotovoltaics mitjançant simulació i modelització (BSc)
  • Disseny d’un producte (BSc)
  • Production scheduling optimization in resin manufacturing processes (MSc)

Projects

  • P2CE, doctoral researcher, since 2025 (PID2024-161960OB-I00)
  • CEPI, research support technician, 2023–2025 (PID2020-116051RB-I00)

Selected publications

Full list on the publications page.

  • Lechtenberg F., Aresté-Saló L., Espuña A., Graells M. Cooperative multi-actor multi-criteria optimization framework for process integration. Applied Energy, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.124581
  • Dufner L., Aresté-Saló L., Graells M., Pérez-Moya M., Kern F., Rheinheimer W. Photocatalytic degradation of paracetamol on immobilized TiO₂ in a low-tech reactor by solar light for water treatment. Open Ceramics, 2024. doi:10.1016/j.oceram.2024.100599
  • De Aguirre M. C., Aresté-Saló L., Graells M., Pérez-Moya M. Exploiting a dosage model to enhance photo-Fenton process performance. Catalysis Today, 2024. doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2024.114537

Awards

  • Best academic record, BSc in Chemical Engineering, UPC
  • Catalan Chemistry Olympiad, 14th place, 2019

Languages

Catalan (native), Spanish (native), English (C1), French (B1).