Dr Claudia Fernandez-Martin
Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering
T: +44 (0)1224 273264
Email: cfmartin@abdn.ac.uk
Research Profile
Dr Claudia Fernandez-Martin is a Member of the Materials and Chemical Engineering Research Group at The University of Aberdeen, Deputy Champion in Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage CCUS (UoA), Deputy Environmental & Biodiversity Theme (School of Engineering), Academic Member of the UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre (UKCCSRS), and co-champion of the Circular Economy Theme (Centre for Energy Transition).
She has over 13 years’ experience in transforming by-products and residues into new forms of added-value materials. It includes the recycling and/or transformation of wastes into adsorbents (mainly highly porous activated carbons) for air pollution mitigation. She is an expert in developing, revalorising and characterising a wide range of materials, including second-generation biomass residues: carbon-based adsorbents; organic polymers: thermoplastic and thermoset resins, hyper-crosslinked organic polymers, and low density organic polymers; composite polymeric and hybrid membranes; impregnated silicon-based adsorbents; and catalysts supported in carbon- based materials.
Additionally, Dr Fernández-Martín has extensive experience in microwave-assisted processes (i.e. pre-treatment of lignocellulosic and food wastes, gas separation, microwave-assisted synthesis). CFM has supervised 4 PDRAs, and currently leads a research group of 6 PhD students. CFM has led and co-led several academic and industrial projects under the umbrella of the circular economy, such as waste recycling (various projects funded by SFC in collaboration with industry) and production of sustainable materials and energy from waste (funded by Leverhulme, BEIS, GCRF-IPPF, ETP).
Currently, she is leading a circular economy project (co-funded by the SFC and a local company) on developing activated carbons from different feedstocks using advanced technologies.
As CET Champion, Dr Fernandez-Martin will strive to anhance the CET profile and its visibility, by promoting the activities run by the CET and the University of Aberdeen under the umbrella of the circular economy; and by continuing collaborations with industry (at local, national and international level) and other academic partners to tackle current and future challenges in the research areas of sustainable production of materials and chemicals, and waste valorisation and recycling.
