News Archive

  • Yegor Nikitin earns Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering
    The Combustion and Catalysis Lab wishes a huge congratulations to the newest CCL graduate, Dr. Yegor Nikitin, for defending his thesis entitled ‘Change of Metal Oxidation State at High Temperature, Impact of Temperature and Reactive Gases’.
  • Free FM interviews CCL Principal Investigator, Dr. Marco J. Castaldi
    Free FM, an independent radio station in New Zealand, interviewed Castaldi for a radio program that first aired on the station on May 9, 2024. Hosted by Andrew Johnstone, the segment explored a proposed $200 million Waste to Energy facility to be opened in Te Awamutu, a town in the Waikato region of New Zealand. […]
  • CCL members attend NYCS 2024 Spring Symposium
    The Catalysis Society of Metropolitan New York (NYCS) held its annual meeting in Newark, New Jersey on the campus of the New Jersey Institute of Technology on March 13th, 2024. Two current members of the Combustion and Catalysis Lab, PI, Marco Castaldi and PhD student, Kaitlyn Lawrence, attended the meeting. Castaldi chaired the final technical […]
  • Former CCL Member, Demetra Tsiamis, and CCL Collaborators from Politecnico di Milano Publish in Waste Disposal & Sustainable Energy
    Former CCL member, Demetra Tsiamis, and collaborators from Politecnico di Milano, Fabio Poretti and Dr. Stefano Consonni, published their work with CCL Principal Investigator, Dr. Marco Castaldi in Waste Disposal & Sustainable Energy. The article is titled A quantitative analysis of the US materials flow methodology and comparison to the EU methodology for MSW statistics. […]
  • Congratulations to Previous CCL Visiting Scholar, Rohit Borooah
    The Combustion and Catalysis Lab congratulates Rohit Borooah on his successful defense of his Ph.D. thesis entitled “Performance of small-scale CHP gasification systems fed with residual biomass – experiments and modeling.” Rohit’s research focused on investigating the possibility of decentralized cogeneration by gasifying forest residues, an alternative feedstock to standard wood chips. Furthermore, his team […]
  • CCL members attend NAM28
    The North American Catalysis Society held its 28th biennial meeting in Providence, Rhode Island from June 18th to 23rd, 2023. The Combustion and Catalysis Lab was represented amongst attendees by 3 current group members, who, collectively, presented 1 talk and 2 posters and won a Kokes Award. The abstracts of the presentations and details about […]
  • CCL PhD student, Lauren Creadore, hosted by the CRECK Modeling Group of Politecnico di Milano
    As a visiting student, Lauren Creadore continued her work in the area of large-scale, high-speed combustion at the Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi). The Italian university, who’s name translates to Polytechnic University of Milan, is home to the CRECK (Chemical Reaction Engineering and Chemical Kinetics) Modeling Group. Led by Dr. Tiziano Faravelli, an expert in modeling […]
  • CCL participates in the MatER & Final Sinks 2023 Conference
    The biennial meetings of Materials and Energy from Refuse (MatER) and the International Conference on Final Sinks took place in tandem in Piacenza, Italy this year from June 5-7 at the Polytechnic University of Milan’s Piacenza campus. 4 current members of the Combustion and Catalysis Lab attended the meeting, which was MatER’s 6th and the […]
  • CCL Principal Investigator Invited to Speak in Politecnico di Milano’s Industrial Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Seminar Series
    Dr. Marco J. Castaldi will give a talk titled “Pyrolysis of Solid Carbon Materials: Coal to Coke; Biomass to Charcoal; MSW to ?” to students and faculty of Politecnico di Milano’s Industrial Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Department on June 8th, 2023 at 3:00pm local time. Audience members have the option of attending in-person and via […]
  • CCL PhD student, Kaitlyn Lawrence, hosted by CCL collaborator Dr. Ange Nzihou of RAPSODEE, France
    As a visiting student, Kaitlyn Lawrence continued her work on the catalytic use of waste to energy ashes in NOx reduction at the Centre de Recherche d’Albi en génie des Procédés, des Solides Divisés, de l’Énergies et de l’Environnement (RAPSODEE). The French group, who’s name translates to the Albi Research Center for Process Engineering, Divided […]
  • CCL participates in EEC|CCNY WTERT 2022
    The biennial meeting of the Waste-to-Energy Research & Technology Council took place in New York this year from October 12-14 at the City College of New York. All current members of the Combustion and Catalysis Lab attended the meeting, the 11th one to occur in the 18 years over which the WTERT Symposia Series has […]
  • Lauren Creadore and Golam Chowdhury graduate with Master’s degrees!
    The Combustion and Catalysis Lab wishes congratulations to their 2 newest graduates, Lauren and Golam, after presenting their Master’s dissertations. Golam’s thesis, ‘Investigation of Recyclable Crude Oil from Biomass and Plastics’, details his work on pyrolysis and was submitted in completion of his Master’s in Chemical Engineering. Lauren’s, ‘A Study of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and […]
  • CCL Principal Investigator, Marco Castaldi, featured in CCNY monthly research publication, the RICC
    Published in the August 2022 issue of The RICC, the Research and Innovation at City College electronic magazine, ‘Introducing CCNY Fulbright Scholars’ recognizes Dr. Castaldi’s work in Italy and France in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Titled ‘Turning Municipal Solid Waste Into Energy”, the article focuses on Castaldi’s reflections over the past 4 years with regard […]
  • Curbed, New York Magazine’s globally-focused urban reporting arm, quotes CCL Principal Investigator in recent feature piece on garbage in NYC
    In a piece titled ‘Voyage of the Gross’, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Justin Davidson, outlines the path and final destinations of the Big Apple’s refuse. Visiting the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station and Covanta’s Essex County Waste-to-Energy Plant, Davidson diligently charts the journey and seeks the opinions of experts along the way: responding to […]
  • Tasnuva Moutushi successfully defends her doctoral dissertation!
    The Combustion and Catalysis Lab wishes a huge congratulations to the newest CCL graduate, Dr. Tasnuva Moutushi, for defending her thesis entitled ‘Investigation of Reactions Occurring in Municipal Solid Waste Residues’.
  • CCL participates in WasteEng2022
    The biennial meeting of the International Conference on Engineering for Waste and Biomass Valorisation took place in Copenhagen this year from June 27-30 at the Technical University of Denmark. 4 current members of the Combustion and Catalysis Lab and a visiting student attended the meeting, the 9th one to occur in the 17 years over […]
  • 5th grader visits CCL on a mission to understand the potential of the 8 million tons of leaves that fall every Autumn!
    Recently, Zachary Dorazio, of the 5th grade, visited CCL to answer his question, “Can we turn leaves into biofuels?”  Zack is the son of CCL Alumnus, Dr. Lucas Dorazio who received his Ph.D. in 2008 and is currently the lead of the Gasoil Technologies and Refinery Catalyst R&D Team at BASF.  CCL routinely hosts high school […]
  • CCL participates in NAM27
    The North American Catalysis Society’s biennial meeting was held in New York, NY from May 22nd to 27th, 2022 at the Hilton Midtown. CCL principal investigator, Marco Castaldi, co-chaired the organizing committee along with CCL alumnus and current BASF Team Lead, Lucas Dorazio. The Combustion and Catalysis Lab had 6 current group members in attendance, […]
  • CCL Principal Investigator, Marco Castaldi, talks to CNBC about Waste-to-Energy
    In a recent climate piece published by CNBC, journalist Katie Schoolov quotes Marco J. Castaldi’s insights on the benefits of waste to energy in solving America’s waste challenges. Read the article and watch the broadcast here to learn more about the work Combustion and Catalysis Lab members are doing to support healthy debate in the […]
  • CCL visits Westchester’s Material Recovery Facility
    CCL members had the opportunity to tour Westchester’s Material Recovery Facility on April 6, 2022 where they learned about the recycling efforts underway in one of New York City’s neighboring communities. Students and researchers were able to view machinery in action as it separated, sorted, and prepared materials to be sold to third-party manufacturers. The […]
  • CCL Principal Investigator, Marco Castaldi’s, response to advanced recycling critics published on Syracuse.com
    Published on Syracuse.com with headline “Chemical engineer: Critics mischaracterize science behind advanced recycling”, Dr. Marco Castaldi’s recent letter to the editor responds to an op-ed article published therein which inaccurately described the processes employed in advanced recycling technologies as ‘burning’. The op-ed, authored by Judith Enck and Tok M. Oyewole, is headlined ‘Plastic burning “has […]
  • CCL member Tasnuva Moutushi and Swanand Tupsakhare publish in STOTEN
    CCL members Tasnuva Moutushi and Dr. Swanand Tupsakhare published their work with Dr. Castaldi in the journal Science of the Total Environment. The article is titled Abiotic decomposition of municipal solid waste under elevated temperature landfill conditions. Tasnuva Moutushi and  Dr. Swanand Tupsakhare studied the decomposition of solid waste under elevated temperature landfill conditions under controlled temperature and […]
  • Kaitlyn Lawrence wins the Floyd Hasselriis Award
    CCL Second-year PhD student, Kaitlyn Lawrence, was one of the recipients of the ‘2021-2022 Floyd Hasselriis Educational Support’ awards sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME) Materials and Energy Recovery Division. The award, established to support students and institutions interested in solid waste management and related fields, is named after the late Floyd […]
  • CCL Alum Jeffrey LeBlanc publishes in POWER Magazine
    CCL alumni Jeffrey LeBlanc published his work done with Devin Peck in Power Magazine. The article is titled Perspectives on Energy Recovery from U.S. Plastic Waste. While completing his PhD, Jeff LeBlanc worked in CCL studying pyrolysis of met coal to coke to understand the impact of secondary reactions during the coking process. Jeff came to […]
  • Dr. Snehesh Ail is appointed Associate Director of CUNY’s Earth Engineering Center
    The Earth Engineering Center and WTERT-USA have appointed Dr. Snehesh S. Ail to the position of Associate Director. Dr. Ail will manage the industry partnered projects at EEC related to combustion and catalysis research, bio-fuels characterization, and innovative waste management strategies. Dr. Ail is a post-doctoral research associate in the Combustion and Catalysis Laboratory at […]
  • CCL member Tasnuva Moutushi presents in 8th International Conference on Engineering for Waste and Biomass Valorisation
    CCL group member Tasnuva Moutushi presented her work titled “Investigation of Reactions Occurring in Municipal Solid Waste Residues” at the 8th International Conference on Engineering for Waste and Biomass Valorisation in virtual mode on May 31 – June 4, 2021. The presentations in this conference were video-recorded and sent in advance of the conference due to the spread of […]
  • CCL member Snehesh Ail presents in 8th International Conference on Engineering for Waste and Biomass Valorisation
    CCL group member Snehesh Ail presented his work titled “Investigating Environmental Impact of Reuse of Consumer Goods in New York City” at the 8th International Conference on Engineering for Waste and Biomass Valorisation in virtual mode on May 31 – June 4, 2021. The presentations in this conference were video-recorded and sent in advance of the conference due to […]
  • CCL alum Megan Webster joins Horiba Scientific
    CCL alum Megan Webster will begin working at Horiba Scientific as a Product Engineer in Piscataway, NJ. Megan completed her doctorate from the City College of New York in 2019. Megan spent her time at CCL investigating the optoelectronic properties of ultrasmall quantum dots for light harvesting applications. Megan’s experience with CCL will allow her […]
  • Dr. Castaldi authors comprehensive review detailing Waste-to-Energy’s role in sustainable waste management
    Titled “The Scientific Truth about Waste-to-Energy,” Dr. Marco Castaldi’s recent publication outlines the most up-to-date information available on thermal conversion of municipal solid waste. A team of internationally-recognized experts in WTE reviewed the work, and it now exists as a resource for policy makers to reference in their evaluation of available bridge solutions for responding […]
  • CCL collaborator Axel Fache publishes in Chemical Engineering Science
    CCL collaborator Axel Fache published his work done with CCL in Chemical Engineering Science. The article is titled Fixed-bed reactors for exothermic reactions: A qualitative relation between start-up time and traveling waves velocity. Visiting researcher Axel Fache worked in CCL studying development of a catalytic methanation reactor for power-to-gas applications. Axel came to CCL from Laboratoire […]
  • Anjeza Arapi wins the Floyd Hasselriis Award
    CCL researcher Anjeza Arapi won the 2020 Floyd Hasselriis Awards offered by ASME Materials and Energy Recovery (MER) Division for her work in solid waste management. Anjeza is a graduate student at the City College of New York and is expected to graduate in Spring 2021. Anjeza is currently an associate at the Earth Engineering Center at the City […]
  • Congratulations Vishal Jadwani
    CCL Congratulates Vishal Jadwani who was part of the KTH-CCNY Sweden-USA student exchange program.  Vishal worked with CCL during the summer for 2019 and focused on developing a testing and validation method to quantify and eliminate unexpected halogen emission plumes from waste to energy systems.  Vishal worked close with CCL members and EEC’s resident research […]
  • A former CCL student doing good for society.
    A former high school student research, Ms. Ellen Farrelly, has continued her commitment to do good for society.  Ellen did research with CCL during her Junior year of High School investigating biomass gasification.  During her research, she went into such detail that she grew her own biomass to ensure she knew all the properties and […]
  • CCL welcome Prof. Castellani
    The CCL team is pleased to welcome Professor Beatrice Castellani from the University of Perugia. Prof. Castellani will be conducting experiments on our methane hydrate research reactor over the next couple of weeks working with Connie Aleman (CCNY ChE undergraduate student), Yegor Nikitin (CCNY PhD candidate) and Daniel Tan, research engineer.  Professor Castellani’s visit continues […]
  • Professor Eilhann Kwon, CCL Alumni, has received the prestigious Doosan Yeongang Environmental Science Award.
    On December 12, 2019, Professor Kwon, second from left, poses with the other select winners and Mr. Jang Myung-ho, vice president of the Doosan Foundation.  The ceremony was held in Bexco, Busan, Korea.  We are all very proud of Professor Kwon for his award and excellent work he has been doing over the years.  Congratulations […]
  • CCLabs was invited at AICHE Gala
    CCL Students Tasnuva and Sandrine participated at the AICHE Gala
  • Congratulation!!! Robyn Smith
    On Tuesday, November 5th, 2019, Robyn Smith grad student at City College of New York and a team member of CCL research group defended her thesis Elucidation of the Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane Utilizing the One-of-a-Kind Catalytic Shock Tube Technique. Congratulation!!
  • CCL member Tasnuva Moutushi presents in Annual AIChE Conference 2019
    CCL group member Tasnuva Moutushi presented her work titled “Investigation of Reactions at the Gas/Solid Interface of Municipal Solid Waste Residues” at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Conference 2019 in Orlando, California. 
  • Congratulation!!! Megan Webster
    On Monday, October 28, 2019, Megan Webster grad Student at City College of New York and a team member of CCL Research group defended her thesis and got her PhD. Congratulation !!!
  • A recent article quote Prof Castaldi
    Professor Castaldi was recently quoted in a recent Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) feature. The article by Alexander Tullo presents the issues associated with plastic waste.  The article “Plastic has a problem; is chemical recycling the solution?” published October 6, 2019 C&EN VOL. 97, ISSUE 39 details how new and existing conversion technologies are planning […]
  • Maryland’s looming waste crisis – an unintended consequence of uninformed environmentalists
    Maryland Could See Waste Crisis After stricter limits on waste-to-energy facilities in Maryland, the state could see a drastic uptick in the amount of waste that needs to be landfilled. If Maryland’s two WTE facilities close, it will add millions of tons of household waste back into the landfill stream. State projections, meanwhile, show that […]
  • Radio event
    Please tune in today, Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 3pm to WHCR-90.3FM to From City to the World, hosted by CCNY President Vince Boudreau. President Boudreau will discuss sustainability and waste management with Professor Marco Castaldi, the Director of the Earth Engineering Center here at CCNY and a Professor in our Chemical Engineering Department. On the second half of the show […]
  • Prof. Castaldi is now American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Fellow – A membership grade of Distinction
    Prof. Castaldi received a Fellow grade in Ameican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The ASME Committee of Past Presidents confers the Fellow grade of membership on worthy candidates to recognize their outstanding engineering achievements. Professor Castaldi is an ASME MEMBER for over 15 years in which he focused on basic and applied research to make […]
  • CCL student Romina Gamarra wins First Place in Westchester Science and Engineering Fair
      CCL student Romina Gamarra won the First Place in the Environmental Science category in the Westchester Science and Engineering Fair (WESEF) on March 16th, 2019. She has been working in CCL labs for the last three summers and advised by Dr. Marco Castaldi. Last year she had placed 4th in WESEF and 3rd in […]
  • Dr. Marco Castaldi is now the head of WTERT-USA
    Professor Marco J. Castaldi, Director of the Earth Engineering Center of CCNY, who has been associated with WTERT since its foundation in 2002, is the head of WTERT-U.S.A.  The leadership transition occurred during the EEC/WTERT 2018 bi-Annual Conference held at CCNY on October 4th & 5th, 2018.  Professor Castaldi will continue to research novel and traditional […]
  • Dr. Castaldi Interviewed on BNN
    Professor Castaldi is interviewed for a financial news segment regarding the increasing problem of plastic wastes.  In the segment, Prof. Castaldi answers some questions about the suitability of using Waste-to-Energy and other thermal processes (i.e. gasification and pyrolysis) as a part of the solution to the plastic waste problem.  For more please see the following- […]
  • Dr. Castaldi Interviewed by C&EN
    Plastics have gained significant attention recently due to a number of domestic and international activities.  This brings awareness to an issue that we have long been investigating but theoretically and practically with organizations ranging from the US EPA and start-up companies.  A new story has been published in Chemical & Engineering News from the American […]
  • Carbon Dioxide Removal Marketplace Created by CCL Alumni
    CCL alumni Alexsandra Guerra started a company called Nori in Seattle as a marketplace for reversing climate change. The company hosts summits, publishes weekly blogs, hosts webinars to engage experts into the design process, and hosts a weekly podcast on all things carbon removal. All of this can be found at https://nori.com. Nori recently launched a crowd sale of tokens […]
  • CCL hosts visiting Researcher from LaTEP, France
    Visiting researcher Axel Fache will be working in CCL studying development of a catalytic methanation reactor for power-to-gas applications. Axel works in Laboratoire de thermique, énergétique et procédés (LaTEP), Pau, France. The aim of his project is to develop a catalytic reactor converting CO/CO2 (from waste and biomass valorization processes) and H2 (from renewable electricity origin) […]
  • CCL alumni Samhita Kattekola joins Agilent Technologies
    CCL alumni Samhita Kattekola will begin working at Agilent Technologies as Field Service Engineer in Wilmington, DE. Samhita completed her bachelors from the City College of New York followed by Masters in chemical engineering at University of Delaware. Samhita spent her time at CCL as Macaulay Honors Research assistant. Her work involved fundamental research into […]
  • CCL group to NAWTEC 2018!
    CCL members Tasnuva Moutushi, Grace Correa, Joseph Figueroa, Riliwan Sanni and Dr. Marco Castaldi  and alumni  Dr. Jeffrey Leblanc attended the Annual North American Waste to Energy Conference in Lancaster, PA. The students presented posters on their research related to waste-to-energy, and received great feedback and encouragement for their work. Go team!
  • CCL Student Moving on to Graduate School
    CCL student Riliwan Sanni has been accepted into the graduate program at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. He will start his MS program at the Chemical and Biological Engineering department this Fall. Congratulations and good luck!
  • Dr. Castaldi Featured on French TV for his Research Collaboration
    Professor Castaldi was featured on French TV for his research collaborations with Ecole des Mines, Albi investigating the valorization of biomass.  In this segment, the TV show is highlighting the conversion of biomass to energy and to produce a char that has been demonstrated to be an effective catalyst in harsh environments. Click here to […]
  • Dr. Castaldi Interviewed by CUNY Radio
    Professor Castaldi was interviewed by CUNY Radio about his Fulbright Global Fellowship appointment conducting research on thermal conversion for sustainable waste management.  Please listen to the short podcast for more information. Link to podcast  
  • CCL graduate Dr. Swanand Tupsakhare starts work at Southern Research
    CCL recent graduate Swanand Tupsakhare embarks on new career leveraging some of the skills acquired during his time with the CCL team. Swanand joined Southern Research’s Energy and Environment division in Durham, NC as a Post Doc Chemical Engineer in January 2018. Swanand’s work will focus on the separation of impurities and by-products in the process […]
  • Dr. Marco Castaldi, Dr. Simona Ciuta, and Demetra Tsiamis published a book titled “Gasification of Waste Materials”
    Dr. Marco J Castaldi, Dr. Simona Ciuta, and Demetra Tsiamis published a book on waste gasification and pyrolysis. This textbook explores the most recent gasification technologies developed worldwide to convert solid wastes to energy, synthesis gas, and chemical products. The authors examine the thermodynamic aspects, reaction mechanisms, and kinetic constraints of using various types of […]
  • Tasnuva Moutushi and Grace Correa win the Floyd Hasselriis Award
    CCL researchers Tasnuva Moutushi and Grace Correa won the 2017-2018 Floyd Hasselriis Awards offered by ASME Materials and Energy Recovery (MER) Division for their work in solid waste management. Congratulations Tasnuva and Grace!
  • Congratulations, Dr. Tupsakhare
    Swanand Tupsakhare passed his doctoral defense of his thesis entitled “Simulation of In Situ Combustion in Gas Hydrate Systems for Carbon Sequestration and Gas Recovery”. Congratulations Swanand!
  • Megan Webster highlighted in Chemical Engineering Newsletter
    CCL member Megan Webster was highlighted in the Chemical Engineering Newsletter for her excellent progress in research and being awarded a Nanofabrication Facility Fellowship by the Advanced Science Research Center of CUNY. Congratulations Megan!
  • Undergraduate Student Dane Fearon Entering the Work Force
    CCL member Dane Fearon will be graduating this summer with Magna Cum Laude distinction and moving on to a position as a process engineer in the Management, Technology, and Engineering Division of Corning Incorporated. He is very excited and mentioned that it would not be possible without the lessons learned and experience gained within Combustion […]
  • Michaela Wagar Wins the STEM Chateaubriand Fellowship
    Michaela Wagar is selected as a 2017-2018 STEM Chateaubriand Fellow. The program supports PhD students from American Universities to conduct research in France. More information about the fellowship program can be found here.
  • Yoo Shin Tanai Submitted his research to Regeneron Science Talent Search
    Yoo Shin Tanai is a student from Ossining High School. He was mentored by Dr. Marco Castaldi on his research on characterizing energy content as a function of proximate analysis factors. He recently submitted his work to Regeneron Science Talent Search. He also shared his research at the Columbia University Waste to Energy Conference in NYC! […]
  • Megan Webster quoted in the Summer 2017 edition of CUNY Matters
    CCL group member Megan Webster was quoted in the summer 2017 edition of CUNY Matters, in the cover story “At the Graduate Center’s ASRC: Science Connected”.
  • Dr. Castaldi Invited for a Speech at the Spitzer School of Architecture
    Dr. Castaldi invited to give a talk on “Sustainable Waste Management: Impacts of Our Trash on Society ” at the Spitzer School of Architecture.
  • Swanand Tupsakhare and Samhita Kattekola Published in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry
    Swanand Tupsakhare and Samhita Kattekola published a journal article entitled “An Application of the Results from the Large-Scale Thermal Stimulation Method of Methane Hydrate Dissociation to the Field Tests” in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
  • Dr. Castaldi Invited for a Speech at University of Bolzano, Italy.
    Dr. Castaldi invited to give a talk on “The Role of Waste-to-Energy in the Circular Economy ” at University of Bolzano, Italy. The abstract can be accessed here.
  • Dr. Castaldi visits University of Bolzano as a Fulbright Fellow
      Dr. Marco Castaldi started his work as a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Bolzano. Professor Castaldi’s arrival was met with great interest at the University of Bolzano.  He will give a lecture on the role of WTE in the circular economy and meet with colleagues and students to discuss collaborative research  
  • Jeffrey LeBlanc Published in ACS Energy and Fuels
    Jeff LeBlanc published a journal article entitled “Investigating Secondary Pyrolysis Reactions of Coal Tar via Mass Spectrometry Techniques” in Energy & Fuels
  • Dane Fearon Visits Tokyo Institute of Technology for Char Gasification Research
    Undergraduate student Dane Fearon visits Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan, to participate in the research on Char Gasification with Prof. Kunio Yoshikawa and his research group.
  • Congratulations, Dr. Jeffrey LeBlanc
    Jeffrey LeBlanc passed his doctoral defense of his thesis entitled “Slow Pyrolysis Reaction Experiments for High Yields of Solid Carbon”. Congratulations Jeffrey !
  • CCL Presents at AICHE 2016 in San Francisco, California
    CCL group members Dr. Stephen Crowley, Swanand Tupsakhare, Robyn Smith, Megan Webster presented their work at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Conference in San Francisco, California.
  • Congratulations, Dr. Stephen Crowley
    Stephen Crowley passed his doctoral defense of his thesis entitled “Morphology Dynamics of Precious Metal Catalysts for the Steam Reforming of Oxygenated Fuels”. Congratulations Steve!
  • About us
    The Combustion and Catalysis Lab is directed by Professor Marco J. Castaldi. The main focus is the thermal and catalytic conversion of carbon based material to desired products. For example, municipal solid waste and biomass to synthetic fuels, liquid fuels to hydrogen and greenhouse gases (carbon-based) to fuels. Meet our team →
  • Swanand Tupsakhare Published in Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering
    Swanand Tupsakhare published a journal article entitled “SIMULATION OF CO2 STORAGE AND METHANE GAS PRODUCTION FROM GAS HYDRATES IN A LARGE SCALE LABORATORY REACTOR” in Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering.
  • Swanand Tupsakhare and Dr. Garrett Fitzgerald Published in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
    Swanand Tupsakhare and Dr. Garrett Fitzgerald published a journal article entitled “Thermally Assisted Dissociation of Methane Hydrates & the Impact of CO2 Injection” in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
  • Congratulations to Michaela Wagar
    Michaela Wagar finished her 2nd doctoral qualifying exam at the City College of New York. The title of her proposal is “Activity of Poplar Wood Char from Biomass Gasification for the Reduction and Adsorption of NO x ”
  • Steve Crowley Published in Angewandte Chemie
    Stephen Crowley published a journal article entitled “Mechanistic Insights into Catalytic Ethanol Steam Reforming Using Isotope-Labeled Reactants”in Angewandte Chemie.
  • Jeffrey LeBlanc Published with USDA and SUNY-Stony Brook Collaborators in Energy and Fuels
    Jeff LeBlanc published a journal article entitled “Across-Phase Biomass Pyrolysis Stoichiometry, Energy Balance, and Product Formation Kinetics” in Energy & Fuels.
  • Jeffrey LeBlanc Published in ACS Energy and Fuels
    Jeff LeBlanc published a journal article entitled “Experimental Investigation of Reaction Confinement Effects on Coke Yield in Coal Pyrolysis” in Energy & Fuels.
  • CCL Gives Plenary Talk at ASME Power and Energy Conference
    On June 28, EEC|CCNY (Dr.Marco Castaldi, Demetra , Dr. Tim Sharobem) presented at the Power Division Plenary at the Power and Energy Conference, alongside representatives of the ASME Material and Energy Recovery (MER) Division and the Research Committee on Energy, Environment, and Waste (RC EEW). The title of the presentation was called “Power production from Waste-to-Energy: Impact […]
  • Megan Webster presents at ACS Colloids 2016
    Megan Webster presented a poster titled “Combustion Ash as a Potential Electrode Material in a Microbial Fuel Cell” in ACS Colloids & Surface Science Symposium at Harvard University.
  • CCL presents at WasteEng conference in Albi, France
    Dr. Castaldi and Jeff LeBlanc present at WasteEng 2016 conference in Albi, France. CCL collaborated on 5 paper presented at the conference involving work from Dr. Simona Ciuta, Jeffrey LeBlanc, Megan Webster and Jeffrey LeBlanc. One of the presentation was done by Jeffrey LeBlanc.
  • Congratulations Dr. Timothy Sharobem
    Timothy Sharobem passed his doctoral defense. His thesis is titled “Mitigation of High Temperature Corrosion in Waste-to-Energy Power Plants”. Congratulations Tim !
  • CCL presents at Megacity Waste Management Dialogue: The NYC Roadmap for Waste as a Resource
    Earth Engineering Center | CCL at CCNY hosts and presents at Megacity Waste Management workshop in New York City. The AIChE Institute for Sustainability and the Earth Engineering Center in affiliation with the Chemical Engineering Department at the City College of New York held a workshop on April 25-26, 2016 to focus on New York City […]
  • CCL attends Advanced Energy Conference in NYC
    CCL group members Jeff LeBlanc, Steve Crowley, Swanand Tupsakhare, Mike Lugo & Deepak Sharma attend Advanced energy Conference in New York City
  • Congratulations to Robyn Smith
    Robyn Smith finished her 2nd doctoral qualifying exam at the City College of New York. Congratulations Robyn !
  • Devin Peck joins CCL
    CCL welcomes Devin Peck to the group. Devin holds a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from Drexel University. Devin’s PhD work will focus on Design of a botanically-based air purifying system that can be integrated into an HVAC system to produce clean air.  
  • Dr. Castaldi receives Fulbright fellowship for research abroad
    Dr. Marco Castaldi received a Fulbright fellowship for research at Ecole des Mines (Paris, France) and University of Bolzano (Bolzano, Italy). This research is focused on a collaboration with City College of New York, Ecole des Mines/CNRS and University of Bolzano to valorize waste residuals to valuable products. The research effort is the fundamental investigation, […]
  • Dr. Castaldi invited as a guest speaker for AICHE Jan 2016 meeting
    Dr. Marco Castaldi was invited as a guest speaker for AICHE January 2016 meeting in Illinois, Chicago on Jan 20th to deliver a presentation titled “Combustion and Catalysis of Carbon-Based Materials and Energy and Environmental Considerations”.
  • CCL receives Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) funds research grant on elevated landfill temperatures
    The Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) has awarded a research grant for a project entitled “Understanding and Predicting Temperatures in Municipal Solid Waste Landfills.” The principal investigators of the project are Craig Benson of the University of Virginia, Morton Barlaz of North Carolina State University, Marco Castaldi of The City College of New York […]
  • Jeff LeBlanc publishes in Energy & Fuels
    Jeff LeBlanc published a journal article entitled “Fate of Higher-Mass Elements and Surface Functional Groups during the Pyrolysis of Waste Pecan Shell” in Energy & Fuels.
  • Steve Crowley publishes in ChemCatChem
    Steve Crowley published a journal article entitled “Operando Characterization of Catalysts through use of a Portable Microreactor “ in ChemCatChem.
  • CCL presents at AIChE 2015
    Stephen Crowley, Jeffrey LeBlanc, Swanand Tupsakhare and Marco Castaldi are presenting at the American Institute of Chemical Engineering Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, UT on their research.
  • CCL presents at NAM24
    Stephen Crowley, Robyn Smith, Michaela Wagar and Marco Castaldi are participating in the North American Meeting of the Catalysis Society in Pittsburgh, PA on their research related to catalysis.Stephen Crowley and Michaela Wagar presented posters at the conference. Robyn Smith delivered an oral presentation.
  • KTH Student researches with CCL for Summer 2015
    A student from KTH Royal Institute of Technology joined the CCL group for the summer of 2015. Marc Mate is visiting CCNY for a 10-week research program. Marc will be researching in the area of catalytic ethanol reforming along with Jacky Ho and Stephen Crowley.
  • New Undergraduate Researchers from Prestigious Program
    Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation is a nationwide program to promote professional degrees among underrepresented minority students in STEM majors. Two undergraduate Chemical Engineering scholars from the CCL have joined the program for the Summer of 2015. Dane Fearon and Melissa Torres are each conducting research in high temperature fouling mechanisms and applied waste-to-energy, […]
  • Oregon Metro Quotes Dr. Castaldi in Waste Article
    The Oregon Metro cites Marco Castaldi as an expert in solid waste gasification in an recent article discussing the alternative of using plasma gasification for Portland’s non-recycled garbage.
  • CCL goes to NAWTEC 2015
    Marco Castaldi, Demetra Tsiamis, and Deepak Kumar all are presenting at the Annual North American Waste to Energy Conference in Tampa, Florida on their research related to waste-to-energy.
  • Congratulations to Swanand Tupsakhare
    Swanand Tupsakhare finished his 2nd doctoral qualifying exam at the City College of New York. He is now working on his dissertation focus on dissociation of methane hydrates by carbon dioxide sequestration.
  • Catalysis Team Presents at NY Metro Symposium
    Stephen Crowley, Robyn Smith, Michaela Wagar and Marion Ducousso each presented their work at The Catalysis Society of Metropolitan New York 2015 Annual Symposium.