Contact
Biography
Ioanna has a PhD in Chemical Engineering (Aston University) and an MSc in Environmental Engineering and Project Management (University of Leeds). Following her PhD studies, she worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield. Her research there was focused on techno-economic feasibility assessments of carbon capture and utilisation processes (EPSRC), biorefinery systems (EU FP7), and waste plastic pyrolysis applications (Early Career Researcher Grant). In 2018, she was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Nottingham and is a member of the Low Carbon Energy and Resources Technologies Research Group.
Ioanna is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Senior Member of the International Association for Carbon Capture, a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College, and an Associate Member of IChemE.
Expertise Summary
Ioanna is an academic and chemical engineer with more than 15 years' experience in process modelling, techno-economic assessments (TEA), and life-cycle analyses (LCA) of low-carbon technologies, including bioenergy systems, carbon capture and utilisation processes and waste-to-energy technologies. She has been a peer reviewer for a wide range of funding bodies, including the European Commission (e.g. Horizon programmes) and Greek Ministry of Education. Ioanna has been an invited commentator and advisory board member for media outlets, such as The Economist and Chemistry World. She is currently an editorial board member for Carbon Capture Science & Technology and senior member of the International Association for Carbon Capture (IACC).
Teaching Summary
Ioanna is a Fellow of Higher Education Academy (now known as Advance HE). She teaches process simulation and modelling to undergraduate and postgraduate chemical engineering students using commercial… read more
Research Summary
Ioanna specialises in process optimisation and the development of techno-economic and life cycle assessment models of sustainable technologies and products. Her work encompasses the detailed analysis… read more
Recent Publications
PUSHPRAJ PATEL, IOANNA DIMITRIOU, PRASENJIT MONDAL, OMVIR SINGH and SHUBHI GUPTA, 2025. Process optimisation and enviro-economic assessment of carbon-negative hydrogen production from biomass co-gasification Energy Conversion and Management. 323, 119211 SYLVANUS LILONFE, SARAH RODGERS, AMIR F.N. ABDUL-MANAN, IOANNA DIMITRIOU and JON MCKECHNIE, 2025. Technical, economic and lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions analyses of solid sorbent direct air capture technologies Carbon Capture Science & Technology. 15, 100380 SYLVANUS LILONFE, IOANNA DIMITRIOU, BEN DAVIES, AMIR F.N. ABDUL-MANAN and JON MCKECHNIE, 2024. Comparative techno-economic and life cycle analyses of synthetic “drop-in” fuel production from UK wet biomass Chemical Engineering Journal. 479, 147516 SYLVANUS LILONFE, BEN DAVIES, AMIR F.N. ABDUL-MANAN, IOANNA DIMITRIOU and JON MCKECHNIE, 2024. A review of techno-economic analyses and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of biomass-to-hydrocarbon “drop-in” fuels Sustainable Production and Consumption. 47, 425-444
PhD opportunities
PhD projects are generally available in process modelling, process optimisation, techno-economic assessment (TEA) and/or life-cycle analysis (LCA) for the following areas:
- Plastic waste pyrolysis and gasification/chemical recycling
- Biomass thermochemical conversion (e.g. gasification, pyrolysis)
- Biomass biochemical conversion (e.g. pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation)
- CO2 utilisation for production of fuels, chemicals and materials
- CO2 capture (e.g. adsoprtion, absorption)
- If you are an UK/Home student, you could be eligible for a fully funded scholarship (fees + stipend). Funding is also available for PhDs via our Doctoral Training Centre.
- If you are an international student, you will need to be self-funded or have/acquire a scholarship. There is an extensive portfolio of Research Scholarships for international students offered by external funding bodies. International applicants need to confirm funding or the intention of applying for a scholarship upon contacting me, otherwise applications will be ignored.
If you are interested, please get in contact via email with a CV and cover letter. Applicants should have (or expect to obtain) a first-class or good 2:1 UK honours degree, or a distinction or high merit at MSc level in Chemical, Energy or Environmental Engineering, or a related discipline.
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Postdoc opportunities
Currently none advertised.
Potential postdoctoral researchers without current funding can apply for our internal fellowships either the Anne McLaren or Nottingham Research Fellowship (call opens in the Summer). Other externally funded fellowship schemes available to candidates of any nationality are listed below:
- Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowships (for PhD holders with up to 8 years full-time research experience, call opens in April/May)
- EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellowship (for PhD holders without postdoc experience, several calls throughout the year)
- EPSRC Open Fellowship (for PhD holders with some postdoc experience, several calls throughout the year)
If you are interested in applying for any of the fellowship schemes above and have a strong CV with a good publication record, please get in contact via email with a CV and a brief research proposal (1-2 pages).
Ioanna is a Fellow of Higher Education Academy (now known as Advance HE). She teaches process simulation and modelling to undergraduate and postgraduate chemical engineering students using commercial software (Aspen HYSYS, Aspen Plus). The main objective is for the students to be able to apply quantitative methods and computer software relevant to the chemical engineering discipline to solve process design problems. She also supervises MEng and MSc research projects and provides teaching support for the year 3 design project.
Module convenor and lecturer:
Process Simulation (Year 3)
Module contributor:
Practical laboratories (Year 3)
Design Project (Year 3)
MEng Project (Year 4)
MSc Project (PGT)