New Video Posted: Chemical Recycling – More Pollution? Or a Sustainability Solution for Plastic? The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) has released a panel discussion exploring the promise and controversy of chemical recycling in addressing the global plastic waste crisis. The event brings together experts from industry, policy, and academia, including Professor Marco J. Castaldi, Director…

EEC Director Professor Marco J. Castaldi participates in webinar panel which asks important questions about waste and sustainability The non-profit organization, be Waste Wise (bWW) recently featured a panel of scientific experts on waste and sustainability to discuss pressing issues on decarbonization. Energy from waste was the topic around which important questions were explored, including:What…

Publication of a Technical Report on MSW statistics We are pleased to announce the publication of a scientific article, the outcome of a collaboration between the Earth Engineering Center, Department of Chemical Engineering at The City College of New York, USA (Demetra Tsiamis & Marco J. Castaldi), and the Dipartimento Di Energetica at Politecnico Di…

Congratulations to Golam, Former EEC|CCNY Associate and Chemical Engineering Master’s Graduate, on Securing a New Job as an Assistant Chemical Engineer We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Golam Chowdhury, former EEC|CCNY associate and CCNY Master’s graduate in Chemical Engineering, on securing a prestigious position as an Assistant Chemical Engineer with the Department of Environmental Protection…

Two EEC|CCNY Research Associates graduate with Master’s degrees Congratulations to Golam Chowdhury and Lauren Creadore who recently graduated from The City College of New York. Both students earned Master’s degrees (M. Eng.) after completing their dissertations on pyrolysis and combustion respectively. Golam earned a Master’s in Engineering in Chemical Engineering and published a thesis titled…

Recent EEC|CCNY study on advanced recycling receives news coverage from several scientific and recycling-oriented publications In order to shed light on the current state of advanced recycling technologies, EEC|CCNY conducted a study on recent life cycle assessments of advanced recycling. The full report can found here. The technical report highlighted key data that were obtained…

CCNY PhD student in Chemical Engineering wins ASME Floyd Hasselriis Award 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. Kaitlyn is a second year PhD student conducting research in the Combustion and Catalysis Lab…

Curbed Magazine sheds light on MSW in NYC with an article featuring Professor Castaldi Issues pertaining to waste were covered in Curbed, a part of New York magazine, as part of their ‘Hot Garbage Month’ (August 2022). From this article series, Professor Castaldi consulted on and was quoted in an article that the captures the…

The Energy Transformation Collection of ASME highlights waste to energy Professor Castaldi, in collaboration with former CCL and EEC alumnus Jeffrey LeBlanc, publish in Mechanical Engineering Magazine (Waste to Energy as a Substitute for Landfills – ASME) on the attributes of waste to energy for sustainable waste management.  The article was also co-authored by Mr. Tony…

CNBC produces video feature on waste to energy which includes contribution from Professor Marco J. Castaldi CNBC offers coverage of the various waste management strategies in California, highlighting, in particular, Waste to Energy. The video features technical experts in the field including Susan Thorneloe of the U.S. Environmental Protection agency (who has published policy analysis…

Advanced recycling of plastics opined on in Syracuse newspaper A recent guest opinion piece in The Post-Standard newspaper (web address syracuse.com) discussed advanced recycling of plastics. That article can be found here. In an effort to disseminate accurate scientific and engineering information, Professor Marco J. Castaldi has written a letter to the editor in response…

Professor Castaldi discusses the role of advanced recycling methods in maintaining value for post-consumer, non-recyclable plastics with Dr. Rachael Meidl of Rice University The Sustainably Speaking podcast series hosted by Joshua Baca from America’s Plastic Makers features conversations with key figures, including those in industry, government, academia, and the consumer circle, who are helping to…

Appointment of Dr. Snehesh Ail to Associate Director Congratulations to Dr. Snehesh Ail on his appointment to Associate Director of the Earth Engineering Center. The full title post, highlighting the accomplishments of Dr. Ail, is below.

EEC|CCNY Director Marco J. Castaldi’s latest report “Scientific Truth About Waste-to-Energy” receives wide news coverage The latest publishing by Dr. Marco J. Castaldi has received wide news coverage for providing the most up-to-date scientific data on waste-to-energy technologies. The report provides an extensive repository of data on waste-to-energy research which can be used to understand…

Anna Naumova wins Floyd Hasselriis Award Anna Naumova is an undergraduate student at the City College of New York and is graduating in Spring 2021 from the mechanical engineering program. She was awarded the Floyd Hasselriis Educational Support for her interest and work in solid waste management at the Earth Engineering Center (EEC|CCNY). Anna was involved…

Dr. Marco Castaldi’s recent interview with Karine Vann of Waste Dive Professor Castaldi has been interviewed on some of the thermal conversion aspects related to waste film plastic.  EEC has done some research in the past related to non-recycled plastic waste and recently focused on film plastic (i.e. wrapping, flexible contaniers, etc) demonstrating that thermal…

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…

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…

Latest EEC|CCNY publishing and feature Recently a published article in Annual Reviews in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering by Professor Castaldi was more brought to life through Knowable Magazine’s story by Michael Waldrop.  The article by Castaldi entitled “Perspectives on Sustainable Waste Management” provided an overview of how waste management is done and how it can…

Enerkem featured on CNBC Recently Enerkem was featured on CNBC.  EEC has been working with Enerkem for the past several years on technical due diligences and some modeling and performance evaluations.  We are happy to see that Enerkem is getting some visibility and wish them continued success. Please watch the video here.

EEC alumni featured in ChE Fall 2020 Newsletter Nannette Hernandez, a former researcher at EEC, has been featured in the Fall 2020 ChE newsletter. The write-up details her career path after graduating from CCNY and how she is continuing her support for our ChE department. The newsletter can be accesses with this link.

Dr. Marco Castaldi’s recent Keynote lecture on the health impacts of WTE facilities Recently Prof. Castaldi virtually presented a Keynote lecture on some results of research conducted during the pandemic on health impacts of WTE facilities to the 2020 BEEM conference attendees.  This presentation is a brief overview of a more detailed document that will…

COVID-19 Updates Dear Attendees, We are aware that the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic is still evolving and these next couple of months will be very informative.  Currently we are still planning to have an in-person meeting on October 22nd & 23rd provided the University and other guideline permit.  Since the conference will be on…

Single-use plastics transformed into high-quality liquid hydrocarbons with new catalyst by Raleigh McElvery, special to C&EN, OCTOBER 24, 2019 All too often, plastics serve a “one-and-done” purpose. Roughly 300 million t of materials are discarded each year after just one use, contributing to waste and pollution. Scientists and businesses have been teaming up to change this,…

A recent article in MSW Management from EEC|CCNY Alumna Annette Scotto explores the social issues associated with recycling. The article titled “Is Recycling a Fraud? Why Should I Bother? The use of social media platforms to educate and inform the public on the processes of modern recycling” discusses how social media can be used to…

A recent article quote Professor 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…

Why WTE should be part of the solution for non-recycled plastic wastes Professor Castaldi shares his thoughts and insights on how and why WTE should be part of the solution for non-recycled plastic wastes.  It is widely recognized that plastics collected for recycled do not all get recycled.  Currently, only about 9% of plastics that…

Ms. Sarah Foster, Senior Research Associate Sarah Foster is a Principal at the scientific consulting firm CPF Associates, LLC, in the Washington DC area.  She has a Masters Degree in Environmental Health Sciences from the Harvard University of Public Health and over 30 years of consulting experience in the environmental health science field.  She focuses…

Climate Change and Renewable Energy Attachment 10 – Climate Change and Renewable Energy (1) psomopoulos_themelis_WTE_review Bridging the Emissions Gap_ A UNEP Synthesis Report-20111075 (1)

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…

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…

Castaldi leads WTERT panel at 27th Annual NAWTEC Castaldi and Tsiamis attended the 27th annual NAWTEC in Reston, VA.  Castaldi moderated a session of WTERT members discussing global highlights of WTE research and development

Romina Gamarra Places 1st in WESEF 2019 Competition Ossining High School student Romina Gamarra wins 1st place in the Environmental Sciences category of this year’s Westchester Science and Engineering Fair (WESEF). Congratulations, Romina!

Chinese delegation visits EEC|CCNY to learn about waste management in the US 14 delegates from the Chinese Urban Waste Construction delegation visited EEC|CCNY to learn about waste management in the United States. Castaldi and Tsiamis presented on EEC|CCNY’s research in all areas of waste management. The visit was coordinated by the U.S. Trade and Development…

Tsiamis and EEC|CCNY team complete 2019 Reuse Sector Assessment for DSNY Tsiamis and research associates of EEC|CCNY and New York City’s Center for Materials Reuse (CMR) completed the 2019 Reuse Sector Assessment for the Department of Sanitation of New York City (DSNY).  The purpose of DSNY’s biannual reuse sector assessments is to to provide quantitative…

Dr. Castaldi Interviewed by ACC’s Chemical & Engineering News 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…

Tsiamis Writes Waste Dive Op-Ed on MSW Decoupling Research The opinion editorial written by Tsiamis is titled “Study: Plastic isn’t the source of society’s waste problem“. It can be accessed on the Waste Dive website by following this link.

EEC|CCNY Paper Featured on Sustainable Brands® Website EEC|CCNY’s latest publication on the “Role of Plastics in the Decoupling of MSW Generation and Economic Growth in the US” was recently cited in an article by Tony Kingsbury on the Sustainable Brands® website. The article is titled “Plastics’ Effect on Waste: The Answer Might Surprise You”. It can be accessed following…

Castaldi and Tsiamis Featured on CCNY Website for Work on Gasification of Non-Recycled Plastics The article can be accessed following this link.

EEC|CCNY Participates in DSNY’s Annual donateNYC Conference Castaldi acted as the event’s M.C., while Tsiamis presented on the DSNY project about the global market for used textile exports from the United States.  Additional information about the event is available here.

Congratulations EEC Research Associates! Isamar Garrido Rodriguez obtained her Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from CCNY this spring. While pursuing her degree, Isamar was involved in research at EEC and received the Patell Prize for Excellence in Chemical Engineering, as well as the A.X. Schmidt Scholarship. Other EEC research associates secured summer internships at Lockheed Martin…

Publication of Paper on the “Role of Plastics in the Decoupling of MSW Generation and Economic Growth in the US” EEC|CCNY’s latest publication is written by Tsiamis, Torres and Castaldi. The paper is featured in the “Waste Management” journal and can be accessed online following this link.

EEC|CCNY Participates in NAWTEC 2018 During this year’s North American Waste-to-Energy Conference (NAWTEC), EEC|CCNY research associates Grace Correa, Riliwan Sanni, Tasnuva Moutushi, and Joe Figueroa each presented a poster for their respective project. In addition, EEC|CCNY alumnus Jeffrey LeBlanc and Associate Director Demetra Tsiamis presented their research during a session moderated by Dr. Marco Castaldi and…

WTERT International Colleagues Participate in EEC|CCNY’s First Seminar Series on Waste Sustainability EEC|CCNY offered its first seminar series on waste sustainability at City College of New York this past spring semester. The seminar series, led by Assoc. Director Demetra Tsiamis, featured guest lecturers from around the world in industry, academia, and government to discuss waste…

EEC|CCNY Report on Impact of Non-Recyclable Plastics on the Enerkem Gasification-to-Biofuels Process is Published by the American Chemistry Council EEC|CCNY’s study on the impact of non-recyclable plastics (NRP) on the Enerkem gasification process was published by the American Chemistry Council (ACC). This study was a collaboration with the City of Edmonton and Enerkem and sponsored…

Romina Gamarra is a GENIUS Olympiad Finalist Romina Gamarra, a student from Ossining High School, has been selected as a finalist for the 2018 GENIUS Olympiad. She will be presenting her project titled “Improving the Efficiency of Plastic Waste Fuel Mixture with Kerosene” at the upcoming event on June 11-16, 2018 at SUNY Oswego. Romina is…

Romina Gamarra Wins the Ricoh Sustainable Development Award and Places 4th in WESEF 2018 Competition Ossining High School student Romina Gamarra placed 4th out of 560 participants in the Environmental Science category of this year’s Westchester Science and Engineering Fair (WESEF). Romina was also awarded the Ricoh Sustainable Development Award for “outstanding efforts in addressing…

EEC|CCNY featured on CUNY TV’s “Study with the Best” EEC|CCNY was featured on Study with the Best, a CUNY TV show that focuses on the best and brightest professors, alumni, and programs that CUNY has to offer students. Dr. Marco Castaldi and Assoc. Director Demetra Tsiamis discussed the current research activities and education initiatives of…

Dr. Castaldi discusses Fulbright Global Fellowship Appointment with CUNY Radio Prof. Castaldi was interviewed by CUNY Radio about his Fulbright Global Fellowship appointment conducting research on thermal conversion for sustainable waste management.  He discusses how the Fulbright Fellowship is strengthening and leveraging collaborations with his European collaborators to continue progress.  Please listen to the short…

EEC|CCNY high school researcher Rocco to join University of Notre Dame EEC|CCNY high school researcher, Rocco has received admission from College of Engineering at University of Notre Dame and Villanova University. The research experience he gained during summer 2015 at EEC helped him choose University of Notre Dame. Congratulations Rocco!

Golden Renewable Energy raises capital forging alliance with EEC|CCNY EEC|CCNY has been working with Golden Renewable Energy (GRE) for over two years developing performance models and technical due diligences.  GRE is one of the few continuous feed pyrolysis systems that has produced a heating oil that is sold into the residential heating market.  EEC|CCNY is…

EEC|CCNY published a textbook entitled, Gasification of Waste Materials Dr. Simona Ciuta, Ms. Demetra Tsiamis, and Professor Marco Castaldi published a textbook on waste gasification and pyrolysis. This textbook explains the current state of technology development in this area at both the pilot and commercial scale and includes technology case studies and discussion of economic,…

Tsiamis concludes research collaboration with MatER at LEAP headquarters of Politecnico di Milano in Italy Demetra Tsiamis returned from her 6 month research collaboration with MatER, the Italian branch of the Global WTERT network directed by Professor Stefano Consonni of Politecnico di Milano. The primary focus of her research was a comparison of waste management and waste…

Chinese Environmental Protection Agenecy visits EEC|CCNY The US Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) organized a visit of the Chinese Environmental Protection Agency to EEC|CCNY to learn more about WTE in the US and WTE opportunities that could be applied to projects in China. Professor Castaldi and Associate Director Demetra Tsiamis provided a…

EEC|CCNY Introduces Sustainable Waste Management Course EEC|CCNY introduces Professional Seminar and Special Topics in Earth Systems & Environmental Engineering Seminar series in Spring 2018. The course will be taught by a diverse group of waste management experts in academia, industry, and government from around the world. This seminar series will serve as a unifying foundation for the ESE…

Castaldi quoted in WasteDive News Professor Castaldi was quoted in the WasteDive News, in the article “Report: ‘Misleading’ zero waste goals could send more waste to landfills” for EEC|CCNY’s response to the Global Alliance for Incineration Alternatives (GAIA) report “Green Business and Cities at Risk”. Click here for the article.

The Global Alliance for Incineration Alternatives (GAIA) released a report “Green Businesses and Cities at Risk Recently GAIA released another document that includes incorrect information and stresses a policy that is not currently practical. This report is posted here to provide an unbiased set of information regarding sustainable waste management that can be done today.…

CCNY to host 2018 WTERT conference 2018 WTERT Bi-annual conference to be hosted by the City College of New York.

Dr. Castaldi invited as a keynote speaker at AIChE, Metro New York Section meeting Dr. Marco Castaldi will discuss the impact of the waste or garbage, estimated at nearly four pounds per person, generated in the U.S. daily. The theme of the meeting will be “Transforming Waste Materials to Energy & Chemicals: An Update on Sustainable Waste…

Castaldi and Tsiamis present at ISWA conference Dr. Castaldi and Demetra Tsiamis present research findings from applied and practical investigations associated with all aspects of sustainable waste management by EEC|CCNY at the World Congress’ event organized by the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA).

Paper accepted to Waste & Biomass Valorization Deepak Sharma and Shalmali Bapat published a journal article entitled “Technical Feasibility of Zero Waste for Paper and Plastic Wastes” Waste & Biomass Valorization.

Michaela Wagar receives 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.

Congratulations to our graduating EEC|CCNY research associates, Class of 2017 – Dane, Melissa, and Annette! Thank you for the dedication, hard work, and creativity that you put into your research at EEC|CCNY and for being an integral part of this team. We are very proud of you and wish you great success in your new…

Megan Webster quoted in the Summer 2017 edition of CUNY Matters Megan Webster was quoted in the summer 2017 edition of CUNY Matters , in the cover story “At the Graduate Center’s ASRC: Science Connected”.

Deepak Sharma quoted in WasteDive news Deepak Sharma was quoted in WasteDive news, in the cover story “Research could lead to advances in beneficial reuse of MSW ash”.

Castaldi presents at 3rd MatER meeting at Politecnico di Milano campus in Piacenza, Italy Professor Castaldi presented on EEC!CCNY research at the 3rd MatER meeting hosted at the Politecnico di Milano campus in Piacenza.  Ms. Demetra Tsiamis of EEC|CCNY and Professor Nickolas Themelis of EEC-Columbia also attended.  The theme of the meeting was “Innovation and…

EEC|CCNY undergraduates, Dane Fearon and Melissa Torres, accept job offers from Corning Congratulations to Dane Fearon and Melissa Torres who recently accepted job offers with Corning!  Dane and Melissa were chemical engineer undergraduates who joined EEC|CCNY in  2015.  During their time at EEC|CCNY, Dane and Melissa led several research projects that included plastic waste characterization,…

EEC|CCNY undergraduates, Dane Fearon and Melissa Torres, accept job offers from Corning Congratulations to Dane Fearon and Melissa Torres who recently accepted job offers with Corning!  Dane and Melissa were chemical engineer undergraduates who joined EEC!CCNY in  2015.  During their time at EEC|CCNY, Dane and Melissa led several research projects that included plastic waste characterization,…

Castaldi is keynote speaker and Tsiamis presents at NAWTEC 25 in Minneapolis Professor Castaldi was part of the keynote speaker panel at NAWTEC 25 that discussed the future of resource recovery.  Ms. Demetra Tsiamis attended the conference as well and presented on EEC research in the context of advances in waste conversion technologies.

Covanta visits EEC|CCNY Covanta visited EEC|CCNY to see current research activities.  Marija Krstic, CCNY PhD civil engineering student co-advised by Dr. Castaldi and Dr. Davolos as part of the ESE program, showed the Covanta team, which included Director of R&D, Steve Goff, her work in the use of recycled glass for concrete material applications.

Castaldi gives talk on sustainable waste management as part of CCNY’s Conversations in Engaged Scholarship Professor Castaldi was an invited speaker of CCNY’s Conversations in Engaged Scholarship seminar series. His talk provided an overview of sustainable waste management and he discussed the impact that trash has on our society.

Tsiamis presents on plastics pyrolysis at ISWA Energy Recovery Working Group meeting in Copenhagen Ms. Demetra Tsiamis presented on plastics pyrolysis research at the Energy Recovery Working Group meeting of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA).  The meeting was hosted in Copenhagen, Denmark and included a site visit to the new Amager Bakke Waste-to-energy (Wte)…

Interesting Read: NYC abandons subway trash bin experiment New York City (NYC) removed trash bins from subway stations as an experiment to see if it would deter New Yorkers from bringing waste items into the subway.  Learn more about the results of this experiment by clicking on the article link here.

EEC|CCNY undergraduate, Annette Scotto, accepts job offer from HDR Congratulations to Annete Scotto who recently accepted a job offer with HDR!   Annette was a senior environmental engineer undergraduate from the ESE program who joined EEC!CCNY in Summer 2016.  During her time at EEC|CCNY, Annette conducted research on scrubber emissions from ships and elevated temperatures in…

Tsiamis and EEC|CCNY students conduct on-site testing of newly designed SWPS commercial gasifier in Saugerties, NY February 17, 2017 Ms. Demetra Tsiamis and EEC|CCNY student research associates visited the SWPS facility in Saugerties, NY to conduct on-site testing of the newly designed commercial gasifier unit.  EEC monitored syngas quality and collected syngas and char samples…

Tsiamis and Castaldi visit Enerkem commercial facility in Edmonton November 29- December 2, 2016 EEC|CCNY visited the Enerkem commercial facility in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada which began operations in 2016.  The Enerkem process gasifies MSW to produce methanol and ethanol.  The designed production capacity of the commercial facility is 100 million gallons of biofuels per year…

New CCNY undergraduates join the EEC|CCNY research team January 9, 2017 EEC|CCNY would like to welcome the following new members to the EEC research team: Rainiel, Xing, Yacine, Anta, Koffi, Joe, Sami, and Diana.  These students are CCNY undergraduates ranging from freshmen to seniors from both the Chemical Engineering and Environmental Science and Engineering (ESE)…

Dr. Godoy from Universidad del Desarollo, Chile visits EEC|CCNY February 13, 2017 Dr. Alex Godoy from Universidad del Desarollo in Chile visited EEC|CCNY to tour the labs and discuss potential research collaborations between the universities.  Dr. Godoy is the Director of the Sustainability Research Center in Santiago, Chile and has an interest incorporating energy recovery…

Castaldi and Tsiamis attend workshop on flame retardants in plastics at University of Berkeley February 7-9, 2017 Professor Castaldi and Ms. Demetra Tsiamis attended a workshop hosted by Green Science Policy Institute on The Responsible Disposal of Flame Retarded Plastics and Foam.  The workshop took place at the University of Berkeley campus and the purpose…

EEC|CCNY highschool student, Yoo Shin, places as finalist in international science competition for research on food waste Congratulations to Yoo Shin who is a finalist in the International Sustainable World (Engineering Energy Environment) Project (ISWEEEP) Olympiad for his research on food waste, which he conducted at EEC|CCNY last summer under the mentorship of Professor Castaldi…

Inashco visits EEC|CCNY Inashco, a company found in the Netherlands that specializes in the removal of metals and minerals from WtE ash, visited EEC|CCNY to learn more about the student research activities in beneficial ash reuse.

Castaldi visits University of Bolzano as 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…

EEC attends Energy Recovery Council (ERC) annual meeting in New Hampshire Professor Castaldi and Ms. Demetra Tsiamis from EEC|CCNY and Dr. Thanos Bourtsalas from EEC-Columbia attended the annual ERC meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to present on EEC research activities in 2016-2017.  The meeting centered on emissions controls and changes in regulations and legislation with…

Thielsch Engineering visits EEC|CCNY Collaborators from Thielsch Engineering visited EEC|CCNY along with SWPS engineers for a full day data review meeting of tests on SWPS prototype gasifier that were conducted by the EEC and SWPS team from late October to early November 2016.  Thielsch engineers were given a tour of the EEC|CCNY labs and the…

EEC|CCNY present to CCNY freshmen engineering class on sustainable waste management and research Professor Castaldi, Ms. Demetra Tsiamis, and Dr. Liubov Kreminska, the faculty advisor for the ESE program, presented to freshmen engineers in Dr. Samuel Fenster’s Intro to Engineering course on the importance of waste management education and research.  The students were enthusiastic to…

EEC|CCNY highschool Junior Research Associate, Yoo Shin Tanai, submits his study entitled Food Waste Energy Analysis to the Regeneron Science Talent Search Yoo Shin Tanai is a junior from Ossining Highschool who joined the EEC|CCNY team last year.  Together with Professor Castaldi and his EEC mentors, Yoo Shin developed his project for the Regeneron STS…

Congratulations to Dr. Jeffrey LeBlanc of CCL on passing his Thesis Defense! Jeffrey LeBlanc of Professor Castaldi’s Combustion Catalysis Lab (CCL) passed his thesis defense on slow pyrolysis reactions for high yields of solid carbon.  In addition to conducting his PhD research, Jeff was an enthusiastic member of the EEC|CCNY team who conducted numerous TGA…

Former Deputy Commissioner of DEP, Jim Roberts, visits EEC|CCNY Former Deputy Commissioner of NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Jim Roberts, visited EEC|CCNY to see current lab activities and projects at the center.  D.C. Roberts was the head of the Bureau of Water and Sewer Operations for NYC DEP and retired this past year.  He…

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EEC|CCNY conducts extensive testing of SWPS prototype gasifier at CCNY to inform design of commercial unit To inform the design of their commercial unit, Sustainable Waste Power Systems (SWPS) collaborated with EEC|CCNY to perform an extensive series of tests on the prototype gasifier that SWPS donated to EEC|CCNY in 2014.  The SWPS gasifier converts wet…

EEC|CCNY submits proposal for Ellen MacArthur Foundaton’s “100 & Change” grant The Ellen MacArthur Foundation recently announced a call for proposals for the “100 & Change” grant in which they will award $100 million dollars to help an organization solve a global problem such as poverty, social inequality, climate change, disease, etc.  EEC|CCNY submitted a…

Castaldi presents at WTERT 2016 Bi-Annual Meeting at Columbia University Professor Castaldi presents on EEC|CCNY research activities at the Waste to Energy Research and Technology (WTERT) conference hosted by EEC-Columbia at Columbia University.  The conference included speakers from Covanta, Wheelabrator, WTE companies in China and Europe, and Commissioner Kathryn Garcia of the DSNY. Click here…

Castaldi and Tsiamis present at CCNY ESE Student Mixer Professor Castaldi and Ms. Demetra Tsiamis attend ESE mixer to present to CCNY students on the research activities at EEC and how they can get involved.  Professor Castaldi became Director of the Earth Science and Environmental Engineering (ESE) program at CCNY in the Fall of 2015…

Castaldi, Themelis, and Tsiamis participate in panel discussion, Future of Thermal and Biological Treatment of Waste, on be Waste Wise Professors Castaldi and Themelis of EEC along with Dr. Venkata-Mohan of WTERT-India participated as speakers in an online panel discussion moderated by Ms. Demetra Tsiamis on the future of thermal and biological treatment of waste…

EEC|CCNY signs contract to commence work on new textbook by Ciuta, Tsiamis, and Castaldi entitled, Gasification Technology Development using Waste Materials Dr. Simona Ciuta, Ms. Demetra Tsiamis, and Professor Marco Castaldi signed the contract with Elsevier to commence work on their new textbook on waste gasification and pyrolysis.  This textbook will explain the current state…

EEC|CCNY presents on waste-to-energy research activities at the ASME Power & Energy Conference Professor Castaldi, Ms. Demetra Tsiamis, and Dr. Timothy Sharobem attended the 2016 ASME Power and Energy conference in Charlotte, North Carolina where they presented on current EEC projects in the plenary session hosted by ASME MER.  Dr. Sharobem presented his PhD work…

Castaldi and Tsiamis attend DSNY’s donateNYC conference in New York City Professor Castaldi and Ms. Demetra Tsiamis attend the Department of Sanitation of New York’s (DSNY’s) donateNYC conference at 7 World Trade Center in New York City.  This conference is dedicated to enhancing and supporting the reuse sector of NYC’s waste management.  EEC|CCNY recently began…

EEC|CCNY begins collaboration with Dow Chemical and ACC on understanding the role of plastics in MSW decoupling In the past, it has been believed that economic growth leads to increased MSW generation.  An analysis of the trends, however, reveals that there is in fact a decoupling of MSW from economic indicators, such as GDP and…

EEC|CCNY begins study sponsored by LabUSA on changes in marine scrubber emissions regulations EEC|CCNY Research Associate, Annette Scotto, is leading a new study sponsored by LabUSA to understand new changes to sulfur emissions regulation for marine scrubbers.  The recent reduction of sulfur emissions standards by MARPOL and EPA means that the naval industry will have…

EEC presents at NAWTEC and attends ISWA working group meeting in West Palm Beach, Florida Ms. Demetra Tsiamis of EEC|CCNY and Dr. Thanos Bourtsalas of EEC-Columbia presented at 2016 NAWTEC and attended the ISWA working group meeting held in West Palm Beach, Florida.  Ms. Tsiamis presented on the current gasification and pyrolysis projects at EEC|CCNY…

EEC|CCNY hosts first interdisciplinary waste workshop, Megacity Waste Management Dialogue , at CCNY EEC|CCNY hosted its first workshop at CCNY, Megacity Waste Management Dialogue, that brought together all interest groups in waste management – industry professionals, academia, government agencies, and policy makers – to openly discuss the most pressing topics for waste management in megacities,…

New CCNY chemical engineering undergraduate joins EEC|CCNY team to conduct research on waste plastics

Castaldi and Tsiamis interviewed by DuroUAS on EEC|CCNY and sustainable waste management in NYC Professor Castaldi and Ms. Demetra Tsiamis were interviewed by Ms. Valentina Rappa, a CCNY ESE student and employee of DuroUAS, on the mission of EEC|CCNY and their forward looking view of waste management in NYC.  DuroUAS is an eco-drone manufacturer with…

Student from Ossining High School joins EEC|CCNY team to research organic food waste for Regeneron Science Fair CompetitionDecember 2014 Sophomore high school student, Yoo Shin Tanei, from Ossining High School has recently joined the EEC|CCNY research team.  Yoo Shin will conduct research this next year at EEC|CCNY for his Intel Science Fair project.  The topic…

EEC|CCNY visits Golden Renewable Energy’s plastics-to-oil pilot facility in Yonkers, NY

Tsiamis presents on waste-to-energy at 2014 Annual AICHE meeting in Atlanta Resident Research Associate, Ms. Demetra Tsiamis, presented on waste sustainability and thermal conversion at the 2014 Annual AICHE meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.  Ms. Tsiamis presented to the Research and New Technology Council (RANTC) committee about the current WtE research activities at EEC|CCNY and proposed…

EEC|CCNY to conduct extensive study on the heating value of non-recycled plastics in municipal solid waste EEC|CCNY recently finalized a proposal for a study that will determine the representative heating value of non-recycled plastics (NRP) in municipal solid waste (MSW) based on calorimetry testing.  The motivation for this study is to address the major discrepancies…

DHF visits EEC|CCNY Dr. Yuuzou Kawahara from Dai-Ichi High Frequency Co. (DHF) visited EEC|CCNY to learn more about the center’s research in corrosion of waste-to-energy (WtE) boilers.  DHF is a company based in Japan that specializes in thermal treatment to prevent corrosion in boilers.

Mayor of Addis Ababa and Ethiopian delegates visit EEC|CCNY The mayor of Addis Ababa and a delegation of Ethiopian environmental and city planning officials visited EEC|CCNY as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program.  The Ethiopian government, in cooperation with a non-profit organization, Horn of Africa Regional Environment Center (HOAREC), are working together to clean…

Castaldi presents at the 8 th i-CIPEC in Hangzhou, China Dr. Castaldi attended the 8th International Conference on Combustion/Incineration/Pyrolysis, Emission and Climate Change (i-CIPEC) in Hangzhou, China as an invited chair speaker.  Dr. Nickolas Themelis of WTERT was also in attendance as a plenary speaker. Image still needed as of 2019-07-23: cipec-300×169.jpg

EEC|CCNY Advisory Board Luncheon hosted in City College Members of the EEC|CCNY Advisory Board attended a luncheon hosted by EEC|CCNY at City College to discuss the current hot topics in the field of waste to energy.  Industry professionals and academic researchers from around the globe came together to exchange ideas on sustainable waste management and…

EPA releases official statement on handling of spent baghouse filters EPA recently released an official statement on the handling of spent baghouse filters at municipal waste combustor facilities.  EPA determined that combustion of spent baghouse filters at MWC facilities do not significantly impact emissions from the combustor.  EEC|CCNY attributes part of EPA’s final decision to…

Professor Castaldi presents at Nerd Nite in Portland, OR as part of Metro’s “Let’s Talk Trash” series

EEC|CCNY participates in WTERT Bi-Annual Conference at Columbia University Professor Castaldi and Ms. Demetra Tsiamis presented at the 2014 WTERT Bi-Annual Conference hosted at Columbia University.  Professor Castaldi presented on the current research activities of EEC|CCNY and Ms. Tsiamis presented on the Enerkem plastics gasification project.  Technical poster presentations were given by Dr. Simona Ciuta,…