IESc Seminar Series: Hybrid Thermochemical-Biological Biorefineries: From Waste and Biomass to Materials, Chemicals and Fuels by Yusuf Küçükağa
Institute of Environmental Sciences Seminar Series
“Hybrid Thermochemical-Biological Biorefineries: From Waste and Biomass to Materials, Chemicals and Fuels”
by Yusuf Küçükağa
Gebze Technical University
We cordially invite you to our seminar “Hybrid Thermochemical-Biological Biorefineries: From Waste and Biomass to Materials, Chemicals and Fuels” to be held by Yusuf Küçükağa, Gebze Technical University
When: 22 October, 2026, Thursday, 13:30-15:00
Where: Institute of Environmental Sciences Seminar Room (Hisar Campus E-Block)
Contact: pinar.ertor@bogazici.edu.tr for any questions.
Abstract:
The transition to a circular bioeconomy requires that organic wastes and residual biomass be reimagined as chemical feedstocks rather than disposal burdens. This seminar presents a decade of integrated research on Hybrid Thermochemical-Biological (HTB) biorefinery systems, coupling the robust fractionation power of thermal processes (e.g. pyrolysis, gasification) with the molecular precision of biological processes (e.g. microbial fermentation).
Three interconnected research axes are presented. The first concerns the analytical characterisation of thermochemical product streams — pyrolysis oils, chars and syngas — using Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) as a unified cross-phase process currency, enabling rigorous mass and energy accounting across the HTB system. The second is the Char-Based Biofilm Sparger Reactor (CBSR), a novel reactor concept in which biochar monoliths simultaneously act as gas spargers and biofilm scaffolds, demonstrated to convert both clean and real syngas into volatile fatty acids. The third addresses the biological upgrading of VFA-rich streams into polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) via a microaerophilic–aerobic fermentation process, which has yielded a commercially active international patent. These three axes converge in the Bio-ETN programme, currently advancing co-fermentation of real syngas and aqueous pyrolysis liquids for solventogenic biofuel production..
Short bio:
Yusuf Küçükağa, PhD, is an environmental engineer working on the integration of thermochemical and biological conversion technologies for the valorisation of organic wastes and residual biomass. He completed double doctoral degrees (co-tutelle) in Chemistry (University of Bologna) and Environmental Engineering (Gebze Technical University) in 2023, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Bologna’s CIRSA centre within the EU LIFE-funded CROSS-LIFE project. Since returning to Turkey, he leads independent research as PI including Bio-ETN, a TÜBİTAK 2232-B International Fellowship project on syngas and pyrolysis liquid co-fermentation — and teaches undergraduate courses at Gebze Technical University. He is also co-inventor of a commercially active international patent for continuous biopolymer production from organic waste streams, a direct outcome of his doctoral and postdoctoral research at the University of Bologna. His work spans 15+ peer-reviewed publications, predominantly in Q1 journals, and nearly 200 citations (h-index: 7).a
