Call: +34 876 555 429
Email: srenda@unizar.es
Address: Office 3.1.11 c/Mariano Esquillor SN Edificio I+D+i, I3A, 50018, Zaragoza (Spain)
Sideral: See the profile (CV)
ABOUT ME
Simona Renda is a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral researcher, member of the consolidated Catalysis and Reactor Engineering Group (CREG) of the University of Zaragoza since 2023 and of the Aragón Institute for Engineering Research (I3A) since 2025. She holds a BSc and MSc in Chemical Engineering and a PhD in Industrial Engineering – Chemical Engineering Program from the University of Salerno (Italy), awarded with honours.
Her research focuses on catalysis and reactor engineering for environmental applications. She has a consolidated background on the topics of structured catalysts, carbon capture and utilization, and industrial processes such as CO2 hydrogenation, Claus gas treatment, water desalination and propane dehydrogenation. She has experience with both experimental work and CFD modelling, and her projects combine academic research with industrial collaborations. She participated in more than 10 research and technological transfer projects, including two European H2020 projects. As a member of CREG, her current research lines include:
-
- CO2 hydrogenation to e-fuels (dimethyl ether and methanol)
- Innovative fluidized bed reactors with continuous sorbent flux for the process intensification of sorption-enhanced reactions
Her research involves collaborations with over 10 industrial/foreign partners, and she has participated with scientific contributions in over 15 international conferences. She is an active reviewer for several scientific journals and serves on the early career board of Catalysts. She is involved in mentoring and teaching: she has supervised 6 bachelor’s and 9 master’s students, coordinated 5 international internships, and currently directs a PhD thesis on CO₂ utilization. She has participated in didactive activities with courses in the field of catalysis and chemical reaction engineering at the University of Salerno and the University of Zaragoza.
Simona has published more than 30 scientific papers in SCI-indexed journal with more than 800 citations, and has an h-index of 13 (data according to Scopus @December 2025).
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5926-5252
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57212381756
PUBLICATIONS
2027
Aragüés-Aldea, P.; Gimeno-Izquierdo, C.; Durán, P.; Renda, S.; Mercader, V. D.; Francés, E.; Peña, J. A.; Herguido, J.
Distributed feeding for improved CH4 selectivity in Ni-Fe catalyzed CO2/biogas methanation Journal Article
En: Fuel, vol. 431, pp. 141925, 2027, ISSN: 0016-2361.
@article{ARAGUESALDEA2027141925,
title = {Distributed feeding for improved CH4 selectivity in Ni-Fe catalyzed CO2/biogas methanation},
author = {P. Aragüés-Aldea and C. Gimeno-Izquierdo and P. Durán and S. Renda and V. D. Mercader and E. Francés and J. A. Peña and J. Herguido},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001623612603680X},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2026.141925},
issn = {0016-2361},
year = {2027},
date = {2027-01-01},
journal = {Fuel},
volume = {431},
pages = {141925},
abstract = {Carbon dioxide methanation is a promising route for renewable natural gas production, although its performance is often limited by kinetic constraints under severe operating conditions. In this work, distributed reactant feeding in a four-inlet polytropic fixed-bed reactor was investigated as a process intensification strategy for CO2 methanation and biogas upgrading over a conventional methanation catalyst (Ni-Fe). The effects of feeding configuration, GHSV, temperature and feed composition on CO2 conversion and CO selectivity were systematically assessed and compared with conventional co-feeding operation. Distributed CO2 feeding consistently outperformed both conventional and hydrogen-distributed configurations, providing higher CO2 conversions and lower CO selectivities. The beneficial effect was particularly evident at high space velocities and low conversions, where kinetic limitations and selectivity to the unwanted CO are more pronounced, reaching reduction of 50 % in this parameter in the more kinetically-hindered conditions. The same qualitative behaviour was observed when upgrading a synthetic sweetened biogas (70 vol% CH4 and 30 vol% CO2), demonstrating the applicability of the proposed strategy under feed compositions relevant in practice. The improved performance is attributed to the establishment of locally H2-rich environments along the catalytic bed, which promote methane formation and mitigate CO accumulation without modifying the global operating conditions. These results highlight the potential of distributed reactant feeding as an effective reactor engineering approach for enhancing methanation performance and intensifying renewable natural gas production processes.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
2026
González Pizarro, Rodrigo; Renda, Simona; Lasobras Laguna, Javier; Soler Herrero, Jaime; Menéndez Sastre, Miguel; Herguido Huerta, Javier
Intensified Catalytic CO₂ Conversion into e-Fuels: A Study of Different Process Intensification Strategies Proceedings
vol. 14, 2026.
@proceedings{GonzálezPizarro_Renda_LasobrasLaguna_SolerHerrero_MenéndezSastre_HerguidoHuerta_2026,
title = {Intensified Catalytic CO₂ Conversion into e-Fuels: A Study of Different Process Intensification Strategies},
author = {González Pizarro, Rodrigo and Renda, Simona and Lasobras Laguna, Javier and Soler Herrero, Jaime and Menéndez Sastre, Miguel and Herguido Huerta, Javier},
url = {https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/jji3a/article/view/13351},
doi = {10.26754/jji-i3a.202613351},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-07-01},
urldate = {2026-07-01},
journal = {Jornada de Jóvenes Investigadores del I3A},
volume = {14},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}
Flores Calvo, Diego; González Pizarro, Rodrigo; Soler Herrero, Jaime; Menéndez Sastre, Miguel; Renda, Simona; Lasobras Laguna, Javier; Herguido Huerta, Javier
vol. 14, 2026.
@proceedings{FloresCalvo_GonzálezPizarro_SolerHerrero_MenéndezSastre_Renda_LasobrasLaguna_HerguidoHuerta_2026,
title = {Optimización de las condiciones de operación para la síntesis de metanol vía hidrogenación catalítica de CO2 en reactor de lecho fijo},
author = {Flores Calvo, Diego and González Pizarro, Rodrigo and Soler Herrero, Jaime and Menéndez Sastre, Miguel and Renda, Simona and Lasobras Laguna, Javier and Herguido Huerta, Javier},
url = {https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/jji3a/article/view/13387},
doi = {10.26754/jji-i3a.202613387},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-07-01},
urldate = {2026-07-01},
journal = {Jornada de Jóvenes Investigadores del I3A},
volume = {14},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}
Jiménez Lacruz, Sergio; Renda, Simona; Lasobras Laguna, Javier; González Pizarro, Rodrigo; Méndez Sastre, Miguel; Soler Herrero, Jaime; Herguido Huerta, Javier
vol. 14, 2026.
@proceedings{JiménezLacruz_Renda_LasobrasLaguna_GonzálezPizarro_MéndezSastre_SolerHerrero_HerguidoHuerta_2026b,
title = {Síntesis de metanol intensificada en un reactor de lecho fluidizado con alimentación continua de adsorbente (SEFBR+CSF)},
author = {Jiménez Lacruz, Sergio and Renda, Simona and Lasobras Laguna, Javier and González Pizarro, Rodrigo and Méndez Sastre, Miguel and Soler Herrero, Jaime and Herguido Huerta, Javier},
url = {https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/jji3a/article/view/13362},
doi = {10.26754/jji-i3a.202613362},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-07-01},
urldate = {2026-07-01},
journal = {Jornada de Jóvenes Investigadores del I3A},
volume = {14},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}
González-Pizarro, R.; Calero-Berrocal, R.; Lasobras, J.; Renda, S.; Rodríguez-Pardo, M. R.; Soler, J.; Menéndez, M.; Herguido, J.
Tuning e-fuel selectivity in sorption-enhanced CO2 hydrogenation over In2O3/ZrO2: The effect of LTA and FAU zeolites Journal Article
En: Fuel, vol. 406, pp. 136974, 2026, ISSN: 0016-2361.
@article{GONZALEZPIZARRO2026136974,
title = {Tuning e-fuel selectivity in sorption-enhanced CO2 hydrogenation over In2O3/ZrO2: The effect of LTA and FAU zeolites},
author = {R. González-Pizarro and R. Calero-Berrocal and J. Lasobras and S. Renda and M. R. Rodríguez-Pardo and J. Soler and M. Menéndez and J. Herguido},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016236125026997},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2025.136974},
issn = {0016-2361},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-01-01},
journal = {Fuel},
volume = {406},
pages = {136974},
abstract = {The e-fuels synthesis via CO2 hydrogenation and the Sorption Enhanced Reaction technology are captivating strategies for CO2 utilization and the integration of renewable energy sources. This study focuses on enhancing the conversion of CO2 over an In2O3/ZrO2 catalyst by incorporating LTA zeolites (3A and 4A) and a FAU zeolite (13X). Key operational parameters, such as temperature (T), Gas Hour Space Velocity (GHSV), type of zeolite, and Zeolite: Catalyst mass ratio (Z/C), were systematically varied. LTA zeolites (3A and 4A) provided the highest CO2 conversions. The introduction of a water-adsorbing solid into the reactor significantly altered the products yield and selectivity. While the selectivity towards CH4, CH3OH, and C2H6O appeared to lay on the type of zeolite, the selectivity towards CO remained unaffected. Zeolite 3A demonstrated the greatest enhancement in selectivity towards CH4 and CH3OH, whereas the synthesis of C2H6O was favored by zeolites 4A and 13X. The Zeolite:Catalyst mass ratio also played a crucial role in process performance, influencing both CO2 conversion and product selectivity. Increasing this ratio improved CO2 conversion and reduced CO selectivity under all operating conditions, while CH4 selectivity increased. However, the selectivity toward CH3OH and C2H6O exhibited an anomalous and complementary behavior. While a maximum was observed for DME, a minimum was registered in methanol production, suggesting a dependency of the dehydration reaction kinetics on the amount of water produced during the reaction.},
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pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}