Teléfono: +34 876 555 429
Email: srenda@unizar.es
Dirección: Despacho 3.1.11 c/Mariano Esquillor SN Edificio I+D+i, I3A, 50018, Zaragoza (Spain)
Sideral: Ver el perfil (CV)
SOBRE MÍ
Simona Renda es investigadora postdoctoral Juan de la Cierva y forma parte del Grupo Consolidado de Catálisis y Tecnología de Reactores (CREG) de la Universidad de Zaragoza desde 2023, así como del Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería de Aragón (I3A) desde 2025. Es licenciada y máster en Ingeniería Química y obtuvo el doctorado en Ingeniería Industrial – programa de Ingeniería Química por la Universidad de Salerno (Italia), con mención de excelencia.
Su investigación se centra en la catálisis y la ingeniería de reactores para aplicaciones medioambientales. Cuenta con una trayectoria consolidada en catalizadores estructurados y valorización de CO2 y otros procesos industriales como el tratamiento de gases Claus, la desalación de agua en procesos de destilación con membranas y la deshidrogenación de propano. Tiene experiencia tanto experimental como en modelización CFD, y sus proyectos combinan investigación académica con colaboraciones industriales. Ha participado en más de 10 proyectos de investigación y transferencia tecnológica, incluyendo dos proyectos europeos en el marco H2020. En el CREG desarrolla actualmente dos líneas principales:
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- Hidrogenación de CO2 para la obtención de e-combustibles (dimetil éter y metanol)
- Reactores de lecho fluidizado con flujo continuo de adsorbente para la intensificación de procesos con captura in situ
Su actividad investigadora incluye colaboraciones con más de diez partners industriales y extranjeros, y ha participado con contribuciones científicas en más de quince congresos internacionales. Es revisora activa de varias revistas científicas y miembro del comité de jóvenes editores de la revista Catalysts. También está comprometida con la formación: ha dirigido 6 trabajos de fin de grado y 9 de fin de máster, ha coordinado 5 estancias internacionales y dirige actualmente una tesis doctoral sobre valorización de CO₂. Ha participado en actividades docentes en asignaturas de catálisis e ingeniería de reactores en la Universidad de Salerno y en la Universidad de Zaragoza.
Simona es autora de más de 30 artículos científicos en revistas indexadas, con más de 800 citas y un índice h de 13 (según Scopus, diciembre de 2025).
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5926-5252
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57212381756
PUBLICACIONES
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 Artículo de revista
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 Actas de congresos
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
Optimización de las condiciones de operación para la síntesis de metanol vía hidrogenación catalítica de CO2 en reactor de lecho fijo Actas de congresos
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
Síntesis de metanol intensificada en un reactor de lecho fluidizado con alimentación continua de adsorbente (SEFBR+CSF) Actas de congresos
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 Artículo de revista
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.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}