Pedro Castano

Principal Investigator (PI)

Professor

Current

Location:

Building 3, Level 4, Office 4274

Social Profile:

Biography

Pedro Castano is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), within the Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) division and KAUST Catalysis Platform, leading the Multiscale Reaction Engineering (MuRE) group. He earned his PhD from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) in 2006, followed by postdoctoral research (2007–2009) at TUDelft. He was a Ramón y Cajal fellow (2009-2013) and Associate Professor (2013–2019) at UPV/EHU before joining KAUST in 2019.

Research Interests

MuRE engineers advanced catalytic reaction systems that harness the power of surfaces, pores, heat, microorganisms, electrons, and photons to accelerate and make more efficient chemical transformations. Our research integrates experimental and computational methods to advance catalytic reaction engineering at multiple scales, from molecular interactions to reactor-scale processes. These processes address the energy transition and sustainability challenges: decarbonization, circularity, process intensification, hydrogen, waste valorization, pollutant removal, among others.

Selected Publications

    ● Realpe, N., Lezcano, G., Kulkarni, S.R., Sayas, S., Morlanes, N., Rakib, M., Aldilaijan, R., Solami, B., Gascon, J., Castaño, P., The Technological Prospects of Repurposing Methane Steam Reformers into Ammonia Crackers for Decarbonized H₂ Production, Appl. Energy, 376 (2024) 124244. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.124244.

    ● Aldugman, T.A., Cui, M., Alzailaie, A., Alhareth, A., Langley, K., Alfilfil, L., Almajnouni, K., Gascon, J., Thoroddsen, S., Castaño, P., Comparative Analysis of Counter-Current and Co-Current Downer Reactors Using Particle Image Velocimetry and Computational Particle-Fluid Dynamics, Chem. Eng. J. Adv., 21 (2025) 100687. DOI: 10.1016/j.ceja.2024.100687.

    ● Zapater, D., Kulkarni, S.R., Wery, F., Cui, M., Herguido, J., Menendez, M., Heynderickx, G.J., Van Geem, K.M., Gascon, J., Castaño, P., Multifunctional Fluidized Bed Reactors for Process Intensification, Prog. Energy Combust. Sci., 105 (2024) 101176. DOI: 10.1016/j.pecs.2024.101176. 

    ● Kolubah, P.D., Mohamed, H.O., Hedhili, M.N., Hassine, M.B., Díaz-Rúa, R., Drautz-Moses, D.I., Obaid, M., Ghaffour, N., Saikaly, P., Castaño, P., Sustainable Energy Production from Domestic Wastewater via Bioelectrochemical Reactors Using MXene Efficient Electrodes Decorated with Transition Metal Nanoparticles, J. Environ. Chem. Eng., 12 (2024) 113793. DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2024.113793.

    ● Velisoju, V.K., Cerrillo, J.L., Ahmad, R., Mohamed, H.O., Attada, Y., Cheng, Q., Yao, X., Zheng, L., Shekhah, O., Telalovic, S., Narciso, J., Cavallo, L., Han, Y., Eddaoudi, M., V. Ramos-Fernández, E., Castaño, P., Copper Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 as a Stable and Selective CO₂ Hydrogenation Catalyst, Nat. Commun., 15 (2024) 2045. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46388-4.

Education

  • PhD in Chemical Engineering, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 2006
  • MSc in Chemical Engineering, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 2004
  • BSc in Chemical Engineering, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 2002

Professional Profile

  • Associate Professor, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), 2019-2025
  • Associate Professor, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 2013-2019
  • Assistant Professor (Ramon y Cajal Researcher), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 2009-2013
  • Volunteer Teacher, Vocational Training School of Diogo Vaz (São Tomé and Principe, Africa). http://stpenergy.blogspot.com/  
  • Postdoctoral Researcher sponsored by Shell-Albemarle, Delft University of Technology (TUDelft), Catalysis Engineering Dep., Delft, the Netherlands, 2007-2009
  • Research Assistant,  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2001
  • Research Assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2000

Scientific and Professional Membership

Awards

  • I&EC Early Career Fellow Award of the American chemical society (ACS), Industrial & Engineering Chemistry (I&EC) Division (April 2020)
  • Young Researcher Medal in Chemical Engineering, Royal Academy of Engineering (RAING), Madrid (November 2018).
  • Young Researcher Award, Spanish National Association of Chemists and Chemical Engineers (ANQUE), Madrid (June 2014).
 

KAUST Affiliations