Faces of MACBETH: Gioele Di Marcoberardino (UNIBS)
- 11/01/2024
The third portrait we would like to introduce you is from Gioele Di Marcoberardino of Università degli Studi di Brescia. He told about himself and his research work whithin MACBETH. We hope, you enjoy getting to know him.
- Tell us something about yourself.
My name is Gioele Di Marcoberardino. I was born in a small village on the coast of Abruzzo (Italy), then I moved to Milan for the Master degree in Energy Engineering at Politecnico di Milano. I’ve got the PhD in Energy and Science Technology in Milan. There I was involved in several European projects related to hydrogen production from natural gas and biofuels. Now I’m an assistant professor at the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Brescia where I am teaching energy systems modelling and biofuels production and applications. I’m working in the Energy Technology Group (ergo.unibs.it): our main research activities are focusing on the study, analysis, and design of components involved in all the aspects of energy conversion exploiting fossil and renewables sources. I enjoy travelling, listening music and spending time with my family.
- Do you have a scientific role model? Who is your favorite scientist?
I don’t have a specific favorite scientist or scientific model. I’m very fascinated by the anthropology and astrophysics science, even if these topics are quite far from my job. Scientific findings and writings of scientists such as Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Galileo Galilei, to name but a few, are impressive.
- How did you come to join the MACBETH team?
I have been involved in some projects about hydrogen production from natural gas or biofuels during my PhD and Post-Doc at Politecnico di Milano and I was an active technical member of the H2020 European project BIONICO, that is one of the former project of MACBETH. I was involved in the preparation of the project proposal and I had the opportunity to continue to work in the MACBETH project even after my transfer to Università degli Studi di Brescia.
- In which MACBETH case are you involved?
I’m part of the modelling team, in particular my work is focused on process simulation investigating the benefits of integrating the catalytic membrane reactor technology in a production plant. I’m mainly working in the H2 and BOC line but I’m also giving some support to the PDH line.
- How does your typical day look like working on MACBETH?
The main outcomes of my work is the techno-economic assessment of the plant according to the different MACBETH lines, whit a particular focus on the integration of the catalytic membrane reactor. In a typical day dedicated to the MACBETH project, I spend my time carrying out process simulations with commercial softwares, evaluating the results and related issues and discussing with the modelling colleagues about the task activities.
- What was your biggest challenge so far?
The main challenge of system modelling is the definition of the proper assumptions and constraints to mimic the real behavior and performance of the membrane reactor and the overall plant at different operating conditions. The interaction with other partners that works on building block at lab scale was fruitful to understand better the influence of some parameters on the membrane reactor performance. Moreover, looking at the BOC line, it was quite challenging to understand and model the transesterification process of the fish oil with enzymes because this technology is far from my background.
- What is your biggest success/achievement so far?
In the H2 line, we were able to assess a detailed techno-economic analysis of the final plant for hydrogen production and support the industrial partners on the startup/shutdown procedure for the MACBETH prototype. In the BOC line, we had no previous experience on modelling enzymatic reaction, thus we are satisfied about the results that we had obtained in collaboration with the other BOC partners. The main outcomes of the activities performed so far are presented in some scientific publication, international conferences and to the partners in the MACBETH progress meetings.
Gioele’s LinkedIn account: Gioele Di Marcoberardino | LinkedIn
