Last updated: 28 May 2025
Current Sector: Industry
Current Company: Kelpi
PhD Project Title: Functional Xylose Polymer platform for sustainable plastics
Supervisor(s): Dr Antoine Buchard, Professor Chris Chuck and Professor David Leak
External Partner: Los Alamos National Laboratory
MRes Project 1: Environmental remediation and bioenergy production through the hydrothermal co-liquefaction of seaweed and microplastics
Supervisor(s): Chris Chuck (Chemical Engineering)
Supervisor(s): Professor Marcelle McManus
MRes Project 2: Degradable rubbers from sugars: combining carbohydrate and olefin metathesis chemistry towards sustainable elastomers
Supervisor(s): Dr Antoine Buchard and Professor Richard Trask
Marco completed his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Sustainable Chemistry at the University of Venice, Italy. His research projects were focused on the use of dimethylcarbonate (DMC) as green reagent. In his BSc he studied the reactivity of DMC with sugars (isosorbide) to produce renewable solvents and monomers, while in the MSc he investigated the reactivity of the carbonate analogues of mustard gases. He spent a semester at Queens University Belfast within the Erasmus Programme. After his degree, Marco went to the Politecnico of Milan to study the application of biobased molecules to the modification of graphene and carbon nanotubes. He joined the CSCT to deepen his interest in renewable materials. He likes spending his free time outdoors hiking and cycling, and also cooking.
