Paola Lettieri FREng FIChemE is a British-Italian chemical engineer who is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and Pro-Provost of UCL East at University College London. Her research considers fluidisation and life-cycle assessment. She has developed novel, sustainable fluid-bed processes.

Early life and education

Lettieri is from Italy. She attended the Sapienza University of Rome, where she graduated Laurea in 1994.^[1] Lettieri then moved to the United Kingdom, where she completed graduate research at University College London. Her research considered the impact of temperature flow behaviour in a gas fluidised bed.^[2] After graduating Lettieri joined BP Chemicals.

Research and career

In 2001, Lettieri joined the chemical engineering faculty at University College London. On starting her academic career, she was funded by a research fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering, and was the first woman engineer to be awarded such an honour.^[1] She was elected a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers in 2007.^{[citation needed]}

Lettieri's research considers fluidisation and life-cycle assessment.^[3][4] She was initially interested in waste gasification. She worked with Advanced Plasma Power on the combination of gasification and plasma conversion, producing a versatile synthetic gas from its waste.^[5] The process collects waste, separates metals, plastic and glass and converts it into refuse-derived fuels. When these refuse-derived fuels are pumped into the gasifier vessel, synthetic gas in produced. The gas, which is composed of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and steam, is passed through a plasma converter. The resulting gas can be used for heating and electricity generation.^[5]

At University College London, Lettieri worked as vice dean of strategic projects.^[5] In that capacity, she oversaw the development of UCL East in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.^[5] In 2021 Lettieri was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.^[6]

Selected publications

• Sultan M. Al-Salem; P Lettieri; J Baeyens (3 July 2009). "Recycling and recovery routes of plastic solid waste (PSW): a review". Waste Management. 29 (10): 2625–2643. doi:10.1016/J.WASMAN.2009.06.004. ISSN 0956-053X. PMID 19577459. Wikidata Q37541130.
• Sara Evangelisti; Paola Lettieri; Domenico Borello; Roland Clift (7 October 2013). "Life cycle assessment of energy from waste via anaerobic digestion: a UK case study". Waste Management. 34 (1): 226–237. doi:10.1016/J.WASMAN.2013.09.013. ISSN 0956-053X. PMID 24112851. Wikidata Q39335469.
• Al-Salem, S.M.; Lettieri, P.; Baeyens, J. (1 February 2010). "The valorization of plastic solid waste (PSW) by primary to quaternary routes: From re-use to energy and chemicals". Progress in Energy and Combustion Science. 36 (1): 103–129. doi:10.1016/j.pecs.2009.09.001. ISSN 0360-1285.