Francesco D'Acierno

Honoured to speak at the Cercle Royal Artistique et Littéraire de Gand (#CRAL) yesterday, in its beautiful historic venue by the Leie. Presented our work on valorizing food & plastic waste, a scientific topic, but made truly enjoyable thanks to the curious and engaged audience.

♻️ Great to host Wim Thielemans (#SUSMAT lab at @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social Kulak) at KU Leuven Ghent for a guest lecture on Chemical Depolymerization of Mixed Condensation Polymers. Students loved the talk: inspiring how simple chemistry can tackle complex plastic waste challenges. Thanks, Wim!

🫂 Farewell & congrats to Leon Nowack! 🫂

After 3 months with us at #WASTE2FUN working on pressure carbonization for catalytic applications, Leon (student at @tubaf.bsky.social) delivered great results despite early challenges. We’ll miss his wit & insights, you'll always be welcome back in Ghent!

🟣⚪🔴 A DUTCH DRYING ADVENTURE 🌬️

Just wrapped up #Eurodrying2025 at @w-u-r.bsky.social, rainy arrival, sunny departure (effective drying!). Great talks, lovely people, and big thanks to Maarten Schutyser & team. Gratidão to Joice Kaschuk and her cat Pipoca for the accommodation! 🌞🐾 #dryingtech

At WASTE2FUN Lab (KU Leuven), we turn biomass & plastic waste into high-value (nano)materials using pressure carbonization, electrostatic spray drying & more. Projects span waste valorization to Pickering emulsions. Open to collaborations & theses! 🌱🔬 waste2fun.be

🧪 OPEN SCIENCE FOR ALL 🌞

We had a blast at @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social Ghent Campus’s Open Day! At WASTE2FUN’s booth, Thomas Schaut and I demoed posters, videos, hands-on experiments, and showed kids that whisking vinaigrette is just like making chitosan-stabilized emulsions.

🍃 A green adventure in East Germany! 🍃

Just returned from an inspiring trip, thanks to the invitation of Dr. Katja Heise. Enjoyed insightful chats with her team at @tubaf.bsky.social, delivered my "From Waste to Wealth" seminar, and explored Dresden & Freiberg.

#tubaf #kul #greenmaterials

🧪 My first #ACS meeting ever and debut conference as an assistant professor in San Diego was a blast! Grateful to mentors, friends, and new colleagues. Presented my research on modified #cellulose nanocrystals and co-chaired an inspiring symposium with fellows Joice and Diego.

🌟 NEW ARTICLE ALERT! 🌟

At @inrae-france.bsky.social, we modified cellulose nanocrystals with tannic acid & cellulose derivatives! 🌱 These sustainable particles are now even more powerful at stabilizing Pickering emulsions and form coatings with tunable wettability!

doi.org/10.1016/j.jc...

A new chapter begins!

I've joined KU Leuven's Chemical Engineering Department as an Assistant Professor!

My research focuses on upcycling waste into functional materials with the SMaRT unit. I am located at the Ghent technology campus.

Click here for more details: www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/en/...

Wrapping up an enriching chapter at @imperialchemeng.bsky.social with @titiricigroup.bsky.social
on the #UPDATE project – Upcycling Plastic Debris into Alkali-ion battery Top-quality electrodes, funded by @ukri.org.

London, you've been an inspiring backdrop to this journey.

On to new adventures!

Time to restart posting and what better way to start than celebrating group(s) 2024 achievements in an extremely fun Christmas Party jointly with @interfacial-ec.bsky.social @ifanstephens.bsky.social.Thank you Morven and @craigburdis.bsky.social for the perfect organisation.

Honored to have been invited today to present at the
@universityofoxford.bsky.social on how waste, like crab shells and cigarette butts, can become functional materials. Grateful for the great discussions, strong interdepartmental turnout, and the chance to share ideas on sustainable development.