Mrs. Maria Candel | Food Sector | Excellence in Research Award
pre-doctoral researcher | University of Cadiz | Spain
Mrs. Maria Candel is a dedicated Pre-doctoral Researcher with a strong foundational background in molecular genetics and biotechnology, currently focusing on Environmental Technologies and Sustainable Food Systems. Her professional experience centers on resource recovery from food-related waste streams, specifically the anaerobic co-digestion of slaughterhouse sludge and wastewater to enhance biomethane production for a circular economy approach. Her key research interest lies in optimizing the conditions of this critical bioprocess, demonstrating a superior biomethane yield under thermophilic (55 °C) conditions compared to mesophilic conditions. Her research skills encompass complex laboratory-scale experimentation, bioprocess optimization, data analysis, and bibliometric analysis to identify research trends and gaps in waste management technologies, as evidenced by a comparative study on biomethane from pig slurry and slaughterhouse wastewater. While her profile is still early-career, her impactful publication on the effect of temperature on anaerobic digestion (in Recycling journal) signals significant future potential in bioenergy research.
Featured Publications:
Candel, M., Ballesteros, L., Fernandez-Rodriguez, J., Perez, M., & Solera, R. (2025). Study of the Effect of Temperature to Optimize the Anaerobic Digestion of Slaughterhouse Sludge by Co-Digestion with Slaughterhouse Wastewater. Recycling, 10(2), 47.
Candel, M., Fernández-Rodríguez, J., Solera, R., & Perez, M. (2025). Comparative Bibliometric Analysis of Biomethane Production from Anaerobic Digestion of Pig Slurry and Slaughterhouse Wastewater: Research Trends and Gaps.