Athanasios Bourtsalas

LECTURER IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

905D Mudd

Tel(212) 854-2138

Fax(212) 854-7081

Emailab3129@columbia.edu

Research Interests

Sustainable Development, Urban Metabolism, Systems Thinking and Multi-Dimensional Valuation Approaches, Materials Resources Engineering, Circular Economy, Resource Efficiency, Material Flow Analysis, Life Cycle Analysis, Technoeconomic Assessment, Sustainable Waste Management, Energy Systems, Industrial Ecology-Symbiosis

Other Interests

Policy Economics Finance Risk Management

Links

Earth Engineering Center Global WTERT Council Google Scholar LinkedIn

Thanos Bourtsalas investigates ways and technologies for managing impacts associated with anthropogenic activities and advancing sustainable development and the circular economy. His work has been both experimental and analytical and, in this area, he has been recognized as a specialist by the UN, the IFC/World Bank, and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment of Singapore.

His projects focus on system-level technoeconomic and life cycle assessment with emphasis on identifying the intersections between systems capabilities, economics, environment, and regulations, and their position within the local, regional, and global landscape. One of his objectives has been on understanding and improving the performance of systems and engineering clean cycles and safe final sinks by implementing innovation to emerging technologies and evaluating whether these are commercially viable (or what is needed to make these solutions successful). Also, a lot of emphasis is on developing tools to support resource efficiency and rational decision-making about the use of technologies for sustainable development and the circular economy.

International collaborations and interactions with major stakeholders engaged with sustainable development, are a significant part of his work through the global network of the Global WTERT Council (GWC), which he has represented as a Vice President in several activities worldwide, such as China, India, Indonesia, Chile, and Colombia. As part of his work with the GWC, he has conducted due diligence studies for emerging technologies, has advised the investment strategies of both private and public entities, and has developed valuation models for waste management deals.

He received his five-year Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering, from the University of Patras, Greece, and his M.Sc. from the Earth & Environmental Engineering Department of Columbia University. He undertook his Ph.D. studies in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Acting Director, Earth Engineering Center, Columbia University, 2020-
Associate Director, Earth Engineering Center, Columbia University, 2019-2020
Associate Research Scientist, Earth Engineering Center, 2016-2019
Postdoctoral Fellow, Earth Engineering Center, Columbia University, 2015-2016
PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, 2012-2015
Research Associate WTERT Council, 2010-2014
Center for Life Cycle Analysis, Columbia University, 2008-2010

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Instructor, Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, 2019-
Advisor, United Nations Economic and Social Council: PPP Centre of Excellence, 2017-
Vice President, Global WTERT Council, 2015-
Advisor, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), 2020-2021
Advisor, World Bank, 2018-2020
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, 2015-2019
Advisor, Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore, 2014-2017

ACADEMIC AWARDS AND HONOURS

2022

Nominated for the 2022 Presidential Awards for Outstanding Teaching

2022

Nominated for the Bodossakis Foundation Distinguished Young Scientists Award (field: Renewable Energy)

2015

PhD early submission award, Imperial College London, UK

2011- 2014

Dixon Presidential Scholarship, Imperial College London, UK

2008- 2010

Full graduate scholarship: Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA

2001-2006

Faculty of Engineering Dean’s Honour List Every Single Academic Term

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Registered (Licensed/Chartered) Professional Electrical Engineer in Europe
Member of the International Society for Industrial Ecology
Member of the Working Group on Energy Recovery-International Solid Waste Association (ISWA)
Vice Chair of the Materials and Energy Division of the American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME-MER)

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Recovery of Materials and Energy from Urban Wastes, A Volume in the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology, Second Edition, Springer, Editors, Nickolas J. Themelis, A.C. (Thanos) Bourtsalas, 2019
Yixi Tian, Nickolas J. Themelis, A.C.(Thanos) Bourtsalas*, Shiho Kawashima, Yuri Gorokhovich, Systematic study of the formation and chemical/mineral composition of waste-to-energy (WTE) fly ash, Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2022, 126849,ISSN 0254-0584.
Wenchao Ma, Jicui Cui, Boré Abdoulaye, Yuan Wang, Huibin Du, Athanasios C. Bourtsalas*, and Guanyi Chen, Air Pollutant Emission Inventory of Waste-to-Energy Plants in China and Prediction by the Artificial Neural Network Approach. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2022.
AC Bourtsalas*, T Shen, Y Tian, A Comprehensive Assessment of Products Management and Energy Recovery from Waste Products in the United States, Energies 15 (18), 65-81, 2022
Bourtsalas, AC Thanos*; Themelis, Nickolas J, Materials and energy recovery at six European MBT plants, Waste Management 141, 79-91, 2022
Tian, Yixi; Bourtsalas, AC Thanos*; Kawashima, Shiho; Teng, Xiaoxuan; Themelis, Nickolas J; Performance of Waste-to-Energy fine combined ash/filter cake ash-metakaolin based artificial aggregate, Construction and Building Materials, 327, 127011, 2022
Tian, Yixi; Themelis, Nickolas J; Zhao, Diandian; Bourtsalas, AC Thanos*; Kawashima, Shiho; Stabilization of Waste-to-Energy (WTE) fly ash for disposal in landfills or use as cement substitute, Waste Management, 150, 227-243, 2022
Sun, Kai; Wang, Wanli; Themelis, Nickolas J; Bourtsalas, AC Thanos; Huang, Qunxing; Catalytic co-pyrolysis of polycarbonate and polyethylene/polypropylene mixtures: Promotion of oil deoxygenation and aromatic hydrocarbon formation, Fuel, 285, 119143, 2021
Zhang, Henry; Themelis, Nikolas J; Bourtsalas, Athanasios; Environmental impact assessment of emissions from non-recycled plastic-to-energy processes, Waste Disposal & Sustainable Energy 3, 1, 2021
Ma, Wenchao; Ma, Chen; Liu, Xu; Gu, Tianbao; Thengane, Sonal K; Bourtsalas, Athanasios; Chen, Guanyi; Nox formation in fixed-bed biomass combustion: Chemistry and modelling, Fuel 290, 119694, 2021
Themelis, Nickolas J; Bourtsalas, AC Thanos*; Methane Generation and Capture of US Landfills, Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering A, 199-206, 2021
Bourtsalas, AC*; Huang, Qunxing; Zhang, Hanwei; Themelis, Nickolas J; Energy recovery in China from solid wastes by the moving grate and circulating fluidized bed technologies, Waste Disposal & Sustainable Energy 2, 1, 27-36, 2020
Zhu, Liangliang; Zhao, Wei; Yan, Yuan; Liao, Xiangbiao; Bourtsalas, Athanasios; Dan, Yong; Xiao, Hang; Chen, Xi; Interaction between mechanosensitive channels embedded in lipid membrane. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 103, 103543, 2020
Sun, Kai; Themelis, Nickolas J; Bourtsalas, AC Thanos; Huang, Qunxing; Selective production of aromatics from waste plastic pyrolysis by using sewage sludge derived char catalyst, Journal of Cleaner Production, 268 , 122038, 2020
Tian, Yixi; Bourtsalas, AC Thanos*; Kawashima, Shiho; Ma, Siwei; Themelis, Nickolas J; Performance of structural concrete using Waste-to-Energy (WTE) combined ash. Waste Management, 118, 180-189, 2020
Lu, Peng; Huang, Qunxing; Bourtsalas, Athanasios C; Chi, Yong; Yan, Jianhua; Effect of operating conditions on the coke formation and nickel catalyst performance during cracking of tar Waste and biomass valorization, 10, 1, 155-165, 2019
Lu, Peng; Huang, Qunxing; Bourtsalas, AC Thanos; Themelis, Nickolas J; Chi, Yong; Yan, Jianhua; Review on fate of chlorine during thermal processing of solid wastes, Journal of Environmental Sciences, 78, 13-28, 2019
Bourtsalas, AC Thanos*; Themelis, Nickolas J; Major sources of mercury emissions to the atmosphere: The US case, Waste Management, 85, 90-94, 2019
Bourtsalas, AC Thanos*; Seo, Yoonjung; Alam, Md Tanvir; Seo, Yong-Chil; The status of waste management and waste to energy for district heating in South Korea, Waste Management, 85, 304-316, 2019
Wang, Wanli; Themelis, Nickolas J; Sun, Kai; Bourtsalas, Athanasios C; Huang, Qunxing; Zhang, Yunhe; Wu, Zhaohui; Current influence of China’s ban on plastic waste imports, Waste Disposal & Sustainable Energy, 1, 1, 67-78, 2019
Vehlow, Juergen; Bourtsalas, AC*; WTE: Management of WTE Residues in Europe Recovery of Materials and Energy from Urban Wastes, 159-181, 2019
Bourtsalas, AC*; WTE: Non-recycled Combustible Wastes in Cement Production, Recovery of Materials and Energy from Urban Wastes, 141-157, 2019
Kyriakis, Efstathios; Psomopoulos, Constantinos; Kokkotis, Panagiotis; Bourtsalas, Athanasios; Themelis, Nikolaos; A step by step selection method for the location and the size of a waste-to-energy facility targeting the maximum output energy and minimization of gate fee, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25, 27, 26715-26724, 2018
Bourtsalas, AC Thanos*; Zhang, Jiao; Castaldi, MJ; Themelis, NJ; Karaiskakis, Alexandros N; Use of non-recycled plastics and paper as alternative fuel in cement production, Journal of cleaner production, 181, 2018
Lu, Peng; Huang, Qunxing; Bourtsalas, AC Thanos; Chi, Yong; Yan, Jianhua; Synergistic effects on char and oil produced by the co-pyrolysis of pine wood, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride, Fuel 230, 359-367, 2018
Lu, Peng; Huang, Qunxing; Bourtsalas, AC Thanos; Chi, Yong; Yan, Jianhua; Experimental research of basic properties and reactivity of waste derived chars, Applied Thermal Engineering, 119, 639-649, 2017
Hu, Binhang; Huang, Qunxing; Bourtsalas, AC Thanos; Ali, Mujahid; Chi, Yong; Yan, Jianhua; Effect of chlorine on the structure and reactivity of char derived from solid waste, Energy & Fuels, 31, 7, 7606-7616, 2017
Koralewska, Ralf; Cheeseman, Christopher R; Bourtsalas, Athanasios*; Keramische Werkstoffe aus trocken ausgetragener Feinfraktion der Rostschlacke, Waste Management, 6, 445-456, 2016
Bourtsalas, A Thanos*; Detsch, Rainer; Boccaccini, Aldo R; Cheeseman, Christopher; Initial studies on the cytotoxicity of ceramics prepared from dry discharge incinerator bottom ash dust, Ceramics International, 42, 15, 17924-17927, 2016
Vardelle, Armelle; Moreau, Christian; Akedo, Jun; Ashrafizadeh, Hossein; Berndt, Christopher C; Berghaus, Jörg Oberste; Boulos, Maher; Brogan, Jeffrey; Bourtsalas, Athanasios C; Dolatabadi, Ali; The 2016 thermal spray roadmap, Journal of thermal spray technology, 25, 8, 1376-1440, 2016
Bourtsalas, Athanasios*; Vandeperre, LJ; Grimes, SM; Themelis, Nickolas; Cheeseman, Christopher R; Production of pyroxene ceramics from the fine fraction of incinerator bottom ash, Waste management, 45, 217-225, 2015
Bourtsalas, Athanasios*; Vandeperre, Luc; Grimes, Sue; Themelis, Nicolas; Koralewska, Ralf; Cheeseman, Chris; Properties of ceramics prepared using dry discharged waste to energy bottom ash dust, Waste Management & Research, 33, 9, 794-804, 2015
Kalogirou, Efstratios; Bourtsalas, Athanasios; Klados, Manolis; Themelis, Nickolas J; Waste management in Greece and potential for waste-to-energy, Waste to Energy, 219-235, 2012