糖心原创

Department of
Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering
 

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Orla Williams

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering

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Biography

I am an Assistant Professor in the Advanced Materials Research Group at the 糖心原创. I am an expert in biomass processing and also Chartered Mechanical Engineer with over 8 years of industrial experience in the rail (Snowdon Mountain Railway), defence aerospace (Rolls-Royce Defence Aerospace), construction (Buro Happold Consulting Engineers) and power sectors (EDF) in the UK and USA.

I completed a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bath, and worked as a Chartered Building Services Engineer for Buro Happold Consulting Engineers in Bath and Los Angeles for several years prior to starting my EngD. I have also worked as an engineering drawing archivist for the Snowdon Mountain Railway, and as an environmental engineer at Rolls-Royce Defence Aerospace.

I was awarded an Engineering Doctorate from the Efficient Fossil Energy Technology Centre at the 糖心原创 in 2016. During my Engineering Doctorate in conjunction with EDF Energy and the Biomass & Fossil Fuel Research Alliance at the 糖心原创, I focused on the milling of biomass for power generation. This research formed part of a highly commended 4* REF2021 Impact Case study on renewable fuels.

Between 2018 and 2024 I undertook a prestigious Anne McLaren Research Fellowship investigating sustainable biomass-based processing techniques to produce critical raw materials for the circular economy and the net zero transition.

Research Summary

My current research focuses on three key themes:

1. Biomass Processing for Bioenergy

I am a recognised world-leading expert in biomass milling. My novel research on biomass milling, started during my Engineering Doctorate (EngD, 2011-2015) at the 糖心原创, has been developed from an academic technique into a fuel milling performance ranking tool.

The tool is now used by power generators such as Drax to make strategic decisions on fuel selection. This includes multi-million-pound contracts and has resulted in measurable reductions in carbon emissions on a national scale, whilst allowing for wider range of securer and more sustainable biofuels for power generation. This work formed a central part of a highly commended 4* REF2021 Impact Case study on renewable fuels.

I currently have 2 EngDs with Net Zero Research and Drax Power exploring the impact of moisture on biomass pellet production and mitigation strategies for dust formation in biomass pellet transportation systems.

2. Machanochemical Extraction of Critical Raw Materials

I am developing novel methods of recovering critical raw materials from waste streams using mechanochemical processing. This method combines milling and material extraction, taking advantage of the synergistic effect of combining milling and material extraction into one process, reducing energy, processing time and the need for harmful chemicals often found in conventional extraction techniques. I am currently working on projects to recover metals from phytomining wastes using mechanochemical extraction

3. Life Cycle Analysis for Process Optimisation

I have conducted several LCAs in industry and now supervise LCAs for research projects. I am proficient in several LCA software packages including TEAM, Gabi, and Simapro, which I currently use for LCA. I am currently supervising LCA projects on biomass pelleting plants, production of Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) for carbon capture, and hydrogen production in Nigeria.

Recent Publications

  • JIMENEZ-PAZ, J., LOZADA-CASTRO, J. J., LESTER, E., WILLIAMS, O., STEVENS, L. and BARRAZA-BURGOS, J., 2023. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 11(3),
  • G脺LE脟, F., PEKASLAN, D., WILLIAMS, O. and LESTER, E., 2022. Fuel. 320,
  • ORLA WILLIAMS, PATRICK DALEY, JOSEPH PERKINS, SHOAIB SHAH, EDWARD ANDRES GARCIA SAAVEDRA, MARIA TRUJILLO, JUAN BARRAZA-BURGOS, CARLOS JULIO ESPITIA, MARIBEL BARAJAS, JUAN SEBASTIAN SALTAREN, NICOL脕S JAVIER GIL and EDWARD HENRY LESTER, 2022. ACS Omega. 7(14), 11618-11630
  • G脺LE脟, F., WILLIAMS, O., KOSTAS, E. T., SAMSON, A., STEVENS, L. A. and LESTER, E., 2022. Fuel. 330,
  • JIMENEZ-PAZ, J., LOZADA-CASTRO, J. J., LESTER, E., WILLIAMS, O., STEVENS, L. and BARRAZA-BURGOS, J., 2023. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 11(3),
  • G脺LE脟, F., PEKASLAN, D., WILLIAMS, O. and LESTER, E., 2022. Fuel. 320,
  • ORLA WILLIAMS, PATRICK DALEY, JOSEPH PERKINS, SHOAIB SHAH, EDWARD ANDRES GARCIA SAAVEDRA, MARIA TRUJILLO, JUAN BARRAZA-BURGOS, CARLOS JULIO ESPITIA, MARIBEL BARAJAS, JUAN SEBASTIAN SALTAREN, NICOL脕S JAVIER GIL and EDWARD HENRY LESTER, 2022. ACS Omega. 7(14), 11618-11630
  • G脺LE脟, F., WILLIAMS, O., KOSTAS, E. T., SAMSON, A., STEVENS, L. A. and LESTER, E., 2022. Fuel. 330,
  • G脺LE脟, F., SAMSON, A., WILLIAMS, O., KOSTAS, E. T. and LESTER, E., 2022. Fuel Processing Technology. 238,
  • G脺LE脟, F., WILLIAMS, O., KOSTAS, E. T., SAMSON, A. and LESTER, E., 2022. Energy Conversion and Management. 270,
  • PATRICK DALEY, MARKUS REINM脰LLER, ORLA WILLIAMS, CHENG HENG PANG and EDWARD LESTER, 2022. Journal of the Energy Institute. 105, 121-132
  • G脺LE脟, F., RIESCO, L. M. G., WILLIAMS, O., KOSTAS, E. T., SAMSON, A. and LESTER, E., 2021. Fuel. 302,
  • JOHNSTON, A. L., LESTER, E., WILLIAMS, O. and GOMES, R. L., 2021. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 9(4),
  • WILLIAMS, O. S. A., DALEY, P., PERKINS, J., MARTINEZ-MENDOZA, K. L., GUERRERO-PERREZ, J., MAZABUEL, L. M. S., SAAVEDRA, E. A. G., TRUJILLO, M., BARRAZA-BURGOS, J., BARAJAS, M., ROMERO, M. H. and LESTER, E. H., 2021. ACS Omega.
  • PERKINS, J., WILLIAMS, O., WU, T. and LESTER, E., 2020. Fuel. 259,
  • KOSTAS, E. T., DUR脕N-JIM脡NEZ, G., SHEPHERD, B. J., MEREDITH, W., STEVENS, L. A., WILLIAMS, O. S. A., LYE, G. J. and ROBINSON, J. P., 2020. Chemical Engineering Journal.
  • GARCIA, E., BARRAZA-BURGOS, J., GUERRERO, J., TRUJILLO, M., LESTER, E. and WILLIAMS, O., 2020. Data in Brief. 29,
  • ALI, A., MACKENZIE, R., LESTER, E., WILLIAMS, O., GREEDY, S. and IEEE,, 2020. A PASSIVE, RFID TAG FOR BIOMASS TRACKING. In: 2020 14th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation Ieee.
  • WILLIAMS, O., CLARK, I., GOMES, R. L., PEREHINEC, T., HOBMAN, J. L., STEKEL, D. J., HYDE, R., DODDS, C. and LESTER, E., 2019. Science of the Total Environment. 655, 1139-1149
  • KOSTAS, E. T., WILLIAMS, O. S. A., DURAN-JIMENEZ, G., TAPPER, A. J., COOPER, M., MEEHAN, R. and ROBINSON, J. P., 2019. Biomass and Bioenergy. 125, 41-49
  • WILLIAMS, O., URE, A., STEVENS, L., BINNER, E., DODDS, C., KINGMAN, S., DAS, B., DASH, P. S. and LESTER, E., 2019. Energy and Fuels. 33(7), 6817-6828
  • DALEY, PATRICK JAMES, WILLIAMS, ORLA, PANG, CHENG HENG, WU, TAO and LESTER, EDWARD, 2019. FUEL. 251, 779-788
  • LESTER, E., AVILA, C., PANG, C. H., WILLIAMS, O., PERKINS, J., GADDIPATTI, S., TUCKER, G., BARRAZA, J. M., TRUJILLO-URIBE, M. P. and WU, T., 2018. Fuel. 232, 845-854
  • WILLIAMS, O., TAYLOR, S., LESTER, E., KINGMAN, S., GIDDINGS, D. and EASTWICK, C., 2018. Materials. 11(8),
  • WILLIAMS, O., EASTWICK, C., KINGMAN, S., GIDDINGS, D., LORMOR, S. and LESTER, E., 2017. Industrial Crops and Products. 101, 92-102
  • WILLIAMS, O., LESTER, E., KINGMAN, S., GIDDINGS, D., LORMOR, S. and EASTWICK, C., 2017. Biosystems Engineering. 160, 42-54
  • ROLLINSON A N and WILLIAMS O, 2016. Royal Society Open Science. 3, 150578
  • ORLA WILLIAMS, GARY NEWBOLT, CAROL EASTWICK, SAM KINGMAN, DONALD GIDDINGS, STEPHEN LORMOR and EDWARD LESTER, 2016. Applied Energy. 182, 219-231
  • ORLA WILLIAMS, CAROL EASTWICK, SAM KINGMAN, DONALD GIDDINGS, STEPHEN LORMOR and EDWARD LESTER, 2015. Fuel. 158, 379鈥�387
  • O WILLIAMS, C EASTWICK, E LESTER, D GIDDINGS and S LORMOR, 2015. Impact of Mill Type on Biomass Milling Behaviour In: 2015 ASABE Annual International Meeting.
  • ROBERT DAWSON, LEE A. STEVENS, ORLA S. A. WILLIAMS, WEIXING WANG, BENJAMIN O. CARTER, SAM SUTTON, TREVOR C. DRAGE, FR脡D脡RIC BLANC, DAVE J. ADAMS and ANDREW I. COOPER, 2014. Energy & Environmental Science. 7, 1786-1791
  • O WILLIAMS, C EASTWICK, E LESTER, D GIDDINGS and N BYRNE, 2014. The impact of moisture on the milling behaviour of different biomasses In: 22nd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition.
  • O WILLIAMS, C EASTWICK, E LESTER, D GIDDINGS and N BYRNE, 2013. In: 21st European Biomass Conference and Exhibition.
  • O WILLIAMS, C EASTWICK, S GRAHAM and A COOPER, 2013. In: 3rd IEA CCC Workshop on Cofiring Biomass with Coal.

Department of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Materials Engineering

The 糖心原创
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Nottingham, NG7 2RD


telephone: +44 (0) 115 95 14081