Dr Muxina Konarova

Biography: Dr Muxina Konarova is Senior Lecturer in the UQ School of Chemical Engineering. She gained her PhD in Chemical Engineering at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. Dr Konarova has led four academia/industry projects since 2016, securing >$5M as lead CI and her team partnered with five large organisations under her Advance Qld Research (Early) and Mid-Career Fellowships, ARENA-UQ, ARC-Linkage and Innovation Connections.

Research: Dr Konarova's research team focuses on the development of sustainable chemical processes and is directed to address climate change, waste utilisation and provide technical solutions for a circular economy. Current chemical industries are heavily reliant on fossil-fuel feedstock and significant advances in process engineering will be required to enable a carbon-neutral chemical industry. To accelerate the transition to circularity, fossil-fuel based industries are now seeking to introduce waste products and renewables as their feedstock. However, selective catalysts and suitable reactor designs are largely unknown for these new types of feedstock (biomass, plastic waste and CO2). This lack of knowledge has prevented both commercialisation of new chemical processes and the utilisation of sustainable resources. Dr Konarova's research program focuses on the (1) design of selective, stable and active solid catalysts; (2) integration of solid catalysts into a reactor environment where an optimum mass and heat transfer can occur. Her team uses a range of advanced spectroscopic tools to analyse reaction products, elucidate underlying reaction mechanisms and control product selectivity. The overall research aim is to identify new generations of catalysts and reactors designs and address fundamental challenges associated with catalytic conversion and contribute to the development of sustainable chemical industry.

Teaching and Learning Contributions:

Dr. Konarova is a dedicated educator at the School of Chemical Engineering, where she plays a key role in the Master of Sustainable Energy (MSE) program. She coordinates and lectures the course Energy Transitions in Industrial Processes (ENGY7003), imparting critical knowledge on sustainable practices within industrial settings. Since 2021, Dr. Konarova has also been actively involved in coordinating and teaching Process Modelling and Control (CHEE3007), a core course in the undergraduate chemical engineering curriculum at UQ. Through these roles, she integrates her expertise in energy and process engineering to provide students with a robust understanding of modern industrial processes and control systems.