Carlos Quiroz-Arita

Biography

Carlos Quiroz-Arita, PhD, has over 20 years of experience in civil and environmental engineering and energy systems. He has managed and contributed to more than 30 projects involving wastewater and water resource systems, municipal solid waste management, and agricultural waste anaerobic digestion across Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Dr. Quiroz-Arita has served as Principal Investigator (PI) for numerous high-impact initiatives, including the DOE Energy I-Corps program, Sandia’s University Partnerships LDRD program, and DARPA/DoD system integration efforts. He currently leads ASPEN Plus process simulations, techno-economic analysis (TEA), and life cycle assessments (LCA) for several Department of Energy (DOE) and Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) projects focused on biorefinery systems and emerging biotechnologies. He was also recognized as Sandia’s PI for the DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) project on waste analysis and transportation end-use strategies.

An accomplished researcher, Dr. Quiroz-Arita is the lead, corresponding, or co-author of peer-reviewed articles in areas such as wastewater treatment, environmental biotechnology, anaerobic digestion, biofuels, system and process dynamics, fluid mechanics, energy systems, TEA, and LCA. At Sandia, he has demonstrated leadership by spearheading the cement exemplar for Sandia’s Industrial Roadmap and leading the Synthetic Aviation Fuel (SAF) Program Definition Study. He has co-chaired symposiums on industrial efficiency, biorefining, and petroleum and gas refining systems at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference. In 2024, he served on the technical committee for the DOE-BETO Refinery Integration Workshop and co-authored Sandia’s report “Unlocking the Bioeconomy via Refinery Integration: Workshop Report” in collaboration with the Systems Development and Integration subprogram at DOE-BETO.

Education

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, 2018

M.S., Civil Engineering/Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, 2013

Master, Geo-environmental Technology, UNITEC, 2007

B.S., Environmental Engineering, UNICAH, 2003

Research Interests

Civil & environmental engineering, wastewater engineering, biotechnology systems, municipal solid waste management, agricultural waste anaerobic digestion, process simulations, techno-economic analysis (TEA), life cycle assessments (LCA), energy systems, system integration

Publications

S. Paap, C. Quiroz-Arita, A. George, R. Natelson. Unlocking the bioeconomy via refinery integration. SAND2025-05632. Sandia National Laboratories.

D. Martinez, J. Schambach, O. Davydovich, M. Mascarenas, S. Butler, J. Salinas, S. Kolker, C. Smallwood, C. Quiroz-Arita, H. Choudhary, M.S. Kent. Chelator-Mediated Fenton Post-Treatment Enhances Methane Yield from Lignocellulosic Residues via Microbial Community Modulation. In Review.

A.B. Banks, P.H. Chen, C. Quiroz-Arita, R.W. Davis, and J.C. Quinn. “Geographically-resolved evaluation of the economic and environmental services from renewable diesel derived from attached algae flow-ways across the United States.” Algal Research 72 (2023): 103100.

Quiroz-Arita, C., Shinde, S., Kim, S., Monroe, E., George, A., Quinn, J., … & Davis, R. W. “Bioproducts from high-protein algal biomass: an economic and environmental sustainability review and risk analysis.” Sustainable Energy & Fuels 6, no. 10 (2022): 2398-2422.

M. Wiatrowski, B.C. Klein, R.W. Davis, C. Quiroz-Arita, E. Tan, R.W. Hunt, and R.E. Davis. “Techno-economic assessment for the production of algal fuels and value-added products: opportunities for high-protein microalgae conversion.” Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts.

S. Kim, C. Quiroz-Arita, E.A. Monroe, A. Siccardi, J. Mitchell, N. Huysman, and R.W. Davis. “Application of attached algae flow-ways for coupling biomass production with the utilization of dilute non-point source nutrients in the Upper Laguna Madre, TX.” Water Research: 116816.

N.R. Baral, Z.D. Asher, D. Trinko, E. Sproul, C. Quiroz-Arita, J.C. Quinn, and T.H. Bradley. “Biomass feedstock transport using fuel cell and battery electric trucks improves lifecycle metrics of biofuel sustainability and economy.” Journal of Cleaner Production 279 (2020): 123593.

C. Quiroz-Arita, M.L. Blaylock, P.E. Gharagozloo, T.H. Bradley, T. Dempster, J. McGowen, and R. Davis. “A dynamic thermal algal growth model for pilot-scale open-channel raceways.” Bioresource Technology Reports (2020): 100405.

C. Quiroz-Arita, M.L. Blaylock, P.E. Gharagozloo, D. Bark, L.P. Dasi, T.H. Bradley (2020). “Pilot-scale open-channel raceways and flat-panel photobioreactors maintain well-mixed conditions under a wide range of mixing energy inputs”. Biotechnology and Bioengineering.

N.R. Baral; P. Neupane; B.B. Ale; C. Quiroz-Arita; S. Manandhar; T.H. Bradley. “Stochastic economic and environmental footprints of biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas linnaeus in the different federal states of Nepal”. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews.

C. Quiroz-Arita, J.J. Sheehan, N.R. Baral, A. Hughes, G. Peers, B. Hodgson, S. Sharvelle, and T.H. Bradley (2019). “A Cyanobacterial sidestream nutrient removal process and its life cycle implications”. BioEnergy Research, 1-12. doi:10.1007/s12155-019-9963-2

Baral, N. R., Quiroz-Arita, C., & Bradley T.H.. “Probabilistic lifecycle assessment of butanol production from corn stover using different pretreatment methods”. Environmental science & technology 52.24 (2018): 14528-14537.

N.R. Baral, C. Quiroz-Arita, T.H. Bradley, “Uncertainties in corn stover feedstock supply logistics cost and life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions for butanol production” Applied Energy 208 (2017): 1343-1356.

Quiroz Arita, C.E., Sheehan, J.J., Bradley, T.H., “Life cycle net energy and greenhouse gas emissions of photosynthetic biorefineries based on cyanobacteria: Challenges for industrial production of biofuels” Algal Research 26 (2017): 445-452.

Quiroz Arita, C.E., Yilmaz, O., Barlak, S., Catton, K. B., Quinn, J.C., and Bradley, T.H., “A geographical assessment of vegetation carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions on potential microalgae-based biofuel facilities in the United States” Bioresource Technology 221(2016) 270–275.

Quiroz Arita, C.E., Peebles, C., and Bradley, T.H., “Scalability of combining microalgae-based biofuels with wastewater facilities: A review” Algal Research 9 (2015) 160–169.