faculty & staff
Dr. Alcantara received his BS in Chemical Engineering degree in UPLB in 2008 and graduated with honors as cum laude. In 2009, he was an Assistant Lecturer at the De La Salle University Manila, where he taught engineering mathematics. Since 2010, he has been a faculty member of the Chemical Engineering Department in UPLB, where he is currently an Instructor 4. He is pursuing his MS in Chemical Engineering degree in UPLB, and is working on his graduate thesis which focuses on the optimization of bioethanol production from a lignocellulosic material under the supervision of Dr. Catalino G. Alfafara.
Research Interests: Value added chemicals from biomass; fermentation technology; optimization of chemical processes; sugarcane by-products utilization
Academic History
BS Chemical Engineering Major in Sugar Technology, University of the Philippines Los Baños, 2008
MS Chemical Engineering, minor in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of the Philippines Los Baños, 2015
Ph.D. in Engineering and Applied Sciences, Engineering track, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA, 2018
selected publications
Alcantara, J. Z., Mondala, A. H. Effect of acetic acid on succinic acid production of fungal co-culture in slurry fermentation. Chemical Engineering Transactions, 80, 97-102. doi:10.3303/CET2080017
Alcantara, J. Z., Mondala, A. H. Shields, S. P. Hughey, L. R. 2017. Direct succinic acid production form minimally pretreated biomass using sequential solid-state and slurry fermentation with mixed fungal cultures. Fermentation, 3(3), 30. doi:10.3390/fermentation3030030
Courses Taught
ChE 31 – Introduction to Chemical Engineering
ChE 32 – Industrial Stoichiometry
ChE 41 – Chemical Process Industries
ChE 142 – Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics I
ChE 143 – Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics II
ChE 145 – Chemical Reaction Engineering
ChE 149 – Transport Phenomena
ChE 152 – Separation Processes
ChE 154 – Transfer Operations II
ChE 155 – Unit Operations Laboratory I
ChE 156 – Unit Operations Laboratory II
ChE 172 – Biochemical Engineering
SUTC 148 – Sugar Analysis and Factory Operations Control
SUTC 154 – Field and Factory Operations and Processes
SUTC 170 – Instrumentation and Process Control Application to Sugar Industries
SUTC 181 – Waste Management in the Sugar Industry
SUTC 193 – Sugar Process Engineering and Plant Design