Chemical Engineer
Chemical Engineer

Biography

Peter Valdez is a chemical engineer in the Energy Processes and Materials division. His research focuses on the development of waste-to-energy pathways using processes such as hydrothermal liquefaction to produce fuels and other products. 

Peter also leads the Systems Analysis team, providing process, economic, and environmental models to support the scale-up of new technologies being developed at PNNL. His technical contributions extend beyond biofuels as he has supported topics such as critical mineral recovery, bipolar membrane electrodialysis, liquid organic hydrogen carriers, and small modular nuclear reactors.

Publications

2025

2024

  • Edmundson S.J., M.H. Huesemann, J. Greene, A.J. Schmidt, D. Cronin, P.J. Valdez, and I.I. Leavy, et al. 2024. Unrealized Critical Lanthanide Extraction from Sea Algae Mining (UNCLE SAM): Domestic production of critical minerals from seawater. PNNL-35837. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Unrealized Critical Lanthanide Extraction from Sea Algae Mining (UNCLE SAM): Domestic production of critical minerals from seawater
  • Hibbeln C.F., P.G. Marsh, C.R. Myers, P.J. Valdez, S.J. Edmundson, and C. Venkata Subban. 2024. "Maximizing Marine Carbon Removal by Coupling Electrochemical and Biological Methods." Environmental Science & Technology Letters 11, no. 5:438-444. PNNL-SA-190901. doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00107
  • Pahlavan F., A.M. Hung, S. Aldagari, A.J. Schmidt, P.J. Valdez, and E. Fini. 2024. "From Biowaste to BioPave: Biological Pathways for Sequestration of Anthropogenic CO2 and Enhancing Durability of Roadway Infrastructures." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 205, no. _:Art. No. 107515. PNNL-SA-193453. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107515
  • Watkins J., Y. Zhu, P.J. Valdez, C. Lords, A. Zeller, P. Bohutskyi, and R.C. Sims. 2024. "Techno-economic analysis of bioplastic and biofuel production from a high-ash microalgae biofilm cultivated in effluent from a municipal anaerobic digester." Algal Research 84, no. _:Art No. 103774. PNNL-SA-197455. doi:10.1016/j.algal.2024.103774
  • Xu Y., S.J. Edmundson, Y. Zhu, T.R. Hart, D.J. Cronin, S.P. Fox, and A.J. Schmidt, et al. 2024. 2023 Business Case Study: Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Algal Bloom Biomass. PNNL-35507. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. 2023 Business Case Study: Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Algal Bloom Biomass

2023