Sustainable Production of Microalgae Biomass as a Biodiesel Feedstock

Prof. Bestami Özkaya is a Professor at İstinye University, Turkey. After completing his undergraduate studies at Fırat University, he received his master's and doctoral degrees from Yıldız Technical University (YTÜ). He conducted his postdoctoral research at Tampere Technical University (TUT) in Finland in the fields of environmental engineering, circular economy, and biotechnology. Throughout his academic career, he has proven his international academic competence by obtaining the title of Associate Professor both in Türkiye (YTÜ) and Finland (TUT), and served as an Adjunct Professor at Tampere Technical University from 2010 to 2015. From 2013 to 2025, he served as a professor at Yıldız Technical University. He currently serves as the Vice Rector responsible for Research, Innovation, and Commercialization at İstinye University. Dr. Özkaya’s expertise includes areas of environmental engineering, environmental biotechnology, biofuels (biodiesel/bioethanol/biogas), bioenergy, municipal waste management, biohydrogen (acidogenic fermentation), bioelectricity (microbial fuel cell (MFC)), and biodiesel production from waste matrix. He has published over 200 articles in peer reviewed journals and has been involved in more than 50 projects funded by national and international institutes.

Dr. Mehmood Ali is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Engineering at NED University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi, Pakistan. He completed his doctorate in Mechanical Engineering (with specialization in biofuels) at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. With over 17 years of academic and research experience in the area of biofuels, Dr. Ali’s research interests include a wide range of fundamental science and engineering technologies to produce biodiesel alternative fuel. He has experience in producing biodiesel from sustainable feedstocks such as vegetable oil seeds, microalgae, and lignocellulosic biomass, and specializes in biomass thermochemical treatments, biodiesel combustion in engines and emission characteristics. He has presented his research work at national and international conferences, and has published 25 research articles in reputable international journals.

Dr. Asad Ali Zaidi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Hamdard University, Pakistan. With extensive experience as head of an undergraduate program, Assistant Professor of thermal sciences, and research supervisor at the National University of Sciences and Technology-Pakistan, Dr. Zaidi’s research interests lie in the field of bioenergy, with expertise in materials, renewable energy, and low-cost biowaste utilization technologies. Dr. Zaidi earned his Ph.D. in Power and Energy Engineering from Harbin Engineering University in China, with a focus on bioenergy production. He has authored or co-authored over 80 papers in international refereed journals and conferences, and delivered numerous invited/plenary talks at international conferences.

Muhammad Nihal Naseer is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan. He started his research career in 2018 at the Laboratory of Applied Sciences at NUST-Pakistan. His field of research is thermodynamic modelling of energy conversion and storage systems. In 2019, he was a scientific assistant at the NANOCAT research center at the University of Malaya, Malaysia. He has published over 20 research articles in peer-reviewed journals and conferences, and has served as an editor of two books.