Ligia Barna
Ligia Barna
Professor at INSA Toulouse
- +335 61 55 97 88
- ligia.barna@insa-toulouse.fr
- RESEARCH GATE
- ORCID
- Google scholar
Actual position and research subject
Professor at INSA Toulouse, TBI.
Current professional interest and research activity in chemical engineering especially in relation with environmental goals, eco-design of bio-chemical processes, impact and risk assessment and pollutant emission modelling.
Sustainable bio-chemical technologies through environmental assessment and eco-design approaches
Development of integrated modelling platforms for predictive and parameterized Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) dedicated to eco-design of bio-chemical processes. Platforms couple specialized and homemade IT tools for Process Modelling & Simulation and LCA. Application for CO2 capture and utilization processes, bio-based products and technologies, water treatment.
Methodological developments, new models and IT tools in Sustainability science
- Building a new Life Cycle Assessment method (dynamic LCA) by including time dimension in value chains’ representation and dynamic functioning of processes. Developed CCI-tool for Climate change impact – time dependent indicators, online calculator https://www.insa-toulouse.fr/cci-tool/ .
- Thermodynamics-based assessment methods (Emergy, Exergy) – development and application in the field of industrial processes.
- Modeling tools for bioeconomy and circular economy.
Environmental impact and risk assessment of materials
Application of thermodynamic, (geo)chemical and mass transfer modelling to assess the environmental behaviour of materials under various environmental conditions – modelling of pollutants emission from materials, wastes and soils, and of the impact of pollutant release on water sources.
Education and Diploma
- Professor, Chemical engineering and environment
- HDR Chemical engineering and environment, University Lyon I
- PhD Chemical engineering and environment, University Lyon I and INSA Lyon
- DEA Gestion et Traitement des Déchets, INSA Lyon
- Master’s degree (engineering degree) in Chemical Engineering, Technical University Polytehnica, Timisoara, Romania
Teaching
Teaching activity in the department GP3E, INSA Toulouse. Teaching areas:
-chemical engineering
-environmental assessment tools (LCA) and eco-design of processes.
Others
- Supervised or co-supervised: 30 PhD students
- coordinator of ANR international projects DyPLCA, EVALEAU, and ANR METASOL
- coordinator of “Household waste” topics in PEPR RECYCLAGE https://www.pepr-recyclage.fr/en/projet/household-waste/
- project example : LCA4BIO (HORIZON/ZEROPOLLUTION) https://lca4bioproject.eu/interview-with-ligia-barna/
- Cofounder and copresident of AIFREC : French Association for the Interdisciplinary Research in Circular Economy https://aifrec.fr/
- Expert for European Commission-CINEA for GHG evaluation in industrial projects.
List of selected publications
Kanso M., Tiruta-Barna L., Robles Rodriguez C.E., CO2 as an alternative carbon source for ethanol production: A simulation-based technical and environmental analysis, Journal of CO2 Utilization 96, 2025, 103108, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2025.103108
- Skaf, L. Tiruta-Barna, A. Ahmadi, Technical and environmental assessment of new green iron production strategies using hydrogen, Journal of Cleaner Production, 532, 2025, 146970, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.146970
Javourez U., Tiruta-Barna L., Pizzol M., Hamelin L., Prospective environmental mitigation potential of deploying waste-to-nutrition pathways, Nature Sustainability, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-025-01521-z
Skaf A., Tiruta-Barna L., Ahmadi A., Assessing the potential of low-temperature ironmaking using pure hydrogen in shaft reactors. Chemical Engineering Science, 304, 2025, 121049 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2024.121049
Kanso M., Tiruta-Barna L., Robles Rodriguez C.E., A technical and environmental analysis of carbon capture technologies applied to biogas: a simulation approach., Sustainable Production and Consumption, 49, 2024, 625-640 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2024.07.010
Sanglard B., Carrey J., Lachaize S., Tiruta-Barna L., Life cycle assessment of a parabolic solar cooker and comparison with conventional cooking appliances, Sustainable Production and Consumption, 42, 2023, 211-233, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2023.09.018
Shen Z., Hamelin L., Tiruta-Barna L., Converting carbon vulnerable lands to wood plantations for use as building materials: overall environmental performance and time-dependent assessment of carbon dioxide removals. Journal of Cleaner Production, 388, 2023, 136040, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136040
Shen Z., Tiruta-Barna L., Hamelin L., From hemp grown on carbon vulnerable lands to long-lasting bio-based products: uncovering trade-offs between overall environmental impacts, sequestration in soils and dynamic influence on global temperature. Science of the total environment, 846, 2022, 157331, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157331
Lorfing D., Ahmadi A., Laborie S., Olives R., Falcoz Q., Py X., Tiruta-Barna L., Energy and environmental performance of a new solar boiler with heat recovery for seawater desalination, Sustainable production and consumption, 32 (2022) 330-343, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.05.001
Shen Z., Tiruta-Barna L., Hamelin L., Simultaneous Carbon Storage in Arable land and Anthropogenic Products (CSAAP): demonstrating an integrated concept towards well below 2°C, Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 182, 2022, 106293 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106293
Prézélus F., J.C. Remigy, Guigui C., Tiruta-Barna L., Does substituting reprotoxic solvents during membrane fabrication really mitigate environmental impacts? Focus on drinking water production. J Clean Prod, 337, 2022, 130476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130476
Tiruta-Barna, L., A climate-goals-based, multicriteria method for system evaluation in Life Cycle Assessment, Int JLCA, 26 (2021) 1913–1931 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-021-01991-1
Beloin-Saint-Pierre D., Albers A., Hélias A., Tiruta-Barna L., Fantke P., Levasseur A., Benetto E., Benoist A., Collet P., 2020, Temporal Considerations in Life Cycle Assessment: A Review, Science of the Total Environment 743 (2020) 140700, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140700
Pigné, Y., Navarrete Gutiérrez T., Gibon T., Schaubroeck T., Popovici E., Shimako A.H., Benetto E., Tiruta-Barna L., 2019, A tool to operationalize dynamic LCA, including time-differentiation on the complete background database, Int JLCA, 25 (2019) 267-279
Negishi, K., Lebert, A., Almeida D., Chevalier J., Tiruta-Barna, L., 2019, Evaluating climate change pathways through a building’s lifecycle based on Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment, Building and Environment, 164, 2019, 106377, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106377
Negishi, K., Tiruta-Barna, L., Schiopu, N., Lebert, A., Chevalier, J., 2018. An operational methodology for applying dynamic Life Cycle Assessment to buildings, Building and Environment 144 (2018) 611-621
Shimako, A.H., Tiruta-Barna, L., Bisinella de Faria, A.B., Ahmadi, A., Spérandio, M., 2018. Sensitivity analysis of temporal parameters in a dynamic LCA framework, Science of The Total Environment 624 (2018) 1250–1262
Tiruta-Barna, L., Pigné, Y., Navarrete Gutiérrez, T., Benetto, E., 2016. Framework and computational tool for the consideration of time dependency in Life Cycle Inventory: proof of concept., Journal of Cleaner Production, 116 (2016) 198-206, doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.12.049
Shimako, A.H., Tiruta-Barna, L., Pigné, Y., Benetto, E., Navarrete Gutiérrez, T., Guiraud, P., Ahmadi, A., 2016. Environmental assessment of bioenergy production from microalgae based systems, Journal of Cleaner Production, 139, 2016, 51-60
Ahmadi, A., Tiruta-Barna, L., Benetto, E., Capitanescu, F., Marvuglia, A., 2016. On the importance of integrating alternative renewable energy resources and their life cycle networks in the eco-design of conventional drinking water plants. Journal of Cleaner Production, 135, 2016, 872–883