Dr. Giuseppe Prenesti

  • Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
    Institute for Advanced Membrane Technology
    Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1
    76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
    Germany

My name is Giuseppe Prenesti, and I am currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Advanced Membrane Technology (IAMT) at KIT.

I chose to join IAMT because I believe it is an excellent environment in which to develop my professional and personal growth, thanks to its access to state-of-the-art technologies and its strong research expertise in membrane processes. In particular, I see this position as an opportunity to further expand my knowledge while working on challenging and innovative research topics. Another important aspect for me is the possibility of combining my experimental and computational skills. I believe that integrating these two approaches can provide a more comprehensive understanding of membrane processes and allow me to make a meaningful contribution to the research activities of the group.

At the same time, working in an international and interdisciplinary environment gives me the opportunity to learn from researchers with different backgrounds, develop new skills, and build collaborations that can support my long-term development as an independent researcher.

 

Employment

  

Since 06.2026

Postdoctoral researcher, Institute for Advanced Membrane Technology (IAMT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany

Since 04.2026

CEO and Co-founder of AquaMem Tech, Rende, Italy
   

Education

  

03.2023 - 02.2026

Ph.D. in the field of NRRP Project Tech4You (Spoke 2) University of Calabria

Thesis: Lithium recovery from exhausted batteries through membrane processes

05.2025-10.2025

Visiting Student at university College of London, United Kingdom

01.2025-04.2025

Erasmus Traineeship, Madrid, Spain

05.2022-09.2022

Excellence Track University of Calabria, RendeExcellence Track University of Calabria, Rende

10.2020-09.2022

Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering, University of Calabria, Rende

Thesis: Preparation and testing of electroless pore-plated Pd-based membranes for hydrogen purification processes

01.2022-07.2022

Erasmus+ Student, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Traineeship and thesis research on the fabrication and characterization of metal membranes for hydrogen purification

09-2017-07-2020

Bachelor's Degree in Environmental and Chemical Engineering, University of Calabria, Rende

Thesis: Review on metal membranes for hydrogen purification
   

Research Projects

  
 

 

Nanofiltration on electrolytic solution

Investigation of ion transport and molecular dynamic simulation 

 

Publications
Prenesti, G., Paloni, M., Cassano, A., Caravella, A., Tocci, E., Salvalaglio, M.* (2026). Ion Adsorption at LiCl polymer Interfaces: Linking Polymer Polarity to Interfacial Ion Dynamics. Journal of Physical Chemistry B. Accepted
Prenesti, G.*, Cappuccino G., Caravella A., Alique D., Conidi C., Tocci E., Cassano A.* (2026). Selective lithium recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries using integrated leaching and membrane purification. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 14: 124277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2026.124277 
Romeo, M., Pantuso, E., Ricca, D., Fontananova, E., Kouvelos, E.P., Prenesti, G., Caravella, A., Sapalidis, A.A., Di Profio, G.* (2026). Self-Heating Graphene Oxide Composite Membranes for Desalination via Photothermal Membrane Distillation. Advanced Functional materials, 36, no. 37: e29125.  https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202529125 
Chergaoui, S.*, Tocci, E., Rizzuto, C., Prenesti, G., Debecker, D.P., Leyssens, T., Luis, P. (2026). Modulating Crystal Polymorphism via Membrane-regulated Supersaturation: An Experimental and Molecular Study. Journal of Colloid And Interface Science, 708: 13980. 10.1016/j.jcis.2025.139803 
Prenesti, G., Ali, M., Cassano, A., Caravella, A., Macedonio, F., Tocci, E.* (2026). Membrane-enhanced lithium fluoride crystallization: A sustainable pathway for resource recovery from concentrated waste solutions. Chemical Engineering Science, 320 (A): 122418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2025.122418
Morrone, P., Basile, G., Perrone, D., Anoja, A., Falbo, L., Algieri, A., Prenesti, G., Caravella A.* (2025). Techno-economic analysis of cogeneration systems based on internal-combustion engines fueled with syngas from biomass gasification, Fuel Processing Technology, Volume 280: 108362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2025.108362 
Prenesti, G., Anoja, A., Perri, P., Alraeesi, A.Y., Hara, S., Caravella, A. (2025). Hydrogen Solubility in Metal Membranes: Critical Review and Re-Elaboration of Literature Data, 15: 273. Membranes. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15090273
Prenesti, G.*, Perri, P., Anoja, A., Lauria, A., Rizzuto, C., Cassano, A., Tocci, E., Caravella, A.* (2025) Short-Term Morphological Response of Polypropylene Membranes to Hypersaline Lithium Fluoride Solutions: A Multiscale Modeling Approach. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26: 7380. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26157380 
Prenesti, G.*, Cassano, A., Lauria, A., Caravella, A., Macedonio, F., Tocci, E.* (2025). Role of Polypropylene Membranes in Enhancing Lithium Fluoride Crystallization: A Molecular Dynamics Study. Chemical Engineering Transaction. Chemical Engineering Transaction, 117. https://doi.org/10.3303/CET25117134
Prenesti, G., Tagarelli, A., Elliani, R., Napoli, A., Caravella, A., Tocci, E., Cappuccino, G., Cassano A.* (2025). Enhancement in Lithium Recovery from Spent Lithium Batteries by Nanofiltration Membranes. Environments, 12: 186. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12060186
Prenesti, G., Cassano, A., Lauria, A., Caravella, A., Macedonio, F., Tocci, E.* (2025). Unveiling the role of polypropylene interactions with lithium fluoride solutions: Insights into crystallization dynamics and membrane behaviour. Journal of Membrane Science, 723: 123905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2025.123905
Prenesti*, G., Vitola, G., Mazzei, R., Giorno, L., Caravella, A. (2025). Simplified kinetic modelling to understand the mechanism of tensioactive-aided degradation of paraoxon by a free or membrane-bound enzyme. Science of The Total Environment, 974: 179213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179213 
Prenesti, G., Petrassi, E.W., Guzzo, C., Mannella, S., Stellato, F., Crisafulli, L., Azzato, G., Katovic, A., Lauria, A., Caravella, A.* (2024). Three-Dimensional Morphological Study of MnTe-like Structures by Assessment of Tortuosity Tensor Using Computational Fluid Dynamics. Processes, 12: 2175. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12102175 
Zito, P.F.*, Prenesti, G., Caravella, A. (2024). H2 and CO purification by CO2 removal from syngas coupling membrane module and water-absorption unit: An economic analysis, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 95: 1274-1283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.08.463 
Caravella, A.*, Prenesti, G., Martinez-Diaz, D., Alique, D., Hara S. (2024). Optimal Permeance Ratio, Flux Direction and Layer Distribution in Composite Asymmetric Membranes composed of Sequences of Layers obeying Real-Power Flux Laws. Journal of Membrane Science, 705: 122877. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2024.122877 
Caravella, A.*, Prenesti, G., De Luca, S., Turano, M., Testa, F., Girimonte, R. Evaluation of CO2 Adsorption Parameters in Fluidised Zeolite 13X Beds Using Non-Linear Multivariate Optimisation. Separations, 10: 558. https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10110558 
Caravella, A.*, Martinez-Diaz, D., Prenesti, G., Michienzi, V, Calles, J. A., Sanz, R., Alique, D.* (2023). Effect of flux direction through supported metal membranes: Golden ratio as maximum benefit in pure hydrogen and concept of swap point in mixture. Journal of Membrane Science, 683: 121842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2023.121842 
Prenesti, G., Azzato, G., Cassano, K., De Marco, G., Caravella, A.* (2022). Assessment of Effectiveness Factor in Porous Catalysts under Non-symmetric External Conditions of Concentration. International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering, 21, no. 3: 375-389. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijcre-2022-0143 
Caravella, A.*, Francardi, M., Romano, S., Prenesti, G., Oliverio, M.* (2022). Optimization of Temperature Distribution in the novel Power-to-Heat Matrix-in-Batch OnePot© Reactor. Frontiers in Energy Research-Process and Systems Engineering, 10: 964511. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2022.964511