Biomass valorization
Designing and operating anaerobic systems that convert organic feedstocks into valuable compounds and other useful bioproducts.
Bioprocessing × ocean science
Adewale Aromolaran
Also known as Wale Aromolaran
Turning organic carbon into useful energy.
My work connects fermentation, marine biogeochemistry, resource recovery, and microbial fuel cells to explore how organic matter can support low-power systems in the ocean.
Research interests
Following carbon from waste to electrons.
My research follows organic carbon through engineered biological systems, from landfill bioreactors and anaerobic fermentation to the recovery of valuable products and their use in sustainable energy applications.
Product recovery
Developing separation and recovery strategies that concentrate valuable fermentation products and improve downstream processing.
Ocean power
Linking marine biomass conversion to sediment microbial fuel cells for durable, low-power ocean sensing applications.
Research trajectory
A systems view, from reactor to environment.
Marine chemistry & geochemistry
At WHOI, I investigate marine biomass fermentation and pathways for coupling acetate-rich products to marine microbial fuel cells.
2025 — Present
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Fermentation for sustainable aviation fuel
At NREL, I developed high-solids food-waste and monoculture fermentation processes that produced carboxylic-acid intermediates for sustainable aviation fuel, spanning reactor scale-up and product recovery.
2022 — 2025
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Anaerobic digestion & landfill systems
My doctoral research examined co-digestion and leachate blending as strategies for improving biogas production from organic wastes.
Ph.D., 2021
University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
Publications & scholarly work
Research across conversion, recovery, and biogas.
Visit Google Scholar for citation details and the evolving record.
2026Pilot-scale in situ product recovery of butyric acid from fermentation↗2026Monitoring Zooplankton Seasonal Community Composition in Waquoit Bay, a Shallow, Temperate Estuary↗2026Sipping Pelagic Biomass for the Powering of Oceanographic Instrumentation↗2026Zooplankton Community Composition in Waquoit Bay, a Shallow, Temperate Estuary↗2026Anaerobic fermentation of lipid-rich marine copepods↗2025Carboxylic Acid Concentration in Downstream Bioprocessing Using High-Pressure Reverse Osmosis↗2025Carboxylic acid production from food waste under acidic conditions: Bench-scale lessons for scale-up, optimization, and downstream bioprocessing↗2025Optimizing butyric acid production in Clostridium tyrobutyricum through adaptive laboratory evolution and seed propagation fermentation strategies↗2023Microbial Analysis and Methane Assessment of Trinary Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste↗2023Supplemental Sewage Scum and Organic Municipal Solid Waste Addition to the Anaerobic Digestion of Thickened Waste Activated Sludge: Biomethane Potential and Microbiome Analysis↗2022Biogas production from sewage scum through anaerobic co-digestion: the effect of organic fraction of municipal solid waste and landfill leachate blend addition↗2022Influence of Blended Leachate Addition on Biogas Production from Organic Municipal Waste and Sewage Scum: Process Performance and Microbiome Analysis↗2021Enhancing biogas production from municipal solid waste through recirculation of blended leachate in simulated bioreactor landfills↗2021Enhancement of Biogas Production from Organic Wastes through Leachate Blending and Co-digestion↗
About
Engineering biological systems for a circular carbon economy.
My experience spans bench-scale microbial ecology experiments, pilot-scale fermentation, analytical chemistry, and process integration. I’m especially interested in questions that sit between disciplines: where reactor engineering meets ocean biogeochemistry, and where biological conversion must connect to practical energy or product recovery.
Current roleResearch Associate III, WHOI
Ph.D.Environmental Engineering, University of Ottawa
M.Sc.(Eng.)Environmental Engineering & Project Management, University of Leeds
B.Tech.Industrial Chemistry, Federal University of Technology, Akure
Contact
Start a conversation.
For research collaborations, speaking invitations, or questions about my work, send a message here.