Omayra Beatriz Ferreiro Balbuena
About me
Omayra Beatriz Ferreiro Balbuena, DSc., is a Chemical Engineer specializing in membrane technologies, materials science, and food engineering. She obtained her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 2021 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) from November 2021 to May 2023, focusing on polymeric hollow fiber membranes.
She is currently a researcher and lecturer at the Facultad de Ciencias Químicas and the Facultad Politécnica of the Universidad Nacional de Asunción (Paraguay), where she also serves as Coordinator of the Master’s Program in Food Science. Her research focuses on membrane separation processes, valorization of agro-industrial residues, and the development of biomaterials and sustainable packaging solutions.
Dr. Ferreiro has led and participated in several nationally and internationally funded research projects and has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals. She has an h-index of 6 according to her Google Scholar profile. She is actively engaged in national and international academic collaboration, scientific outreach, and postgraduate training, contributing to the advancement of sustainable technologies and innovation in food and materials engineering.
Dr. Omayra Beatriz Ferreiro Balbuena is a Paraguayan chemical engineer, university professor, and researcher specializing in chemical process engineering, membrane separation technologies, and materials science.
• Bachelor's Degree (Grado): Earned her degree in Chemical Engineering from the Faculty of Chemical Sciences at the National University of Asunción (FCQ-UNA) (2006–2012), graduating with distinction (Graduada Distinguida). Her undergraduate thesis investigated the lead retention capacity of bovine bone-derived hydroxyapatite.
• Master's Degree (M.Sc.): Completed a Master’s degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil (2013–2015), funded by a FAPERJ scholarship. Her thesis focused on the sol-gel synthesis and processing of biphasic calcium phosphate for bioengineering applications.
• Doctorate (DSc.): Obtained her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from UFRJ, Brazil (2015–2021), supported by a CNPq scholarship. Her doctoral dissertation examined the treatment of sugarcane stillage using direct contact membrane distillation.
• Postgraduate Specialization & Postdoctorate: Completed a diploma in Higher University Teaching at Universidad Americana in Paraguay (2018–2019). She subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Spain (2021–2023), funded by Paraguay's BECAL scholarship program, focusing on the development of novel polymeric hollow fiber membranes for desalination via membrane distillation.
• International Technical Mobility: Completed specialized laboratory training at the National Nanotechnology Laboratory (LANOTEC) in Costa Rica (2021) and an ERASMUS+ International Credit Mobility staff training program at the Instituto Politécnico de Bragança in Portugal (2025).
Professional & Academic Positions
• Academic Leadership: Serves as the Coordinator of the Master's Program in Food Science at FCQ-UNA (2025–present).
• Teaching: Serves as Assistant Professor and Lecturer at FCQ-UNA across Chemical, Food, Aeronautical, and Materials Engineering programs. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in transport phenomena, science and resistance of materials, ceramic materials, polymer chemistry, biochemical engineering, and experimental design.
• Research Leadership: Research Professor at FCQ-UNA and member of the Bio and Materials Research Group at the Polytechnic Faculty (FPUNA), as well as an associate researcher at Universidad Americana.
Research Lines and Projects
Dr. Ferreiro Balbuena coordinates two principal research lines at FCQ-UNA:
1. Valorization of Agro-Industrial Waste: Extraction of high-value bioactive compounds and the development of biodegradable films and food packaging.
2. Membrane Separation Processes: Application of membrane technologies (microfiltration, nanofiltration, membrane distillation) for recovering valuable compounds and treating industrial wastewater.
Key Funded Projects:
• Principal Investigator: Directs CONACYT-funded projects on designing polymeric membranes for recovering bioactive compounds from cheese whey (PINV01-1049) and extracting collagen from fish farming waste as a high-value biomaterial (PINV01-89).
• Co-Investigator: Participates in multidisciplinary projects including solid oxide fuel cells for energy transition (ENER01-3), functionalization of Luffa cylindrica fibers with aerogels (PINV01-173), hollow fiber membrane filtration systems for wastewater treatment (PINV01-64), Karanda'y nanocellulose dressings (PINV01-341), and Kurugua fruit bioactive ingredients (PINV01-698).
Intellectual Property & Innovation
She holds two registered intellectual property filings in Paraguay:
• Utility Model (No. 2218495, 2022): Procedure for producing silver-doped natural hydroxyapatite from bovine bone for capturing heavy metals in the presence of pathogens.
• Invention Patent (No. 2287974, 2022): Process for obtaining an anthocyanin-rich powder dye from fruit waste.
Key Awards and Honors
• International Recognitions: Awarded the prestigious "Aluna Nota 10" fellowship for academic excellence by FAPERJ during her master's studies in Rio de Janeiro (2014). Won Best Poster and Honorable Mention awards at the 4th AMARU-CYTED International Conference (2024).
• National Recognitions: Named Graduada Distinguida at FCQ-UNA (2011). Received First Place in the Chemistry, Water, and Environment category at the UNA Young Researchers Conference (2020). Earned Second Honorable Mention in the Andrés Barbero Award (2022), Second Honorable Mention from the Scientific Society of Paraguay (2022), and a distinction at the XVIII UNA Young Researchers Conference (2024).
Scientific Production, Mentorship & Peer Review
• Publications: Articles in high-impact international journals such as Polymers, Materials Research, Sustainability, Starch/Stärke, Ceramics International, and Applied Sciences, as well as specialized book chapters published by Elsevier and other academic presses.
• Mentorship: Supervised 22 student research projects, including 18 completed undergraduate theses and 1 completed master's thesis. She is currently directing 1 master's thesis and 2 doctoral dissertations.
• Scientific Service: Peer reviewer for international journals such as Environmental Science and Pollution Research International and Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, served as Associate Editor for Eclética Química (2023), and served on evaluation committees for CONACYT research grants, scientific conferences, and over 28 thesis defense tribunals.
Other Memberships/Affiliations
Degrees:
2. Perez, G., Mendez, A., Ibarra, A., Monteiro, M., & Ferreiro, O. B. (2025). Preparation and Characterization of Polyvinyl Alcohol Films Crosslinked with Citric Acid and Reinforced with Microcellulose for Controlled Drug Release. Materials Research.
3. Casanova, P., Monteiro, M., Ferreiro, O. B., Espínola, M., Ries, A., Montiel-Centeno, K., Sapag, K., & Furlong, O. J. (2025). Síntesis de nanopartículas de óxido de cobre por el método de precipitación química: caracterización cristalográfica mediante difracción de Rayos X y Refinamiento de Rietveld. Revista de la Sociedad Científica del Paraguay.
4. Ribeiro, A. A., Ferreiro, O. B., Lima, A. M., Alves, L. S., Monteiro, M., Varella, M., & Pereira, L. C. (2024). Effect Investigation of Ammonium Bicarbonate and Polyethylene Wax as Pore Forming Agents on the Physicochemical Properties of Macroporous Biphasic Calcium Phosphate Bioceramics Processed by Space-Holder Technique. Materials Research.
5. Ferreiro, O. B., Duarte, S., & Valencia, G. A. (2023). Valorization of Agro-Industrial Plantain (Musa x paradisiaca) By-Products: Alternative Sources of Carbohydrates and Bioactive Compounds. Starch/Stärke.
6. Velázquez, E., Ferreiro, O. B., Menezes, D. B., Corrales-Ureña, Y., Vega-Baudrit, J., & Rivaldi, J. D. (2022). Nanocellulose Extracted from Paraguayan Residual Agro-Industrial Biomass: Extraction Process, Physicochemical and Morphological Characterization. Sustainability.
7. Ferreiro, O. B., Kronemberger, F. A., & Borges, C. P. (2021). Assessment of module arrangements of a direct contact membrane distillation process for a small-scale desalination plant. Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering.
8. Mereles, L., Benítez, M., Ferreira, D., Caballero, S., Coronel, E., Burgos-Edwards, A., & Ferreiro, O. B. (2021). Extraction of Total Anthocyanins from Sicana odorifera Black Peel Fruits Growing in Paraguay for Food Applications. Applied Sciences.
9. Ferreiro, O. B., Monteiro, M., Varella, M., Ribeiro, A. A., Pereira, L. C., & Paiva, L. F. S. (2021). Sintering parameters study of a biphasic calcium phosphate bioceramic synthesized by alcoholic sol-gel technique. Ceramics International.
10. Ferreiro, O. B., Kronemberger, F. A., & Borges, C. P. (2021). Sugarcane Stillage Treatment Using Direct Contact Membrane Distillation. Journal of Waste and Biomass Valorization.
2. García-Fernández, L., Ferreiro, O. B., García-Payo, M. C., Tavajohi, N., & Khayet, M. (2024). Hollow fiber membranes. In Polymeric Membrane Formation by Phase Inversion, Elsevier.
3. Avila Martin, L., Paulsen, E., Ferreiro, O. B., Bogdanoff, N. M., Perilla, J. E., Duarte, S., & Valencia, G. A. (2024). Recubrimientos de barrera biopoliméricos con materiales celulósicos y su potencial aplicación como envase de alimentos. In Innovación en biomateriales sustentables para un mundo mejor: un enfoque multidisciplinario.