Phillip Savage
Phillip Savage's lab focuses on chemical reactions in hot, compressed water, both below and above its critical point (374°C). They work with systems that have the potential for improving the environment and for sustainable production of energy. The lab has contributed to a better understanding of and advancing technology for oxidation in supercritical water for waste treatment, chemical synthesis in water for green chemistry, gasification in supercritical water to convert biomass and wastes to H2 and CH4, and hydrothermal liquefaction to convert wet biomass into a renewable bio-oil that can be upgraded and refined like petroleum to produce the fuels and chemicals needed in our modern society.
In the News
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Recent Publications
Correction: General component additivity, reaction engineering, and machine learning models for hydrothermal liquefaction
Guirguis, P. M. & Savage, P. E., Feb 11 2026, In: RSC Sustainability. 4, 2, p. 1113 1 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Integrated Life Cycle Assessment and Techno-economic Analysis for Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Carbonaceous Municipal Solid Waste with Variable Composition
Mahadevan Subramanya, S., Savage, P. E. & Shi, R., Jan 12 2026, In: ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering. 14, 1, p. 57-71 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Driving Hydrolysis and Acetolysis of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) by Microwave and Thermal Energy Inputs: A Comparative Study
Pereira, P., Daniszewski, A. C., Staack, M., Salmanzadeh, E., Toraman, H. E., Hu, J., Pester, C. W. & Savage, P. E., Mar 10 2026, In: ACS Omega. 11, 9, p. 15062-15070 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Reaction Network and Kinetics Model for Neutral Hydrolysis of Poly(ethylene terephthalate)
Pereira, P., Guirguis, P. M., Pester, C. W. & Savage, P. E., Mar 11 2026, In: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research. 65, 9, p. 4905-4914 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Spent K-Cups
Swope, S. E., Guirguis, P. M. & Savage, P. E., 2026, (Accepted/In press) In: Waste and Biomass Valorization.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Molecular Recycling of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Waste via Ytterbium Triflate-Catalyzed Hydrolysis
Talaei, P. & Savage, P. E., Aug 25 2026, In: ACS Omega. 11, 33, p. 50561-50569 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Chemical Recycling of Polyester Wastes: Emerging Upcycling Technologies, Fundamental Mechanisms, Process Analysis, and Machine Learning
Xu, H., Guo, Y., Wang, Y., Miao, P., Xu, D. & Savage, P. E., Aug 12 2026, In: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research. 65, 31, p. 16347-16390 44 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Nanoplastics in Depolymerization Products from Hydrolysis of Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) in the Solid State
Yost, S. F., Guirguis, P. M., Pereira, P., Savage, P. E. & Vogt, B. D., Apr 17 2026, In: Macromolecular Rapid Communications. 47, 8, e00776.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
General component additivity, reaction engineering, and machine learning models for hydrothermal liquefaction
Guirguis, P. M. & Savage, P. E., Feb 21 2025, In: RSC Sustainability. 3, 4, p. 1788-1799 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Understanding PET Hydrolysis via Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Experimental Investigation
Ma, S. M., Pereira, P., Pester, C. W., Savage, P. E., Bakshi, B. R. & Lin, L. C., Jul 3 2025, In: Journal of Physical Chemistry B. 129, 26, p. 6594-6603 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Fast and isothermal acetolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate): Reaction pathways and kinetic modeling
Pereira, P., Pester, C. & Savage, P. E., Dec 1 2025, In: Chemical Engineering Journal. 525, 170502.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Influence of Metal Salts on the Hydrolysis of Postconsumer Poly(ethylene Terephthalate)
Pereira, P., Slear, W., Guirguis, P. M., Savage, P. E. & Pester, C. W., May 9 2025, In: ACS ES and T Engineering. 5, 5, p. 1140-1148 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Review and assessment of models for predicting biocrude yields from hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass
Guirguis, P. M., Seshasayee, M. S., Motavaf, B. & Savage, P. E., Mar 6 2024, In: RSC Sustainability. 2, 4, p. 736-756 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Acid catalyst screening for hydrolysis of post-consumer PET waste and exploration of acidolysis
Pereira, P., Savage, P. E. & Pester, C. W., Jan 8 2024, In: Green Chemistry. 26, 4, p. 1964-1974 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Fast hydrolysis for chemical recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Pereira, P., Slear, W., Testa, A., Reasons, K., Guirguis, P., Savage, P. E. & Pester, C. W., Apr 11 2024, In: RSC Sustainability. 2, 5, p. 1508-1514 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
