Short Bio

Mieke earned her B.Eng in Chemical Engineering from Stellenbosch University, receiving the Jac Van Der Merwe Award for the Most Innovative Final Year Project in 2013.

After working in the diamond mining industry with Lycopodium ADP, she completed her PhD in 2019, focusing on life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic modelling of biorefinery scenarios under the supervision of Prof Johann Görgens.

Professional Experience

• Lecturer – Department of Chemical Engineering, Stellenbosch University (2026 – Present)
• Independent Consultant & Part-time Lecturer (2024 – 2025)
• Feedstock Engineer – Protix B.V., Netherlands 
  Technology domain owner for feedstock and rearing processes in black soldier fly (BSF) production.
• Process Engineering Consultant – Process Design Center, Breda, Netherlands 
  Lead for Life Cycle Costing in the WASTE2ROAD EU collaborative project.

Research Interests

Focuses on waste upcycling and the valorization of low-grade biobased streams. Her current research delves into:

• Functional applications of chitin and chitosan biopolymers derived from insect waste.
• Upcycling and recycling of PET textile waste.
• Techno-economic and environmental assessment of bio-resource industries.

Selected Publications

Visit her Google Scholar Profile for a complete list of publications.

Teaching

• Chemical Engineering D316 – Reactor Engineering I
• Chemical Engineering D354 – Reactor Engineering II