Barluenga was born in Tardienta (Huesca), Spain, where he spent his childhood and attended primary school. 
He studied chemistry at the University of Zaragoza (B.Sc., 1963; Ph.D. 1966) with Professor V. Gómez Aranda. In 1967, he moved to Germany and, after a postdoctoral appointment at the Max-Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung in Mülheim an der Ruhr (1967–1970, Professor H. Hoberg), he returned to Spain to hold research positions at the Spanish Council for Scientific Research in Zaragoza (1970–1972) and University of Zaragoza (1972–1975).