Research Topics
Bioenergy recovery from wastewater
- Hydrogen production
- MFC (Microbial Fuel Cells)
- Methane production
Renewable and clean forms of energy are one of society's greatest needs.
At the same time, 2 billion people in the world lack adequate sanitation and
the economic means to afford it. In this research topic, we are working to
address both of these human needs. As a result, there has been a paradigm shift
from disposing of waste to using it. There are several biological processing
strategies that produce bioenergy while treating wastewater, including
methanogenic anaerobic digestion, biological hydrogen production and microbial
fuel cells.
Nutrients removal and recovery
- Simultaneous nitrification-denitrification
- Anammox
- Autotrophic nitrogen removal from landfill leachate
- Strategies for nitrogen removal from wastewater
The discharge of nitrogen and phosphorous into water bodies can cause many problems for the environment, such as eutrophication, as well as for human health. Increasingly restrictive regulations for effluents containing nitrogen and phosphorous compounds have prompted researchers to search for new technologies based on alternative processes, such as simultaneous nitrification/denitrification and autotrophic nitrogen removal from several types of wastewaters, mainly those with low C/N ratio.
Xenobiotics
- PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls)
- Surfactants
- Pharmaceutical compounds
Xenobiotics are very often inserted in the context of pollution and their effect on the biota. Xenobiotics are understood as substances foreign to an entire biological system, i.e. artificial substances, which did not exist in nature before their synthesis by humans. Xenobiotic substances are becoming a large problem in wastewater treatment plant, since they are relatively new substances and are very difficult to detect and to remove. The focus of this research topic is to understand the metabolic pathways of degradation and the efficiency of xenobiotics removal in anaerobic digestion systems.
Anaerobic digestion
- Reactor development
- Microbiology
Anaerobic digestion is a process widely used in water treatment, but there are some gaps and barriers to its implementation. Thus, in this research topics, the goal has been in developing new concepts of reactors and understanding the processes of anaerobic digestion through the detailed study of the transfer phenomena, biological conversions, microbiology and evaluation of the practical applicability of the systems.
Sulfate removal
- Acid mine drainage
- Sulfur compounds recovery
Sulfate-rich wastewaters are generated by many industrial processes that use sulfuric acid and other sulfur compounds. The production of H2S is the main problem for the biological treatment of sulfate-rich wastewaters, because it causes corrosion, odor, increased effluent COD and toxicity that may lead to process failure. In this research topic, we focus in the removal of sulfate by anaerobic digestion and in the recovery of sulfur compounds.
