Tratamiento catalítico y valorización de aguas contaminadas por nitrato

Abstract

Tesis Doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Ingeniería Química. Fecha de Lectura: 08-04-2025Esta Tesis tiene embargado el acceso al texto completo hasta el 08-10-2026The increasing concentration of nitrate in groundwater and surface water is largely driven by anthropogenic activities, including the excessive use of nitrogen-rich fertilizers, intensive livestock farming, and industrial wastewater discharge. Nitrate presence in aquatic ecosystems poses significant risks to both the environment and human health. In this context, catalytic reduction and electrochemical reduction emerge as promising solutions for NO3- removal from water. This PhD dissertation contributes to the field by providing a critical review and presenting new proposals regarding the influence of operational variables and catalyst properties on the chemical reduction of nitrate in drinking and mineral waters. The second part of the dissertation explores the treatment of industrial wastewater with higher nitrate concentrations using techniques such as electrocatalytic reduction and catalytic chemical reduction. In the later, the reduction process involving hydrogen also aims to valorize nitrate into ammonium, with ammonia produced as a carrier for hydrogen. This approach enables the reuse of hydrogen generated as a reducing agent in the catalytic chemical reduction processLa realización del presente trabajo ha sido posible gracias al apoyo de la Agencia Estatal de Investigación Española (AEI, RTI2018-098431-BI00; PID2021-122248OB-I00; PRE-2019-088601), y de la Comunidad de Madrid (PEJ-2020-AI/AMB-17551