Natural coagulants: analysis of potential use for drinking water treatment in developed and developing countries

[EN] Drinking water must be colorless, odorless and tasteless, and free of substances or micro-organisms that can cause disease. The process to obtain drinking water is purification, understood as the treatment to make water suitable for human consumption. Water purification is traditionally composed of a sequence of standard treatments including coagulation-flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection. Some compounds named coagulants are used for coagulation-flocculation, which is the stage in which the suspended matter is removed and the water is clarified. Coagulants are usually synthetic, therefore represent a high cost and are difficult to gets in some areas, especially in developing countries. In addition, their use is being revised and restricted in different international standards, in order to control or prohibit its use because of the possible hazard effects that the remains of these products in treated water can cause to people. In contrast to synthetic coagulants, there are several natural compounds with coagulation properties which have some advantages such as easy availability and safety. At present, scientific community is paying more attention to natural coagulants as legal restrictions to synthetic ones are becoming more severe. This paper is a review of natural coagulants as an alternative to chemical coagulants, in which their potential application in the treatment of drinking water is analysed.García-Fayos, B.; Arnal Arnal, JM.; Sancho, M. (2018). Natural coagulants: analysis of potential use for drinking water treatment in developed and developing countries. Desalination and Water Treatment. 103:307-314. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2018.22005S30731410

Tracking of learning level on design and safety skills in two core subjects of the chemical engineering degree at UPV

[EN] Chemical engineers develop their profession in areas in which design of processes and safety of installations, equipment and procedures designed are especially relevant due to the impact and consequences that a failure of these items represent. Therefore, curriculum of chemical engineers chemical engineering should include these disciplines as a valuable skill. In the Universitat Politècnica of València (UPV), design and safety competence training is worked in the curriculum of chemical engineering degree through several subjects. "Experimentation in Chemical Engineering III" (EIq3) from 3rd course, semester B and "Industrial Processes of Chemical Engineering" (PIIQ) from 4th course semester A, are core courses specially focussed on the development of several activities to work these skills. In EIq3 students design a production process to obtain oil from almond for cosmetic purposes. This design project includes: lab work to study and understand the stages of the production process and its performance, drawing of block and flow diagram of the process by using Autocad and recommendation of basic safety measures in the installation. In the following semester, students of PIIQ study different production processes and design a process to obtain olive oil. This design includes drawing of block and flow diagram of the full process, selection and justification of safety measures needed and its implementation in the installation through its drawing in the flow diagram. Safety is also strengthened through an activity of safety presentation about an item related to the installation that students should prepare and defense. This work collects and analyses the evolution of the learning level and its deepness into safety and design skills through the analysis of the results obtained along the several control points stablished in EIq3 and PIIQ courses. These control points are: deliverables of academic works at the beginning of EIq3, assessment of design project and written exam at the end of EIq3 and academic results at the end of PIIQ of several academic years. Progressive work along these two consecutive courses in safety and design skills have allowed to obtain a deeper degree of learning in these disciplines and better results in a medium term compared with the previous academic years in which these activities and methodology were not performed in both subjects.García-Fayos, B.; Sancho, M.; Arnal Arnal, JM. (2019). Tracking of learning level on design and safety skills in two core subjects of the chemical engineering degree at UPV. IATED. 6484-6491. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2019.1571S6484649

Development of a rubric for the evaluation of "design and project" competence in an experimental subject of chemical engineering degree

[EN] "Experimentation in Chemical Engineering III" is the last experimental core course of the Chemical Engineering Degree at the Universitat Politècnica València (UPV). It is a practical course of 4.5 ECTS which is taught in the 2nd semester of the 3rd year, in which students perform experimental sessions related to the subject "Separation Processes¿ taught in the previous semester. The subject has to work the competence "Design and Project", both in its specific and transversal approach. In order to develop suitably such competence, in 2016 it was requested an ¿Innovation and Education Improvement Project¿ (PIME), through the Institute of Education Sciences of the UPV, with the aim of integrate the Project Oriented Learning (POL) as the main methodology. The Project was implemented during the academic year 2017-2018 and the main objective was to perform experimental sessions to obtain data that would be used in the design project. Transition to POL methodology implied the design and development of new activities [1] and a change in the way that the evaluation was performed. The design project was the main learning product obtained and it is used to assess the development of the ¿Design and project¿ competence in the students. The tool used to evaluate the design project is a rubric. Rubric includes the evaluation criteria and their different levels of achievement and scoring, and allows a more homogeneous assessment by all the lecturers that evaluate the project. This paper describes the development process of the rubric and presents the final version which is currently used in the subject after two years of implementation that includes several changes made. This work will also describe the way that score of each item contributes to the final grade of the project and of the competence. The rubric presented can be applied to other subjects in which similar design projects would be performed, after adapting it to the particular context of each subject.Sancho, M.; García-Fayos, B.; Arnal Arnal, JM. (2019). Development of a rubric for the evaluation of "design and project" competence in an experimental subject of chemical engineering degree. IATED. 6395-6403. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2019.1552S6395640

Application of ultrafiltration for drinking water production in decentralised systems: 20 years of the AQUAPOT project

[EN] Access to drinking water is a basic human right which has become an international goal. However, despite the efforts made in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations, about 700 million people are still without access to an adequate source of drinking water in rural areas of developing countries, especially in Africa Sub-Saharan. The AQUAPOT project, developed by the "Instituto Universitario de Seguridad, Radiofisica y Medioambiental (ISIRYM)" of the "Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV)", both in Spain, has been focused research on the design, development and installation of decentralised drinking water systems as an alternative to existing water management systems in developing areas. AQUAPOT systems are based on ultrafiltration technology and have been successfully applied in different localities in Ecuador and Mozambique to produce safe drinking water for human consumption. The present paper describes the main actions carried out within the project AQUAPOT over the last 20 years. It describes the main features of the installed plants and the protocol to choose the best location; it also shows the main results achieved within the project, and discusses the lessons learned throughout the years in relation to the operation of the plants as well as the quality of the treated water.Arnal Arnal, JM.; García-Fayos, B.; Sancho, M. (2018). Application of ultrafiltration for drinking water production in decentralised systems: 20 years of the AQUAPOT project. Desalination and Water Treatment. 103:296-306. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2018.21989S29630610

Determination of the radon diffusion coefficient of thin polyethene and aluminium foils used as single or multilayer configuration barriers

[EN] Radon is a radioactive noble gas exhaled from the soil that can reach high concentrations in enclosed spaces. As elevated concentrations cause serious health problems, legislation has been put in place in many countries to regulate the limit concentration and even establish mitigation techniques. One of the most effective techniques for new buildings is the installation of radon barriers. The most important parameter determining whether the barrier is adequate to protect against radon is the diffusion coefficient, whose measurement methodology is standardized in ISO/TS 11665¿13:2017. This work applies a previously tested modification of this standard to calculate the radon diffusion coefficient of different materials used as single or multilayer form barriers. Given that there are wasted laminated materials, composed of polymeric materials and aluminium, which are difficult to recycle, a preliminary study of the possible effectiveness of these materials as radon barriers will be carried out using these materials separately or in combination. The materials to be tested are 10-¿m sheets of polyethene (PE) and 15-¿m sheets of aluminium (Al), testing in each case one, two and three layers of each material. In addition, combinations of the two materials, i.e., PE-Al-PE and PE-Al-PE-Al-PE, are also studied. The diffusion coefficients obtained vary around 2¿10-12 m2/s for PE and around 1¿10-13 m2/s in the case of Al. The combination of both materials improved results obtained for single-materials barriers giving a diffusion coefficient between 10-13 and 10-14 m2/s. Radon reductions achieved range from 70 to 87.5% for PE to more than 98% for Al and the materials combinations. The excellent radon shielding capacity of aluminium is observed, which grows with increasing material thickness. Furthermore, it can be stated that the use of multilayer materials of different nature is very effective in reducing the radon concentration reaching an enclosed space and the use of aluminium in some of the layers is essential to achieve a more significant shielding effect.This work is financed by the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council under the project 'Caracterización, exhalación y remediación de Radón en materiales de construcción (EXRADON). The authors would like to thank GDES for their collaboration during the research.Ruvira-Quintana, B.; García-Fayos, B.; Juste Vidal, BJ.; Arnal Arnal, JM.; Verdú Martín, GJ. (2022). Determination of the radon diffusion coefficient of thin polyethene and aluminium foils used as single or multilayer configuration barriers. Radiation Physics and Chemistry. 200:1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2022.1103291520

Preliminary design of d-pinitol production process from carob extract

[EN] D-pinitol is a cyclic polyalcohol, which has become increasingly important in recent years, especially in pharmacology, due to its interesting properties regarding the treatment of certain diseases, such as diabetes. This, in conjunction with the fact that its synthesis process has been proved to be too costly, means that it is a high value-added substance. It has been noted that its content in some plant species can be abundant; however, this is a field that has not yet been extensively developed. In this work, it is studied how to obtain it from a vegetal extract obtained from carob, after the removal of other major components such as sugars. The work proposes an extraction and purification process of D-pinitol obtaining, and describes the start-up of the process at laboratory scale, testing for it several experimental stages, such as biofermentation, liquid-liquid extractions, or thermal operations, among others. The optimal sequence of the different stages is also studied, along with other key parameters like inoculation rates, reaction timing, appropriate temperature range or the solvents¿ influence, comparing the effects of each parameter on the final product¿s characteristics.[ES] El D-pinitol es un polialcohol cíclico que ha ganado interés en los últimos años, especialmente en el sector farmacológico por sus propiedades para el tratamiento de ciertas enfermedades como la diabetes. Esto, junto con su costosa obtención por medio de síntesis, le confieren un elevado valor añadido. Se ha observado que su presencia en ciertas especies vegetales puede llegar a ser bastante importante, sin embargo, éste todavía es un campo que no ha sido desarrollado ampliamente. En este trabajo se estudia cómo llevar a cabo su obtención a partir de un extracto vegetal obtenido de la algarroba, tras la separación de otros componentes mayoritarios como los azúcares. En el trabajo se propone un proceso de extracción y purificación de D-pinitol, y se describe su puesta a punto a escala de laboratorio, probando para ello diversas etapas, como una biofermentación, extracciones líquido-líquido o procesos térmicos, entre otras. Se estudia además el orden óptimo de las operaciones, y otros parámetros característicos como tasas de inoculación y tiempos de reacción, rangos de temperatura de operación adecuados, o la influencia del disolvente, comparando el efecto de cada modificación con las características del producto final.Giménez García, I.; Arnal Arnal, JM.; Sancho, M.; García-Fayos, B. (2019). Diseño preliminar de un proceso de obtención de d-pinitol a partir del extracto de algarroba. AEIPRO. 778-790. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/181233S77879

Analysis of the application of Socrative as a tool for the learning improvement in a subject of Experimentation in Chemical Engineering

[EN] Experimentation in Chemical Engineering III is a compulsory subject of the third course, semester B of the Chemical Engineering Degree at the Universitat Politècnica de València. It is the last experimental subject of the degree, and the methodology applied is "Project Oriented Learning" (POL). Students carry out experimental sessions, obtaining data that they later use to design an industrial installation based on the laboratory equipment but at a large scale. The course is assesed through the design project and a laboratory report of each experimental session, which is corrected by the teacher and then used as study material for the exam. Although the development of the subject is satisfactory, the teachers do not know the level that the students have about the experiment to be developed at the beginning of the experimental session and, in most of the cases, mistakes or errors of interpretation that they have had during the practice are detected during correction of the report. Therefore, last year teachers decided to introduce the use of the Socrative tool to conduct surveys to students at the beginning and the end of each session, in order to have real-time feedback on the points that should be most emphasized during the practice, as well as the degree of improvement achieved after the session. Socrative allows to carry out surveys in a simple way through the mobile phone, and to know at the same time the results of the assessment. Thus, students know their mistakes in the test before starting the experimental session, which also is useful to them to assess their level about the topic to develop and pay attention to find out those questions asked in the test in which they have obtained worse results. This work describes the implementation of this teaching innovation in the laboratory, as well as the results obtained and the degree of improvement achieved by comparing the results at the beginning and end of each experimental session. Finally, it is analysed the usefulness of the innovation, as well as the necessary improvements to continue its application in the future academic courses.García-Fayos, B.; Sancho, M.; Arnal Arnal, JM.; Zuriaga Agusti, E.; López-Hernández, I. (2021). Analysis of the application of Socrative as a tool for the learning improvement in a subject of Experimentation in Chemical Engineering. IATED. 3727-3733. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2021.0773S3727373

Study of ultrasonically enhanced chemical cleaning of SWRO membranes at pilot plant scale

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Desalination and water treatment on 2017, available online: http://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2017.21312[EN] Fouling accumulated on reverse osmosis (RO) membranes during operation is one of the main problems affecting seawater desalination processes. This phenomenon causes a deterioration of the permselective properties of the membranes, which turns into a loss of performance of the process and costs increase. Conventionally, recovery of the process performance in desalination plants is carried out periodically by means of physical and chemical cleaning stages. However, conventional cleaning does not manage to recover completely the membrane properties and eventually can damage the membrane materials. New membrane cleaning techniques have been developed in order to improve this recovery. Ultrasound (US) radiation, which has shown to be an interesting technique during filtration since it avoids fouling deposition and allows to lengthen the period between cleaning stages, is proposed as an alternative technique to remove membrane fouling. This work investigates the effect of the combination of chemical cleaning methods and US application to clean a RO membrane from a desalination plant. The experiments performed were able to determine the best operating conditions to carry out the US cleaning protocol. Sodium hydroxide 2% w/v and sodium dodecyl sulphate 4% w/v solutions at 25 degrees C were used, as they showed the highest recovery of the membrane properties in the chemical cleaning tests. Results showed that cleaning by US had a positive effect on the membrane selectivity (increase by 15.2%), and a low significant effect on its permeability. The utilization of the chemical cleaning combined with US improved the permeate flux considerably, without modifying salt rejection index in a significant way. Among the two cleaning solutions tested, the best results in terms of permeability and selectivity of the cleaned membrane, were those obtained by the US procedure using NaOH 2% w/v cleaning solution at 25 degrees C.The authors wish to thank Abengoa Water, S.L. for the financial support given to this research, through the project "Cleaning and re-use of reverse osmosis membranes in desalination plants", which belongs to the CENIT-Tecoagua research project, funded as well by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.García-Fayos, B.; Arnal Arnal, JM.; Gimenez Anton, AC.; Alvarez Blanco, S.; Sancho, M. (2017). Study of ultrasonically enhanced chemical cleaning of SWRO membranes at pilot plant scale. Desalination and Water Treatment. 88:1-7. doi:10.5004/dwt.2017.20840S178

Análisis del aprendizaje en seguridad en una asignatura experimental de Ingeniería Química: Comparación de los resultados de la evaluación con la percepción de los estudiantes

[EN] Safety training is essential to strengthen a real culture of risk prevention which results in better work practices. In the field of Chemical Engineering, such training is even more important, because of the risks associated with handling of chemicals. However, the integration of risks’ prevention in the new curricula of Chemical Engineering degree is very variable, and in many cases insufficient because there is not any specific subject area or compulsory courses related to this topic. Therefore, the formation of students on safety should be performed as a cross-cutting issue across the curriculum. With such aim, the Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering of the “Universitat Politècnica València” raised an educational innovation project to incorporate the safety training through three experimental subjects in Chemical Engineering degree. After the implementation of the project, the learning of the students in safety was tracked. This work corresponds to the assessment of safety learning at the end of the 2nd experimental subject involved in the Project. To do that, the results achieved by the students in the academic work and at the evaluation exams are compared. These results are then compared with the perception of students about their own learning level, which was determined by means of surveys at the end of the course.[ES] La formación en Seguridad es esencial para consolidar una auténtica cultura de la prevención que repercuta en el ámbito laboral. En Ingeniería Química, dicha formación es aún más importante por los riesgos asociados a las sustancias químicas. Sin embargo, la formación en seguridad en los planes de estudio de Ingeniería Química es muy variable e insuficiente, pues no existe ninguna materia específica, ni asignaturas troncales al respecto. Así, la formación en Seguridad debe hacerse transversalmente a través de otras asignaturas. Con este objetivo, se planteó un Proyecto de Innovación Educativa para incorporar la formación en Seguridad a través de tres asignaturas experimentales en Ingeniería Química. Tras su implantación, se realizó un seguimiento del aprendizaje de los alumnos en seguridad. Este trabajo corresponde al análisis del aprendizaje realizado al final de la 2º asignatura experimental implicada en el Proyecto. Para ello, se analizaron los resultados alcanzados por los estudiantes en los trabajos académicos y en las pruebas de evaluación. En este trabajo, se comparan los resultados de dicho análisis con la percepción de los estudiantes de su propio grado de aprendizaje, determinada a partir de encuestas de valoración realizadas al finalizar la asignaturaSancho Fernández, MP.; García Fayos, B.; Arnal Arnal, JM. (2015). Análisis del aprendizaje en seguridad en una asignatura experimental de Ingeniería Química: Comparación de los resultados de la evaluación con la percepción de los estudiantes. En In-Red 2015 - CONGRESO NACIONAL DE INNOVACIÓN EDUCATIVA Y DE DOCENCIA EN RED. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/INRED2015.2015.1638OC

Lecciones aprendidas a partir de la experiencia de la aplicación del aprendizaje basado en proyectos en el Grado en Ingeniería Química de la UPV

[ES] El aprendizaje basado en proyectos (ABP) es una metodología docente consistente en proponer un proyecto con solución abierta que los alumnos deben resolver. Para ello, deben adquirir una mayor responsabilidad de su propio aprendizaje, reflexionando y adoptando decisiones en el grupo para resolver el proyecto. Con esta metodología se logra un aprendizaje integrador y el desarrollo de competencias tales como trabajo en grupo o gestión del tiempo, útiles en su profesión. Un grupo de profesores, llevamos desde el curso 2004-2005 aplicando esta metodología en asignaturas experimentales obligatorias de Ingeniería Química en la UPV a través del desarrollo de un proyecto de diseño. La implantación del EEES, supuso la adaptación del ABP para su desarrollo en la asignatura de Experimentación en Ingeniería Química III de Grado. Este trabajo relata el planteamiento para la implementación de esta metodología, así como las dificultades encontradas y las lecciones aprendidas, fruto de la experiencia adquirida en tres cursos académicos. Para ello, se analizarán los datos recogidos a través de encuestas anónimas realizadas a los alumnos, así como las conclusiones de las reuniones de “focus group” realizadas. Las conclusiones obtenidas servirán para mejorar la aplicación de esta metodología en los próximos cursos académicos y de guía para otras asignaturas de la titulaciónGarcía Fayos, B.; Sancho Fernández, MP.; Arnal Arnal, JM. (2020). Lecciones aprendidas a partir de la experiencia de la aplicación del aprendizaje basado en proyectos en el Grado en Ingeniería Química de la UPV. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 471-781. https://doi.org/10.4995/INN2019.2019.10067OCS47178