Wastewater treatment by adsorption and/or ion-exchange processes for resource recovery

Nowadays, resource recovery is a trending topic following the circular economy schemes proposed by the European UnionPostprint (published version

Ionic behavior assessment of surface-active compounds from corn steep liquor by exchange resins

Depending on their ionic nature, biosurfactants can be classified as nonionic, anionic, cationic, or amphoteric. The ionic behavior of biosurfactants is an important characteristic that dictates their use in industrial applications. In this work, a biosurfactant extract obtained from corn steep liquor was subjected to anionic or cationic resins, in order to study the ionic behavior under different operational conditions using response surface methodology. The independent variables included in the study are the dilution of biosurfactant solution, the amount of cationic or anionic resin, and the extraction time, whereas the dependent variables studied consisted of the surface tension of biosurfactant aqueous solution, after contacting with anionic or cationic resin. The results showed that biosurfactant extracted from corn steep liquor is amphoteric, since both resins were able to entrap this biosurfactant, making it particularly suited for use in personal care preparations for sensitive skin.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Coagulation and flocculation optimization process applied to the sidestream of an urban wastewater treatment plant

Ammonium (NH4+) recirculation from the streams generated in the dehydration stage of the sludge generated in the anaerobic digestion of urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), known as centrate or sidestream, produces a reduction in the efficiency of WWTPs. Given this scenario and the formulation that a WWTP should be considered a by-product generating facility (biofactory), solutions for ammonia/ammonium recovery are being promoted. These include a nitrogen source that reduces the need for ammonia production through the Haber–Bosch process. Therefore, the recovery of nutrients from urban cycles is a potential and promising line of research. In the case of nitrogen, this has been aimed at recovering NH4+ to produce high-quality fertilizers through membrane or ion exchange processes. However, these techniques usually require a pretreatment, which could include an ultrafiltration stage, to eliminate suspended solids and organic matter. In this case, the coagulation/flocculation (C/F) process is an economical alternative for this purpose. In this work, the sidestream from Vilanova i la Geltrú WWTP (Barcelona, Spain) was characterized to optimize a C/F process before being treated by other processes for ammonium recovery. The optimization was performed considering a bibliographic and experimental analysis of several operating parameters: coagulant and flocculant agents, mixing velocity, and operation time, among others. Then, the removal efficiency of control parameters such as turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total suspended solids (TSS) was calculated. This optimization resulted in the use of 25 mg/L of ferric chloride (FeCl3) combined with 25 mg/L of a flocculant composed of silicon (SiO2 3%), aluminum (Al2SO4 64.5%), and iron salts (Fe2O3 32.5%), into a 1 min rapid mixing process at 200 rpm and a slow mixing for 30 min at 30 rpm, followed by a final 30 min settling process. The numerical and statistical results of the process optimization reached 91.5%, 59.1%, and 95.2% removal efficiency for turbidity, COD, and TSS, respectively. These efficiencies theoretically support the enhanced coagulation/flocculation process as a pretreatment for a higher NH4+ recovery rate, achieving 570.6 mgNH4+/L, and a reduction in the dimensioning or substitution of other membrane processes process due to its high TSS removal value.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Advanced hybrid system for ammonium valorization as liquid fertilizer from treated urban wastewaters: validation of natural zeolites pretreatment and liquid-liquid membrane contactors at pilot plant scale

This study evaluates a hybrid system combining zeolites as a sorption stage and a hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC) for ammonia (NH3) recovery from treated urban wastewater. Ion exchange with zeolites was selected as an advanced pretreatment and concentration step before the HFMC. The system was tested with wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent (mainstream, 50 mg N-NH4/L) and anaerobic digestion centrates (sidestream, 600–800 mg N-NH4/L) from another WWTP. Natural zeolite, primarily clinoptilolite, demonstrated effective desorption of retained ammonium using a 2% NaOH solution in a closed-loop configuration, resulting in an ammonia-rich brine that enabled over 95% NH3 recovery using polypropylene HFMCs. A 1 m3/h demonstration plant processed both urban wastewaters, which were pretreated by ultrafiltration, removing over 90% of suspended solids and 60–65% of COD. The 2% NaOH regeneration brines (2.4–5.6 g N-NH4/L) were treated in a closed-loop HFMC pilot system, producing 10–15% N streams with potential use as liquid fertilizers. The resulting ammonium nitrate was free of heavy metals and organic micropollutants, making it suitable for use as liquid fertilizer. This comprehensive N management solution for urban wastewater applications can contribute to local economies while achieving reduced N discharge and circularity goals.LIFE ENRICH | Ref. LIFE16 ENV/ES/000375Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. PID2020-114401RB-C21Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CTM2017-85346-RGeneralitat de Cataluña | Ref. 2017-SGR-312Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. RYC2021-030966-

Actividad práctica para el diseño industrial de procesos avanzados de separación basados en sistemas de membranas para el alumnado de Máster en Ingeniería Química

The use of a free-access commercial software called WAVE has been introduced as an improvement in a subject of the Chemical Engineering Master from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. By means of this software, students can design industrial plants, based on membrane technologies, for water treatment. The designed activity represents 5% of the global evaluation of the subject and allows students to get closer to the industrial reality by a case study.Postprint (published version

Industrial symbiosis between the winery and environmental industry through the Utilization of grape marc for water desalination containing copper(II)

A bioadsorbent formulated with a secondary raw material, consisting of grape marc, subjected to a bioxidize process and entrapped in calcium alginate beads, was used for the desalination of water containing copper(II) sulfate. Experiments were established under different experimental conditions varying the concentration of contaminant, the amount of bioadsorbent, and the extraction time through response surface methodology. The most significant variable in the removal of copper(II) sulfate was the amount of bioadsorbent employed, followed by the extraction time; whereas, the adsorbent capacity was more influenced by the amount of contaminant and the amount of bioadsorbent used. At the highest concentration of copper(II) sulfate (0.15 mol/L), the equations obtained predict that the bioadsorbent has a capacity of 2785 mg/g and produces a copper(II) removal about 43% using low adsorbent/water ratios, 1:10 (v/v), and maximum extraction times; whereas, it would remove 97.2% of copper(II) sulfate in 5 min, using adsorbent/water ratios close to 1:2 (v/v), with capacity values, in this case, around 1800 mg/g. The encapsulation of the bioxidize adsorbent increased its capacity to 30% and allowed the precipitation of sulfate ions as calcium sulfate. The results obtained in this work could presume advances for promoting the industrial symbiosis between winery and environmental industries.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Potential use of composts and vermicomposts as low-cost adsorbents for dye removal: an overlooked application

The use of composts and vermicomposts as adsorbents is an important topic of study in the field of environmental remediation. These materials are rich in organic matter and have functional groups that can interact with organic and inorganic compounds. They also contain microorganisms that can promote biodegradation of organic substances. Composts that cannot be used for agronomic purposes (owing to e.g. low nutrient levels or phytotoxicity) may be valuable for soil remediation or pollutant removal. In this review, we discuss papers on this topic, with the objective of drawing attention to the potential use of composts/vermicomposts and to recommend further investigation on this subject. Few published studies have investigated the use of composts/vermicomposts to remove dyes and other coloured compounds. However, preliminary results show that these materials are potentially good adsorbents, at least comparable to other low-cost adsorbents, and that, in general, basic dyes are more efficiently removed than direct, reactive or acid dyes. The results of the works reviewed also show that dye removal takes place by adsorption mechanisms, in most studies following a Langmuir model, and that the kinetics of removal are fast and follow a pseudo-second order model. However, there remain several uncertainties regarding this application. For example, very few dyes have been studied so far, and little is known about the influence of the properties of composts/vermicomposts on the dye removal process. Moreover, the possible use of compost/vermicompost to enhance biodegradation processes has not been explored. All these questions should be addressed in future research.Postprint (author's final draft

Las prácticas en Química como herramienta de motivación en grados de Ingeniería

Chemistry, which is obligatory, is a subject on the curriculum of different engineering degrees at the Escola d'Enginyeria Barcelona Est. This communication focuses on the practical part of the subject as a tool to motivate students who do not belong to Chemical Engineering degrees. The subject experimentation represents 12% of the time spent in attendance. After the evaluation of the experimental work, the percentage of students who passed was greater than 95.5%.Postprint (published version

Identification and characterization of phenolic compounds extracted from barley husks by LC-MS and antioxidant activity in vitro

Postprint (author's final draft

Potential of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis processes for the recovery of high-concentrated furfural streams

Furfural is an interesting compound that can be produced from renewable and sustainable resources and is used in platform chemicals for the synthesis of biofuels and other chemicals. However, a recovery step is required to separate furfural from lignocellulosic hydrolysates when cellulose-based raw materials are used. In this work, nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) processes have been evaluated to purify or concentrate synthetic furfural solutions.Postprint (author's final draft