Environmental
The Environmental Engineering Area leads several projects on the synthesis, characterization, processing, modification, improvement and design of innovative materials and processes that address environmental and public health problems related to water and solid waste management.
The Department’s researchers have developed innovative water treatment processes, such as solar distillation and disinfection. They have also developed constructed wetlands for the removal of arsenic, and other innovative processes for the removal of fluoride and arsenic from drinking water.
Research Areas:
- • Solar desalination
- • Monitoring and removal of arsenic and fluoride from drinking water
- • Heterogeneous photocatalysis
- • Phytoremediation
Ongoing projects:
- Drinking water: Technical feasibility analysis of the use of nanomaterials in drinking water treatment processes (arsenic and fluoride removal).
- Solar Photocatalysis: Development of treatment process for water disinfection and arsenic removal.
- Phytoremediation: Identification and characterization of plants that bioaccumulate metals and metalloids, for use in constructed wetlands to phytoremediate water and contaminated sites.
- Solar Energy: Specific applications in the water treatment processes.
- Energy from Waste: Methods generating energy from wastewater treatment sludge, and from urban and agro-industrial solid waste.
