Seminar: Chemistry and Biotechnology | October 27 | 4.00 p.m.-5.00 p.m. | Room 8.2.38
Esperanza Romero Taboada, Senior Scientific Researcher, Department of Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Estación Experimental de Zaidín-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (EEZ-CSIC), Granada, Spain
Innovative Technologies for Removing Emerging Contaminants from Water and Valorizing Agroindustry Biomass Wastes
Host: Ana S. Mestre
Water pollution is a major global environmental concern that has worsened in recent years due to various factors, such as the presence of emerging contaminants (ECs) in water resources, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, etc. This problem, together with the sustainable management of biomass waste, are two issues of major social, environmental, and economic impact. Currently, over 80% of wastewater is discharged without adequate treatment, and even treated wastewater in water treatment plants still contains traces of these compounds. There is therefore a strong interest in developing cost-effective biotechnology strategies and tools to address both problems, contributing to the promotion of a circular economy. In this seminar, various technologies will be presented for the removal of contaminants, namely pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products (PPCPs), through the valorisation of organic waste using biological methods such as vermicomposting1,2 and their application in new water decontamination biotechnologies, such as biopurification systems3-6. Cost-effective and affordable technologies to enhance the biodegradation of contaminants in various environments, such as bioaugmentation7 with microbial extracts8,9, will also be introduced. Finally, preliminary results in the valorisation of agro-industrial residual biomass using thermochemical methods as precursors for adsorbent materials, such as hydrochar and biochar, for contaminants’ removal in water will be shared10.
1. Castillo, M., Romero, E., Nogales, R. Dynamics of microbial communities related to biochemical parameters during vermicomposting and maturation of agroindustrial lignocellulose wastes. Bioresour. Technol. 2013,146, 345-354.
2. Castillo, J.M., Nogales, R., Romero, E. Biodegradation of 3,4 dichloroaniline by fungal isolated from the preconditioning phase of winery wastes subjected to vermicomposting. J Hazard Mater. 2014, 267, 119-27.
3. Delgado-Moreno, L., Nogales, R., Romero, E. Wastes from the olive oil production in sustainable bioremediation systems to prevent pesticides water contamination. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2017, 14, 2471–2484.
4. Delgado-Moreno, L., Bazhari, S., Nogales, R., Romero, E. Innovative application of biobed bioremediation systems to remove emerging contaminants: Adsorption, degradation and bioaccesibility. Sci. Total Environ. 2019, 651, 990–997.
5. Aguilar-Romero, I., Romero, E., Wittich, R.-M., van Dillewijn, P. Bacterial ecotoxicity and shifts in bacterial communities associated with the removal of ibuprofen, diclofenac and triclosan in biopurification systems. Sci. Total Environ. 2020, 741, 140461.
6. Delgado-Moreno, L., van Dillewijn, P., Nogales, R., Romero, E., 2021 Straw based biopurification systems to remove ibuprofen, diclofenac and triclosan from wastewaters: Dominant microbial communities. Agronomy, 11, 1507.
7. Castillo Diaz, J.M., Delgado-Moreno, L., Núñez, R., Nogales, R., Romero, E. Enhancing pesticide degradation using indigenous microorganisms isolated under high pesticide load in bioremediation systems with vermicomposts. Bioresour. Technol. 2016, 214, 234–241.
8. Aguilar-Romero, I., van Dillewijn, P., Nesme, J., Sørensen, S.J., Romero, E. Improvement of pesticide removal in contaminated media using aqueous extracts from contaminated biopurification systems. Sci. Total Environ. 2019, 691, 749–759.
9. Aguilar-Romero, I., van Dillewijn, P., Nesme, J., Sørensen, S.J., Nogales R., Delgado-Moreno, L., Romero, E.. A novel and affordable bioaugmentation strategy with microbial extracts to accelerate the biodegradation of emerging contaminants in different media. Sci. Total Environ. 2022, 834, 155254.
10. Delgado-Moreno, L., Bazhari, S., Gasco, G., Méndez, A., El Azzouzi, M., Romero, E. New insight on the removal efficiencies of emerging contaminants by biochars and hydrochars from olive oil wastes. Sci. Total Environ. 2021, 752, 141838.