Biofiltration and biotrickling filter technologies for the treatment of industrial emissions contaminated with VOCs and odours are investigated. The operating parameters, mathematical modelling and microbiology of the process are studied on a laboratory, pilot and industrial scale.
Design and development of control systems for the primary sludge fermentation process, optimisation of volatile acid production, management of sludge streams to eliminate problems of uncontrolled struvite precipitation, aeration and nitrogen removal.
Fundamental and applied limnology: Dynamics and functioning of epicontinental aquatic ecosystems. Community structure and functional diversity. Assessment of environmental and conservation status. Microbial ecology in lentic ecosystems: Study of the composition and functionality of the microbial community by molecular techniques. Metagenomics. Metabarcoding and e-DNA Biogeochemistry and carbon balances in Mediterranean wetlands, fluxes of carbonate greenhouse gases. Effects of environmental properties and conservation status on the climate change mitigation capacity of lentic ecosystems. Ecotoxicology. Geographic information systems (GIS). Remote-sensing. Polar limnology.
The line studies the biosorption of heavy metals from industrial wastewater. The work focuses on the search and characterisation of waste materials for their use as biosorbents, in the study of the main operational parameters and mathematical modelling.
Development of mathematical models for sedimentation processes, primary sludge fermentation, two-stage nitrification, acid-base processes, precipitation processes, sulphurogenesis and filtration. The group has developed global models that incorporate the main physical, chemical and biological processes that take place in a WWTP, both in water and sludge lines. These models are: Biological Nutrient Removal Model No. 1 (BNRM1) and Biological Nutrient Removal Model No. 2 (BNRM2). The latter model is implemented in the DESASS software.
Development, both from a scientific and technology transfer point of view of membrane systems for the recovery of wastewater resources and for its reuse.
Design and development of efficient technologies for the valorisation of organic waste from different sources, such as urban wastewater, industrial wastewater, municipal solid waste, algal biomass, etc. Depending on the type of waste to be recovered, CALAGUA evaluates the viability of different anaerobic treatment systems, such as mesophilic or thermophilic anaerobic digesters, or anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR), as well as the combination of different anaerobic systems to transform existing WWTPs into nutrient, reclaimed water and energy factories.
Design and development, both from a scientific and technology transfer point of view, conducting pilot-scale experiments on microalgae cultures for the removal of nutrients from urban wastewater.
Development and application of analytical techniques aimed at the identification, detection, characterisation, quantification and behaviour of micropollutants in the water and sludge lines of current WWTPs, as well as in the new processes for the removal of organic matter (membrane reactors) and nutrients (microalgae cultivation). The presence of these micropollutants in the receiving natural environment is also studied, for which not only water samples are analysed, but also sediments and biota in contact with them. In this way, it is possible to monitor these substances in the receiving environment in order to evaluate the impact that their discharge causes in the aquatic environment.
Study and optimisation in the laboratory and pilot plant of advanced configurations for the biological removal of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) to prevent their discharge and the eutrophication of rivers, lakes and coasts. Study of phosphorus recovery systems in the form of struvite by crystallisation processes and nitrogen recovery processes by means of membrane contactors.
This line investigates photocatalytic oxidation for the treatment of VOC emissions and indoor air treatment applicable in solvent-using work environments. Different effective catalysts, reactor configurations and operating parameters are studied.
Characterisation of wastewater from different sources, as well as the different flows that define a WWTP (influent, effluent, sludge, recirculations, etc.), analysing both conventional pollutants (COD, BOD, ammonium, etc.) and micropollutants (pesticides, herbicides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, volatile organic compounds, TBT, etc.). Development of new measurement techniques, fine-tuning of measurement methodologies and development of procedures and protocols for the evaluation of data quality, guaranteeing the quality, repeatability and reproducibility of each measurement.
