EPrints IMDEA Water Institute
Not a member yet
1133 research outputs found
Sort by
Using solar disinfected water: On the bacterial regrowth over 1-week of water usage including direct intake after sun exposure and long-term dark storage
No full textDesalination and concentration of saline aqueous solutions up to supersaturation by air gap membrane distillation and crystallization fouling
No full textThe possibility to concentrate synthetic brines (65 g/L of NaCl) above the saturation concentration of NaCl at different feed inlet temperatures up to 355 K is studied, using the AGMD configuration and two different polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes, TF200 and TF450. A good quality distillate (99.89%) were achieved when treating high saline aqueous solutions. When applying the highest feed inlet temperature, 355 K, better AGMD results were observed, permeate flux of 23.84 +/- 0.09 kg/m(2) h and 46.50 +/- 0.21 kg/m(2) h with a thermal efficiency of 80.97% and 96.06%, for the membranes TF200 and TF450, respectively. Once the saturation limit of NaCl was overpassed, crystallization fouling occurs by blocking or wetting the membrane pores due to the continued deposition and growth of salt crystals on the membrane surface and inside the membrane pores. Membrane properties changed with crystallization fouling and reduced the thermal efficiency of the AGMD process. When using NaCl aqueous solutions, a simple washing with water is enough to partially recover the initial properties of the membrane
The origin and evolution of assessment criteria for persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
No full textBioelectrochemically-assisted Remediation: a Novel Strategy for Cleaning-up Polluted Soils
No full textLa biodegradación electroquímicamente asistida supone una nueva herramienta en la degradación de compuestos contaminantes presentes en el suelo. Esta aplicación deriva del concepto de Celda de Combustible Microbiana Sedimentaria (CCMS), en donde el ánodo que se encuentra situado en un suelo bajo condiciones anaerobias se conecta al cátodo situado en una superficie de agua dando lugar a un circuito eléctrico entre ambos electrodos. La novedad de esta técnica recae en el carácter ilimitado que tiene el electrodo del suelo (ánodo) como aceptor final de electrones, lo que permite a los microorganismos llevar a cabo la oxidación metabólica independientemente de las condiciones naturales del suelo. El objetivo principal de este trabajo de tesis es evaluar a través de ensayos de laboratorio, la aplicación de las CCMS en sistemas con suelo, así como sus limitaciones para ser usadas como herramienta alternativa para la biodegradación. La tesis queda estructurada en 7 capítulos. El primero corresponde a la introducción y la descripción del estado de arte de la tecnología. El segundo capítulo marca los objetivos específicos del trabajo de tesis y define el marco global de la misma. La parte estrictamente experimental se desarrolla entre los capítulos 3 y 6 en donde se analiza: la influencia de la estructura de un suelo en la eficiencia de los sistemas aplicados, la aplicación de estos dispositivos en la biorrecuperación de suelos contaminados, así como el seguimiento del proceso de mineralización del contaminante inicial sometido a distintos tratamientos y diferentes configuración de electrodos, y el desarrollo de un nuevo diseño alejado de los convencionalismos que permite su aplicación en cualquier lugar remoto en ausencia de superficies de agua sobre suelos contaminados. El capítulo 7 presenta una discusión y unas conclusiones generales del trabajo de tesis, así como una serie de perspectivas de futuro. Las consideraciones generales se presentan a modo de pregunta-respuesta. El notable impacto de los electrodos en la biodegradación, sugiere un futuro prometedor para esta tecnología ambiental emergente. De este modo, este trabajo sostiene la idea de que esta nueva estrategia para la limpieza de suelos contaminados podría representar una buena alternativ respecto a las técnicas convencionales de biodegradación. Este novedoso campo de investigación muestra un amplio espectro de posibilidades para su futura aplicación en ambientes reales
From Naples 1963 to Rome 2013 – A brief review of how the International Research Group on Ostracoda (IRGO) developed as a social communication system
No full textThe 1st International Symposium on Ostracoda (ISO) was held in Naples (1963). The philosophy behind this symposium and the logical outcome of what is now known as the International Research Group on Ostracoda (IRGO) is here reviewed, namely ostracodology over the last 50 years is sociologically analysed. Three different and important historic moments for the scientific achievements of this domain are recognised. The first one, between about 1963-1983, is related to applied research for the oil industry as well as to the great interest in the better description of the marine environment by both zoologists and palaeontologists. Another important aspect during this period was the work by researchers dealing with Palaeozoic ostracods, who had their own discussion group, IRGPO. Gradually, the merger of this latter group with those dealing with post-Palaeozoic ostracods at various meetings improved communication between the two groups of specialists. A second period was approximately delineated between 1983 and 2003. During this time-slice, more emphasis
was addressed to environmental research with topics such as the study of global events and long-term climate change. Ostracodologists profited also from the research “politics” within national and international programmes. Large international research teams emerged using new research methods. During the third period (2003-2013), communication and collaborative research reached a global dimension. Amongst the topics of research we cite the reconstruction of palaeoclimate using transfer functions, the building of large datasets of ostracod distributions for regional and intercontinental studies, and the implementation of actions that should lead to taxonomic harmonisation. Projects within which molecular biological techniques are routinely used, combined with sophisticated morphological information, expanded now in their importance. The documentation of the ostracod description improved through new techniques to visualise morphological details, which
stimulated also communication between ostracodologists. Efforts of making available ostracod information through newsletters and electronic media are evoked
Aplicaciones de la geomática en el estudio del patrimonio del agua
No full textEl objetivo perseguido no es una presentación exhaustiva de los avances y estudios en ambas ramas de desarrollo de los estudios espaciales, sino dar algunos ejemplos de las posibilidades de su aplicación. El tema monográfico que presenta el número tres de Cuadernos de Geomática se centra en cuatro aspectos generales de la aplicación de la Geomática en los recursos patrimoniales del agua:
• La incorporación de información obtenida en fuentes cartográficas históricas para la construcción de Infraestructuras de Datos Espaciales Temáticas sobre el patrimonio del agua.
• El potencial de los vuelos virtuales para la mayor y mejor difusión y conocimiento de nuestro patrimonio.
• El análisis temporal del paisaje, basado en la evaluación de la dinámica de los cambios de usos del suelo y su impacto en el régimen hídrico de los suelos.
• La necesidad de saber el grado de precisión de las fuentes cartográficas históricas para su mejor aprovechamiento a la hora de obtener información sobre el patrimonio, en general, y del agua, en particular
Influence of water matrix on copper-catalysed continuous ozonation and related ecotoxicity
No full textTransformation of end-of-life RO membranes into NF and UF membranes: Evaluation of membrane performance
No full textEconomic and environmental concerns demand the recycling and reuse of fouled, end-of-life, reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. Different dry stored coupons of commercial TM720-400 membranes were subjected to the chemical attack of NaOCl (124 ppm free chlorine), acetone solution (10,000 ppm) or N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone solution (10,000 ppm). The best permeability results were achieved with NaOCl solution and consequently it was used as the key reagent for further analysis. The effect of pH and membrane storage on the transformation process was evaluated. Membrane permeability and rejection coefficients were tested filtering synthetic brackish water containing NaCl (2,000 ppm), MgSO4 (2,000 ppm) and dextrose (250 ppm). The basic pH showed the highest effect on the membranes performance therefore, experiments were carried out up to 410 h exposure time. The transforming process was repeated for five different commercial membrane brands, stored wet. Most of the transformed membranes achieved permeability and rejection like nanofiltration (NF) membranes up to 50 h exposure time and performed like ultrafiltration (UF) membranes after 242 h exposure time. It was observed that permeability and rejection coefficients were affected by the storage condition. This treatment may provide a cost effective and eco-friendly method of recycling end-of-life RO membrane process, at lab scale
