Environmental Physical Chemistry Laboratory

Our research group covers a broad range of issues related to Environmental Physical Chemistry. Among them:

Water and wastewater treatment aspects: removal of pollutants, photodegradation and photocatalysis, removal of suspended particles in water and industrial effluents (winery, olive mill, cowshed, dairy). 

• Clay-organic interactions: analytical aspects and/or applications of organoclays or clay-polymer nanocomposites. 
• Thermodynamic and kinetics in sorption and desorption processes, including several and extended theoretical aspects. Emphasis on adsorption/desorption model to charged and neutral surfaces, and kinetic calculations.
• Stabilization and catalyzed degradation of chemicals on colloidal surfaces. Photostabilization, photodegradation, photocatalysis and metachromasy
• Development of adsorption and filtration techniques, including regeneration of the sorbent.
• Micrometeorological and other aspects of particulate pollutants in air.
• Educational applications of aquatic environmental chemistry techniques, and other physical chemistry aspects.
• Additional applications of clays, organoclays and nanocomposites as slow-release or "target delivery" platforms (pesticides, fragrance, fertilizers, proteins, medications, etc.).
• Development of analytical spectroscopy-based techniques.
• Cooperation with other discipline teams: research on slow release of vaccines, adsorption of fats, oils and cholesterol, precise agriculture,  irrigation and fertilizing, spectroscopic analysis for agriculture, educational demonstrations, etc.