Dra. Yeber-Ortiz, Maria

Arsenic (III) is a common by product of mining activity. This contaminant can have a high environmental impact because it might accumulate in the food chain and seriously affect human health. The purpose of this study is to develop a method to remove arsenic (III) using the photo catalyst TiO2-N activated by visible light. The catalyst TiO2 Degussa P-25 was doped with nitrogen in order to narrow the energy gap and to work with radiation in the visible range. A multi variable approach was used in order to optimize the removal of arsenic, varying the concentration of the catalyst and the pH, maintaining the initial concentration of As (III) in 3 mg L–1. Two optima were determined, in one of which As (III) was reduced by 96.7% at pH 2, and in the other As was reduced by 80% at pH 7. Furthermore, the toxicity of the As (III) solutions was determined using Daphnia magna before and after the photochemical treatment. Mortality in the initial concentration was 87%. After the treatment at pH 2.0, a significant reduction in toxicity was recorded, with a mortality of only 30%.

Dyes used in the textile industry have varied and complex structures are designed to resist degradation by external agents. Most are water soluble, resistant to chemical agents and not biodegradable, so they cannot be easily removed by wastewater treatment plants. Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR) is one of the most important colorants in the textile industry, and it is frequently used as a starting material in the production of polymer dyes. This work studied the degradation of a textile dye by a heterogeneous photocatalysis process, using a titanium dioxide catalyst doped with nitrogen from urea, in the presence of visible light irradiation. For the optimization of the process a Box-Benhken experimental design was performed. Where, the TiO 2 was varied from 0.1 gL ⁻¹ (-1) to 1.0 gL ⁻¹ (+1), and the pH between 2.0 (-1) to 11(+1). With the optimal response it was possible to remove 86.3% of the dye (R ² = 0.987 and Q ² = 0.873, p < 0.001). The mineralization grade was determined through TOC analysis, which reached 50%, and the toxicity was evaluated with Daphnia magna nematodes, which was reduced considerably after photocatalytic treatment.

The possibility of using electrocoagulation for efficient removal of pollutants in the industrial liquid waste of a textile industry was studied. The performance of the process was evaluated through the analysis of color, turbidity, and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The analysis was first done with the wastewater coming from the process of dyeing linen, which is the most polluting of all effluents that reach the residual effluent pool (REP). For the analysis, the MODDE 7.0 software was used to construct a statistical model. With the results obtained from this model and the experimental measurements, response surfaces were obtained. These response surfaces predicted the behavior of electrocoagulation for different values of the studied variables (pH, current density, and treatment time). Based on the obtained results, the wastewater coming from the REP was treated using the optimum values for the operational variables. After the treatment it was possible to remove 86% color, 82% turbidity, and 59% COD. It was demonstrated that reusing the treated water in the process of wool dyeing does not have a negative effect on the quality of the dyed fabric. Thus, it is possible to implement the process in the textile industry to reduce the consumption of water.

This study aimed to improve the sustainability of the kraft pulp production process by recovering Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus grandis wastewater generated during the bleaching process. The effluents were obtained from the first alkaline extraction stage (E0) of the ECF bleaching sequence used to produce white Kraft cellulose, considering that this stage is where the highest contamination by phenolic compounds occurs and the effluent exhibits an intense color. A photochemical oxidation system, utilizing TiO2/S2O82-/UV, was implemented to generate in situ two highly oxidizing radical species, with high redox potential, a hydroxyl radical (HO• 2.8 eV ) and a sulfate radical (SO4•- 2.5-3.1 eV), which promote rapid degradation of contaminants. To obtain the optimal response, we employed the 2n model to construct a matrix of 15 experiments, utilizing the Box-Behnken design. According to the experimental variables studied, phenolic compounds were completely removed from the Eucalyptus effluent (0.0312 min-1) and 80% of them were removed from the pine effluent (0.0102 min-1), at pH 5.0 with 0.6 gL-1 of persulfate and 1.0 gL-1 of titanium dioxide. Under these conditions, the bioavailability of effluents from Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus grandis increases from 0.16 and 0.26 to 0.90, after the treatment. The excellent bioavailability of the effluents obtained after the treatment demonstrates that the process used is efficient in recovering wastewater from the pulp industry and that the treated water could be reused in the same process or returned to the ecosystem, without harming the environment.