Novel wastewater treatment technologies recognised
16/05/2014 The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
The European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE) has announced Dr. Ignacio Sirés Sadornil as the latest winner of the Carl Wagner Medal of Excellence in Electrochemical Engineering for his exceptional research career in electrochemical wastewater treatment.Organic pollutants in wastewater streams can cause major problems for industry, such as pollution from dye residues presents a challenge for the textile industry. If left untreated, the wastewater can cause groundwater pollution and ruin farmland1.
Dr. Sirés, a senior researcher and lecturer at the University of Barcelona, won the award in recognition of his work on the development of effective and economical treatment technologies for wastewater contaminated with dye, pesticide and pharmaceutical residues.
Since starting his research career in the early 2000s, Sirés' work has focussed on the development of electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs) for water decontamination, in particular organic pollutant degradation. This new technology is based on electro-Fenton reaction chemistry.
Fenton chemistry refers to the oxidation of organic compounds by free radicals generated by the reaction of hydrogen peroxide with an iron catalyst. The work of Sirés has developed electro-Fenton processes, generating the hydrogen peroxide in situ by electrochemical reduction of oxygen.
Professor Manuel Rodrigo, Chair of the EFCE Working Party on Electrochemical Engineering, which nominates the medallists, says: "Dr. Sirés' research, on the development of novel electrochemical wastewater treatment technologies, has the potential to be scaled up and applied at full scale in industry.
"He has addressed the optimisation of technology in terms of cost, reactor design and developed a deeper understanding of advanced nanostructured electrode materials for organic pollutant degradation. This is the thinking that contributed to our decision to award the Carl Wagner Medal to Dr. Sirés."
Dr. Sirés, on winning the medal, said: "What a wonderful surprise, I feel really proud to receive such a prestigious award! It adds to the many experiences I have enjoyed with other researchers abroad, who have had a huge impact on my views of science and technology.
"Within my field, I am noticing increasing attention towards the engineering aspects of environmental electrochemistry, which may help us make even more progress. This makes me particularly happy because the interplay of both fields will demonstrate the great effectiveness and viability of electrochemical water treatment technology."
The Excellence award - comprising of a -‚¬1,250 cash prize and certificate - will be presented to Sirés at the 10th European Symposium on Electrochemical Engineering (ESEE) in Sardinia, Italy. The conference will take place on 28 September - 2 October 2014.
1 Clothing to dye for: the textile sector must confront water risks: www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/dyeing-textile-sector-water-risks-adidas
For more information, please contact:
Trish Regis
EFCE
Tel: +44 1788 534435
Email: pregis@icheme.org
Web: www.efce.org
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