CALAGUA Unidad Mixta UV-UPV estudia una alternativa al tratamiento convencional para la eliminación de nutrientes basada en el cultivo de microalgas en fotobiorreactores y su separación del efluente mediante procesos de membrana (fotobiorreactores de membrana o MPBR). La utilización de membranas permite obtener un agua de elevada calidad y susceptible de ser reutilizada.
Por otra parte, el cultivo de microalgas, además de eliminar los nutrientes del agua utilizando como fuente de energía la luz solar, es capaz de fijar CO2 atmosférico, con el beneficio medioambiental que ello conlleva.
A su vez, la biomasa de microalgas generada puede ser valorizada energéticamente mediante digestión anaerobia. Además, la eliminación de nutrientes mediante el cultivo de microalgas y la recirculación de éstas a un sistema de digestión anaerobia provoca un enriquecimiento en nitrógeno y fósforo del fango generado en dicho sistema, incrementando su valor agronómico como enmienda orgánica.
En consecuencia, la integración en EDAR de procesos anaerobios y de cultivo de microalgas supone la recuperación de los nutrientes del agua y la generación de energía en forma de biogás. Uno de los puntos principales de esta área de investigación consiste en verificar que la cantidad de biogás generado permite compensar los costes energéticos del proceso, principalmente agitación y filtración.
Papers
Aparicio, S., Serna-García, R., Seco, A., Ferrer, J., Borrás Falomir, L., Robles, A. (2021) Global sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of a microalgae model for wastewater treatment. Science of The Total Environment 806, 150504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150504
González-Camejo, J., Robles, A., Seco, A., Ferrer, J., Ruano, MV. (2020) On-line monitoring of photosynthetic activity based on pH data to assess microalgae cultivation. Journal of Environmental Management 172, 115499
Zamorano Lopez N, Borrás L, Gimenez JB, Seco A, Aguado D (2019) Acclimatised rumen culture for raw microalgae conversion into biogas: Linking microbial community structure and operational parameters in anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR). Bioresource Technology 290, 121787
Noriega-Hevia, G., Serralta, J., Borrás, L., Seco, A., Ferrer, J. (2020) Nitrogen recovery using a membrane contactor : Modelling nitrogen and pH evolution. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 8, 103880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2020.103880
González-Camejo J, Barat R, Aguado D, and Ferrer J. (2020) Continuous 3-year outdoor operation of a flat-panel membrane photobioreactor to treat effluent from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor.Water Research 169, 115238 - 115250. ISSN 0043-1354. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watr
R Temino-Boes, I Romero, M Pachés, R Martinez-Guijarro, R Romero-Lopez. 2019. Anthropogenic impact on nitrification dynamics in coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin 145, 14–22
Paches M, Aguado D, Martínez-Guijarro R, Romero I. 2019. Long-term study of seasonal changes in phytoplankton community structure in the western Mediterranean (Valencian Community). Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Pachés M, Romero I, Martí C, Martínez-Guijarro R. 2012. Desarrollo de un Índice multimétrico de Calidad Ecológica para la Directiva Marco del Agua basado en el fitoplancton y su relación con la presión antrópica. Costas. Revista Iberoamericana de manejo costero integrado 1: 157-164.
Pachés M, Romero I, Hermosilla Z, Martínez-Guijarro R. 2012. PHYMED: An ecological classification system for the Water Framework Directive based on phytoplankton community composition.Ecological Indicators 19 15–23.
Seco A, Mateo O, Zamorano-López N, Sanchis-Perucho P, Serralta J, Martí N, Borrás L, Ferrer J. (2018) Exploring the limits of anaerobic biodegradability of urban wastewater by AnMBR technology. Environmental Science-Water Research & Technology 4,1877-1887.
Robles Martínez, A; Capson-Tojo G; Ruano García, MV; Seco Torrecillas, A; Ferrer, J. (2018) Real-time optimization of the key filtration parameters in an AnMBR: Urban wastewater mono-digestion vs. co-digestion with domestic food waste. Waste Management (8) 299-309ru.
Greses-Huerta, S; Zamorano -López, N; Borrás Falomir, L; Ferrer, J; Seco Torrecillas, A; Aguado García, D (2018) Effect of long residence time and high temperature over anaerobic biodegradation of Scenedesmus microalgae grown in wastewater. Journal of Environmental Management (218) 425 - 434.
Abargues MR, Giménez JB, Ferrer J, Bouzas A, Seco A. (2018) Endocrine disrupter compounds removal in wastewater using microalgae: Degradation kinetics assessment. Chemical Engineering Journal, 334, 313 - 321
Martínez-Guijarro MR, Pachés M, Ferrer J and Seco A. (2018) Model performance of partial least squares in utilizing the visible spectroscopy data for estimation of algal biomass in a photobioreactor. Environmental Technology & Innovation (1)122 - 131.
Nagy BJ, Makó M, Erdély I, Ramirez A, Moncada J, Vural Gursel I, Ruiz-Martinez A, Seco A, Ferrer J, Abiusi F, Reith H, van den Broek LAM, Seira J, Garcia-Bernet D, Steyer JP, Gyalai-Korpos M (2018) MAB2.0 project: Integrating algae production into wastewater treatment.The Eurobiotech Journal, 2 (1), 10 - 23.
Gimenez, J.B., Aguado, D., Bouzas, A., Ferrer, J., Seco, A.. Use of rumen microorganisms to boost the anaerobic biodegradability of microalgae. Algal Research-Biomass Biofuels and Bioproducts. 2017
Ruiz-Martinez, A., Serralta, J., Seco, A., Ferrer, J. (2016) Modeling light and temperature influence on ammonium removal by Scenedesmus sp under outdoor conditions. Water Science and Technology 74, 1964-1970
Viruela, A., Murgui, M., Gómez-Gil, T., Durán, F., Robles, Á , Ruano, M.V., Ferrer, J., Seco, A. Water resource recovery by means of microalgae cultivation in outdoor photobioreactors using the effluent from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor fed with pre-treated sewage. Bioresource Technology. 2016
Souza, FL., Cotillas, S., Saez, C., Canizares, P., Lanza, MRV., Seco, A., Rodrigo, MA. . Removal of algae from biological cultures: a challenge for electrocoagulation?. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology. 2016
Ruiz-Martinez, A., Serralta, J., Seco, A., Ferrer, J. (2016) Behavior of mixed Chlorophyceae cultures under prolonged dark exposure. Respiration rate modeling. Ecological Engineering 91, 265-269. 2016
A. Ruiz-Martinez, J. Serralta, A. Seco, J Ferrer. 2015. Effect of temperature on ammonium removal in Scenedesmus sp. Bioresource Technology 191, 346-349.
M. Reyes; L. Borrás; A. Seco; J. Ferrer (2015) Identification and quantification of microbial populations in activated sludge and anaerobic digestion processes. Environmental Technology. ISSN:0959-3330
A. Ruiz-Martínez, J. Serralta, I. Romero, A. Seco, J. Ferrer (2015) Effect of intracellular P content on phosphate removal in Scenedesmus sp. Experimental study and kinetic expression. Bioresource Technology 175, 325-332. ISSN:0960-8524
A. Ruiz-Martínez, J. Serralta, M. Pachés, A. Seco, J. Ferrer. (2014) Mixed microalgae culture for ammonium removal in the absence of phosphorus: Effect of phosphorus supplementation and process modeling. Process Biochemistry 49 (12), 2249-2257. ISSN:1359-5113.
M.R. Abargues; J. Ferrer; A. Bouzas; A Seco. Removal and fate of endocrine disruptors chemicals under lab-scale postreatment stage. Removal assessment using light, oxygen and microalgae Bioresource Technology. 2013. ISSN:0960-8524
Remedios Martínez-Guijarro, Inmaculada Romero, Maria Pachés, Carmen M. Martí & José Ferrer. Chlorophyll a, nutrients and phytoplanktonic community in a continental ecosystem highly influenced by marine waters. Journal Of Experimental Marine Biology And Ecology. 2013
Inmaculada Romero, Maria Pachés, Remedios Martínez-Guijarro, José Ferrer. Glophymed: An index to establish the ecological status for the Water Framework Directive based on phytoplankton in coastal waters. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 2013
Paches, M.; Romero, I.; Martínez-Guijarro, R.; Martí, CM.; Ferrer, J.;. Changes in phytoplankton composition in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon in the Cullera Estany (Comunitat Valenciana, Spain). Water and Environment Journal . 2012
A. Ruiz-Martinez, N. Martin Garcia, A. Seco and J. Ferrer (2012) Microalgae cultivation in wastewater: Nutrient removal from anaerobic membrane bioreactor effluent. Bioresource Technology 126, 247-253. ISSN:0960-8524
ANDREJ ABRAMIC, JULIO GONZALEZ DEL RIO, NIEVES MARTINEZ-ALZAMORA, JOSE FERRER. Evaluation of the possibility for phytoplankton monitoring frequency reduction in the coastal water of the Community of Valencia, in the scope of the Water Framework Directive Marine. Pollution Bulletin. 2012
R. Martínez-Guijarro, I. Romero, M. Pachés, J. G. del Río, C.M. Martí, G. Gil, A. Ferrer-Riquelme, J. Ferrer. Determination of phytoplankton composition using absorption spectra. TALANTA. 2009. ISSN:0039-9140
Tesis
Ana Ruiz Martínez. Nutrient removal from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor effluent using microalgae. Study and modeling of the process. Directores: J. Ferrer Polo and A. Seco Torrecillas. Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Año: 2015. Calificación: Excellent cum Laude and International doctorate