Turning waste into solutions: innovative adsorbents from glycerol and brewer´s spent grain for the removal of nitrate and phosphate from domestic effluents

• Grant number: 24/17146-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Wagner Alves Carvalho
• Grantee: Letícia Ferreira Lima Machado
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/17516-1 - Production of Selective Adsorbents for the Removal of Nutrients from Sewage Treatment Effluents with the Perspective of Reuse as Biofertilizer, AP.R

Abstract

Nitrogen and phosphorus are essential elements for life and are widely used in agriculture. However, the excess of these nutrients, combined with agricultural and urban runoff, domestic sewage, and industrial effluents, causes serious environmental problems, such as eutrophication, which compromises water quality and biodiversity. In light of the need to mitigate these environmental impacts, this project aims to develop new adsorbents effective for the simultaneous removal of nitrate and phosphate, from agroindustrial residues such as glycerol and brewer's spent grain. To achieve this, different synthesis methodologies will be investigated to optimize the adsorbents in terms of textural and functional properties through the incorporation of nitrogen groups combined with the metals Fe and Mg. Various characterization techniques will be employed to elucidate the mechanisms involved. The best material will be tested in real effluents from treatment plants in São Paulo, aiming to produce low-cost and highly efficient adsorbents for the removal of these contaminants, especially when present in concentrations as low as those found in domestic wastewater.