Carlos Vereda

• Ph.D.
• University of Malaga

The growing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has led to significant environmental and resource challenges, such as the toxicity of LIBs’ waste, which pose severe environmental and health risks, and the criticality of some of their components. Efficient recycling processes are essential to mitigate these issues, promoting the recovery of valu...

This paper investigates the effects of a guaranteed prize incentive, in the form of an extra score, on student engagement in the quality assurance system (QAS) questionnaires employed for evaluating teaching performance at the University of Malaga. The incentive system aims to counteract declining participation rates and mitigate potential survey f...

Securing the enduring sustainability of global phosphorus (P) utilization has become a key societal priority. The application of green chemistry and green engineering presents an opportunity to mitigate these challenges...

In this work, a model has been formulated to describe the complex process of LiCoO2 leaching through the participation of competing reactions in acid media including the effect of H2O2 as reducing agent. The model presented here describes the extraction of Li and Co in the presence and absence of H2O2, and it takes into account the different phenom...

The sequential extraction procedure as a tool to assess the environmental risk of metals in solid matrices has been widely studied. In this work, another promising application of these methods is proposed: the evaluation of the recoverability of critical raw materials from a solid matrix. To this aim, the normalized sequential extraction procedure...

The use of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (Na2EDTA) as a chelating agent presents ideal characteristics to be used for the removal of lead from a contaminated site. Batch experiments together with a simple local equilibrium model were carried out to evaluate the role of EDTA as enhancing agent in electrokinetic remediation of a Pb-co...

This work is aimed at the development of a semi-continuous mechanochemical process for biodiesel production and the subsequent valorization of glycerol, its by-product, via its conversion into calcium diglyceroxide using the same mechanochemical reactor. This basic solid catalyzes the methanolysis of vegetable oils. The implementation of a semi-con...

Lithium-ion batteries play an important role in our modern society as the main option to power portable electronic devices and electric vehicles. The growing demand for these batteries encourages the development of more efficient recycling processes, aiming to decrease the environmental impact of the spent batteries and recover their valuable compo...

Zero valent iron (ZVI) is being used in permeable reactive barriers (PRB) for the removal of oxidant contaminants, from nitrate to chlorinated organics. A sound design of these barriers requires a good understanding of kinetics. Here we present a study of the kinetics of nitrate reduction under relatively low values of pH, from 2 to 4.5. We use a p...

Electrokinetic remediation (EKR) is probably the only feasible alternative to treat contaminated soils with low hydraulic conductivity. This technology is based on the application of an electric current between two groups of electrodes into the soil inducing several transport and transformation processes. As a result, the contaminants and water are...

The valorization of agricultural waste peels as a low-cost biosorbent is a promising approach to water treatment. In this work, the improvement of the adsorption capacity of lemon peel to remove Ni (II) from aqueous effluents was explored using several chemical modifiers: HNO3, HCl, H3PO4, CaCl2, NH3 and NaOH. The surface pretreatment using NaOH wa...

Fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW) generated in a wholesale market, and mixed sewage sludge (MSS) from a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) are heterogeneous residues that may suffer important seasonal changes. We study the influence of those possible changes on the co-digestion of both residues. All the experiments were conducted under meso...

Electrodialytic remediation has been widely applied to the recovery of different contaminants from numerous solid matrices, solving emerging issues of environmental concern. Results and conclusions reported in studies about real contaminated matrices are summarized in this work. The influence of pH value on the treatment effectiveness has been wide...

The anaerobic co-digestion of fruit and vegetable waste (FVW) and municipal sewage sludge (MSS) is investigated under mesophilic conditions. This was done at a constant hydraulic retention time (HRT) similar to that typically used at waste water treatment plant digesters, 20 days. The effects on digester performance of the FVW:MSS ratio and the org...

This paper studies the possible differences in the behavior of lead as a contaminant in soil samples when it is present as “naturally-aged” for decades after the contamination, and when it has been spiked in the laboratory. This behavior differences are stablished mainly in two ways: as changes in the fractionation analysis obtained after a sequent...

Understanding the scaling-up process is essential for the application of the electrokinetic remediation at field scale, as the technique is site-specific and dependent on the target contaminants. In this paper, a generalized and easy-to-use model is presented for the prediction of the energy requirements at different scales. The mathematical model...

This study was undertaken to determine the possible changes in the digester yield and performance for the anaerobic co-digestion under mesophilic conditions of strawberry residues (SRs) together with pig manure (PM). The first part of this paper deals with the digestion of SR as a single substrate. For organic loading rates (OLRs) of 4.4 (g L(-1) d...

This chapter is focused on the study of electroremediation of heavy metals from a real soil. Specifically, the case of the study was a soil from Almaden mining district, with a very high mercury concentration. The risk assessment of heavy metals depends on the mobility and bioavailability and not only on the total concentration. Therefore, this stu...

Understanding the possible pH-buffering processes is of maximum importance for risk assessment and remediation feasibility studies of heavy-metal contaminated soils. This paper presents the results about the effect of the buffering capacity of a polluted soil, rich in carbonates, on the pH and on the leaching evolution of its main contaminant (lead...

for Pb extraction experiments from a contaminated soil performed with citric acid and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (Na2EDTA) indicate that Na2EDTA is much more efficient. The Pb removal after 5 successive extractions using 24 mL of 0.1 M Na2EDTA solutions and 8 g of soil is close to 100%. Other non-toxic metals such as Ca and Mg, t...

A complete process simulation case has been performed using the process simulation software HYSYS 2006.5 developed by Aspen Technology, Inc. Besides, some particular process operations were also simulated with CHEMCAD from Chemstation in order to assess the reliability of the simulations results. The first step is the selection of the main chemical...

We have chosen the BCR (Bureau Communautaire de Référence) sequential extraction procedure as a speciation analysis to determine the mobility of mercury in the contaminated soil of the Almadén (Spain) mining district. This soil has a high mercury concentration (1000 mg kg⁻¹) in some areas. In previous works, the relationship between the weak-acid s...

The soil of Almaden mining district in Spain has a high concentration of mercury (1000mgkg−1), therefore decontamination activities are necessary. This paper studies the effectiveness of some chelant agents (thiosulfate, EDTA, iodide and HNO3) for the remediation of this soil which has been polluted for several millennia. The risk assessment of the...

The use of reactive barriers is one of the preferred remediation technologies for the remediation of groundwater contamination. An adequate design of these barriers requires the understanding of the kinetics of the reaction between the target contaminant and the solid phase in the barrier. A study of the kinetics between metallic iron and aqueous n...

The electrokinetic remediation (EKR) of a soil sample contaminated with a sludge spill of pyritic mining origin is studied. The initial total metal content of the soil indicates that there is a very large concentration of Fe (about 100 g/kg), whereas other metals of environmental relevance are Zn (2390 mg/kg), Pb (1740 mg/kg), Cu (459 mg/kg) and Cd...

The effect of ammonia as a complexing reagent to enhance the efficiency of the in situ electrokinetic remediation is evaluated. Lab scale experiments with copper spiked kaolin were carried out to explore if the metal precipitation can be avoided at neutral and alkaline pH. Ammonia was added at the anode compartment and therefore delivered into the...

The possible management of Fruit and Vegetable Solid Wastes (FVSWs) through their simultaneous digestion with the primary sludge of Municipal Wastewater Treatment plants is investigated. This alternative allows the recovery of energy and a solid product that can be used as an amendment for soils that generated the residue, while is not expensive. R...

A two-dimensional numerical model has been developed to simulate the electrokinetic remediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals and has been validated using laboratory experiments performed with a copper spiked kaolin. The model divides the soil into compartments in a Cartesian grid and a non-conductivity barrier encloses the considered are...

Lead and cadmium contamination of an agricultural soil has been studied using batch and column experiments. Thermodynamics of the retention phenomena may be represented by a Langmuir isotherm for an aqueous metal concentration up to 100 mg L(-1). First order kinetics with respect to the solid phase yield good predictability for both batch and colum...

A mathematical model is used for the interpretation of the results from earlier experimental studies in lab-scale columns on the contamination of a carbonatic soil with lead. Local equilibrium conditions suffice to reproduce the experimental curves for every pH value of the influent contaminant solution and carbonate content of the soils essayed, b...

The influence of soil carbonate content on the fate of lead in soil was studied in a lab-scale column under different pH values of the contaminant solution. Results indicated that retention of this toxic heavy metal (up to 38% weight at pH = 5) occurred which was proportional to the total carbonate content. A decrease in the pH of the aqueous solut...

Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) is used for the analysis of the influence of air relative humidity on the retention of hexane, benzene, toluene and p-xylene in a sandy soil under experimental conditions similar to those typical of soil vapor extraction (SVE). The advantages of IGC over other techniques, are (a) an efficient use of lab resources, (...

Soil Vapor Extraction is one of the most used in situ technologies for the removal of volatile contaminants from the vadose zone. Development of mathematical models and validation with field results has improved the understanding of processes occurring during remediation. One of the most important is the transport of the contaminants from the diffe...

Soil Vapor Extraction is one of the most used in situ technologies for the removal of volatile contaminants from the vadose zone. Development of mathematical models and validation with field results has improved the understanding of processes occurring during remediation. One of the most important is the transport of the contaminants from the diffe...

A 1-D model for the flushing of metal contaminated soils with extracting aqueous solutions is presented. Previous experimental results of the flushing of carbonatic soil contaminated with lead with EDTA solutions showed the formation of channels of preferential flow as well as substantial rebounds in effluent lead concentration after periods of no...