Jorge Rodríguez-Chueca

• Chemical and Enviromental Engineering PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

The present study aimed to fill the knowledge gap between the implications of intracellular and extracellular antibiotic resistance mechanisms may inflict on the inactivation pathways of the photo-Fenton process under mild conditions. It was thus designed as a cross-comparison of the effect of homogeneous and heterogeneous photo-Fenton (near-neutra...

The heterogeneous copper and cobalt catalysts (CoNPs-hybrid and CuNPs-hybrid) were synthesized using a protein-directed method to obtain catalytically active nanoparticles for wastewater disinfection, and fully characterized by ICP-OES, XRD, XPS, TEM and SEM analysis. CuNPs-hybrid demonstrated antibacterial capabilities, total removal of Enterococc...

The purpose of this work is to offer a methodology for the introduction and consolidation of social indexes within a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment for the evaluation of large-scale electricity production. This methodology is based on an interrelation of the UNEP subcategories with the global indicator framework for the Sustainable Developmen...

This research addresses the application of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for wastewater reclamation at pilot scale, one of the main limitations usually observed in this type of technology. Although interest in sulfate radical-based AOPs (SR-AOPs) has increased considerably in recent years, pilot-scale application studies are very scarce. The...

Clean water is essential for human survival, but access to safe drinking water remains a challenge in resource-limited regions. Herein, we explored a low-cost but effective solution for water potabilization using natural iron sources from soils along with sunlight to remove coliforms from water. We evaluated 30 soil samples from tropical regions an...

In this manuscript, the improvement of solar disinfection (SODIS) for water treatment through the photo-Fenton reaction using iron replacements, namely calcined herbs and spices (thyme, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cocoa), naturally containing high content of metals. The bactericidal performance of SODIS, H2O2/light and solar photo-Fenton (light/H2...

In recent decades, ultraviolet-assisted advanced oxidation processes (UV-AOPs) have been successfully applied to remove a wide range of contaminants from polluted water. Despite this, their extended use on an industrial scale is still far from being a reality, largely limited by the operational costs that these processes still entail. In recent yea...

Society is currently facing many global challenges, and these issues show no sign of abating over the next decades. According to the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), higher education plays a key role in empowering future professionals to become leaders in driving sustainable economic, social, or environmen...

Microplastics and nanoplastics are a new type of emerging pollutant that appears in the environment. The difference between those two is based on the particle size. The studies about microplastics and nanoplastics have recently increased because of the growing social awareness and because of the biological effects they provoke. To clarify these eff...

In this work, a raw and low cost mineral, ilmenite (FeTiO3), has been tested for the first time as a photocatalyst paired with peroxymonosulfate (HSO5⁻; PMS) for the inactivation of Enterococcus faecalis as an alternative to conventional treatments to disinfect wastewater for reuse. The influence of some operational parameters such as reagent dosag...

Escherichia coli (E.coli) is a human fecal pathogen and a current serious threat to health. In recent years, photocatalysis has been postulated to be an efficient technology for the disinfection of different types of aqueous matrices. This research focuses on the study of the efficacy of TiO2 anchored in natural pyrite (TiO2NP) in the elimination o...

In this work, the influence of the matrix on the photolytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has been studied for the inactivation of Enterococcus sp. Additionally, two different reactor configurations (batch reactor and tubular reactor) have been evaluated that achieve complete disinfection within 120 min when usi...

Tetracycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic largely found in the environment with many adverse effects on environmental and human health. Recently, the coupling of different advanced oxidation processes has been promised as the effective approach for the degradation of refractory pollutants. In this work, the magnetically separable Ag/CuFe2O4/CQDs...

This study proposes an efficient activated spirulina-based carbon material (ASBCM800) with an extremely high specific surface area (2211 m² g⁻¹) to eliminate a wide range of micropollutants (MPs) frequently detected in wastewaters. This bio-sorbent can be simply synthesized by pre-carbonization at 600 °C, followed by activation/carbonization with K...

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) use chemical treatment to remove contaminants from water by oxidation with hydroxyl radicals. These hydroxyl radicals can be produced using UV light, ozone or hydrogen peroxide, but recently reactions have been developed that use persulfates as the radical source. Persulfates are strong oxidants with flexible in...

High nitrate concentration in drinking water has the potential to cause a series of harmful effects on human health. This study aims to evaluate the health risk of nitrate in groundwater resources of Hormozgan province in four age groups, including infants, children, teenagers, and adults, based on the US EPA methodology and Monte Carlo technique t...

The generation and emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) affects the environment and air quality, playing an important role in global warming, depletion of atmospheric ozone and emission of unpleasant odors, but also directly affect human health. This study investigated the health risks of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (BTEX) compo...

The development of advanced treatments for the control, treatment, or remediation of different aqueous matrices are receiving extensive and growing interest during the last years. Scaling and application on different scenarios have resulted in a challenge on their implementation. Most of their applications have been focused on conventional waters s...

The increase in world population and human activities are leading to an increase in water stress in many regions of the planet, coupled with a decrease in the quality of water bodies. Advanced oxidation processes have demonstrated great potential for the reduction of almost any organic pollutant; however, it is necessary to intensify this type of t...

The degradation of acetaminophen (ACM) was comparatively studied by UV/chlorine and UV/H2O2 systems. An apparent reduction in the removal rate was observed above the optimum pH levels of 7.0 and 3.0 in UV/chlorine and UV/H2O2 processes, respectively. The relative contribution of each oxidizing agent in ACM removal using the two advanced oxidation p...

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has posed severe threats to humans and the geoenvironment. The findings of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (Sars-CoV-2) traces in waste water and the practice of disinfecting outdoor spaces in several cities in the world, which can result into the entry of disinfectants and their by-products int...

Contaminated water with landfill leachate (CWLL) with high salinity and high organic content (total organic carbon (TOC) = 649 mg/L and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) = 1175 mg/L) is a toxic and non-biodegradable effluent. The present research aimed to assess the treatment effectiveness of CWLL by electrocoagulation (EC)/oxidant process. The ferrous...

Without any doubt, the 21st century has kick-started a great evolution in all aspects of our everyday life [...]

In this work, through a natural language processing model and a bibliometric study, a meta-analysis of the scientific production of the 21st century on Fenton and persulfate activation processes is performed. We present the rapidly changing landscape of these processes' know-how over the last years, and we identify the recent topics of interest. Fi...

The occurrence of micropollutants (MPs) in the aquatic environment poses a threat to the environment and the human health. The application of sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) to eliminate these contaminants has attracted attention in recent years. In this work, the simultaneous degradation of 20 multi-class MPs (classifi...

In this study the photocatalytic inactivation of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Enterococcus sp. wild strains was carried out using as photocatalyst boron-doped ZnO (B-ZnO). The photocatalytic performance of this material was compared with two commercial catalysts: ZnO and TiO2. Furthermore, the control processes of solar disinfection (SODIS) and s...

The application of sulfite in advanced oxidation-reduction processes has shown good results in the degradation of organic pollutant, but very few researches have addressed its application for wastewater disinfection. In this study, the efficacy of a sulfite system activated by different iron species and/or UV-A radiation in the inactivation of Ente...

During the last decades, many water treatment processes have been proposed to deal with the increasing water quality requirements demanded for the urban wastewater effluents (UWWE). Among them, the so-called Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) include a wide range of technologies based on the generation of very reactive and non-selective radical sp...

Solar disinfection (SODIS) in 2-L bottles is a well-established drinking water treatment technique, suitable for rural, peri-urban, or isolated communities in tropical or subtropical climates. In this work, we assess the enlargement of the treatment volume by using cheap, large scale plastic vessels. The bactericidal performance of SODIS and two so...

An ultraviolet light emitting diode (UV-A LED) system was built to test the capability of performing heterogeneous photocatalysis using TiO2 P25. The LEDs maximum wavelength is 365 nm with an irradiance power of 85 W m⁻². The device was tested in batch and continuous (CSTR) mode in a laboratorial scale reactor. The degradation of an agro-industrial...

Creativity and innovation are crucial skills to face challenges in economy, environment and social context today, especially next decade with 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by all United Nations Member States. European Higher Education System considers STEM studies play a key role to lead the global labor market and address our eco...

The advancement of science has facilitated increase in the human lifespan, reflected in economic and population growth, which unfortunately leads to increased exploitation of resources. This situation entails not only depletion of resources, but also increases environmental pollution, mainly due to atmospheric emissions, wastewater effluents, and s...

In the frame of the water circular economy, the reuse of the treated sewage sludge supposes a good action. Nevertheless, the reuse might suppose a human health risk because of the presence of pathogen germs, concentrated in the generated sludge during urban wastewater treatment. For this reason, sludge treatments, conventional or advanced, should b...

The total inactivation processes of two pathogenic bacteria, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus sp., by peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation with CoFe2O4 nanoparticles was studied in real and simulated wastewater matrices. The catalyst was prepared by solvothermal method and characterized by means of powder X-ray diffraction and Transmission Electron...

This research studies the efficiency of Flipped Classroom (FC) and Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) as an innovative methodology to facilitate the learning of concepts involving sustainability and the circular economy by higher education students. This study, conducted as part of various innovative education projects, was applied in different courses...

A novel hybrid UV-C/microfiltration process for water disinfection is presented, and its application in continuous mode operation to the removal of different pathogen germs (Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Candida albicans) present in urban wastewater. The membrane photoreactor is based on porous stainless steel membranes coated with a...

The design of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) includes facilities for the removal of suspended solids, organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorous, as required in current legislation, while removal of microorganisms is not literally emphasized. Although the different unit processes have some effect on microbial populations, disinfection is not achi...

In this research, the degradation of seven different micropollutants (MPs) and the formation of their transformation products (TPs) have been assessed during the application of different advanced oxidation processes: photolytic and photocatalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and persulfate (PS). The results were compared with those obtaine...

This research demonstrates the feasibility to enhance solar disinfection (SODIS) treatment by addition of per-oxymonosulfate (PMS) and peroxydisulfate (PDS) by the generation of sulfate (and hydroxyl) radicals through different activation routes. The different promoters were i) sunlight irradiation, ii) mild heat (40 °C), and iii) μM amounts of Fe2...

This work assesses the potential activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS, HSO 5⁻ ) and persulfate (PS, S 2 O 8²⁻ ) by different homogeneous iron species, FeSO 4 and Fe(III)-citrate and heterogeneous Fe 2 O 3 and nano zero valent iron particles (nZVI), to generate sulfate radicals for inactivation of wild bacteria strains (Escherichia coli and Enteroco...

This research demonstrates the feasibility to enhance solar disinfection (SODIS) treatment by addition of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and peroxydisulfate (PDS) by the generation of sulfate (and hydroxyl) radicals through different activation routes. The different promoters were i) sunlight irradiation, ii) mild heat (40ºC), and iii) μM amounts of Fe2+,...

Industrial activity is one of the most important sources of water pollution. Yearly, tons of non-biodegradable organic pollutants are discharged, at the least, to wastewater treatment plants. However, biological conventional treatments are unable to degrade them. This research assesses the efficiency of photocatalytic activation of peroxymonosulfat...

High oxidation potential as well as other advantages over other tertiary wastewater treatments have led in recent years to a focus on the development of advanced oxidation processes based on sulfate radicals (SR-AOPs). These radicals can be generated from peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and persulfate (PS) through various activation methods such as catalyt...

Winery wastewater is characterized by the presence of organic and inorganic contaminants with significant environmental impact if released without proper treatment. Thus, the application of sulphate radical-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOP) in winery wastewater treatment, with emphasis on the removal of organic matter, has been investigat...

This research reports for the first time the full-scale application of different homogeneous Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) (H2O2/UV-C, PMS/UV-C and PMS/Fe(II)/UV-C) for the removal of antibiotics (ABs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from wastewater effluent at Estiviel wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) (Toledo, Spain). AOPs based on t...

This study explores the enhancement of UV-C tertiary treatment by sulfate radical based Advanced Oxidation Processes (SR-AOPs), including photolytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and persulfate (PS) and their photocatalytic activation using Fe(II). Their efficiency was assessed both for the inactivation of microorganisms and the removal or...

The high chemical stability and the low biodegradability of a vast number of micropollutants (MPs) impede their correct treatment in urban wastewater treatment plants. In most cases, the chemical oxidation is the only way to abate them. Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) have been experimentally proved as efficient in the removal of different micr...

Freshwater disinfection using photolytic and catalytic activation of peroxymonosulphate (PMS) through PMS/UV-A LED and PMS/Mⁿ⁺/UV-A LED [Mⁿ⁺ = Fe²⁺ or Co²⁺] processes was evaluated through the inactivation of three different bacteria: Escherichia coli (Gram-negative), Bacillus mycoides (sporulated Gram-positive), Staphylococcus aureus (non-sporulat...

The treatment of winery effluents through sulphate radical-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) driven by solar radiation is reported in this study. Photolytic and catalytic activations of peroxymonosulphate (PMS) and persulphate (KPS and SPS) at different pH values (4.5 and 7) were studied in the degradation of organic matter. Portugal is...

The inactivation of four different microorganisms, Escherichia coli, Bacillus mycoides, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans, inoculated in simulated (SWW) and real winery wastewaters (RWW), was assessed by the first time using free sulphate and hydroxyl radicals from photolytic (UV-A LED radiation; 370 nm) and metal [Fe(II) or Co(II)] activa...

The objective of this study of chloroform degradation by the first time through Fenton-like processes induced by electromagnetic fields. Fenton-like processes were carried out at natural pH with 25 mg/L of H2O2 and different iron sources: i) FeCl3·6H2O (5, 50 and 100 mg/L Fe³⁺); ii) magnetite (1 g/L); iii) clay (80 g/L). These treatments were drive...

This research work evaluates the use of hydrogen peroxide for the removal of cyanide from coking wastewater deriving from the washing of gases in coal combustion furnace. The effect of the presence or absence of suspended solids and organic micropollutants on the efficiency of the treatment is analyzed. Various dosages of hydrogen peroxide (6.5–200...

In this study, the effectiveness of the HSO5−/Mn+/UV process on the treatment of winery wastewater (WW) was investigated. The optimal operating conditions were determined: [HSO5−] = 2.5 mM; [M2(SO4)n] = 1.0 mM; pH = 6.5 and reaction temperature = 323 K. Under the given conditions, 51%, 42% and 35% of COD removal was achieved using respectively Fe(I...

The purpose of this work was to study the efficiency of TiO2 in the inactivation of Escherichia coli present in natural surface water. TiO2 is the most extensively studied semiconductor catalyst used in combination with solar irradiation due to its high photoactivity, low cost, chemical and biological stability, and harmlessness. The processes stud...

This work aims to assess the effectiveness of the photo-Fenton system for the removal of fecal bacteria in treated urban wastewater effluents, using low reagent concentrations and near neutral pH. To achieve this objective, kinetic modeling was used as a tool in the study of the influence of the different factors such as the UV-vis irradiation sour...

The purpose of the current study is to compare the inactivation of Escherichia coli in wastewater effluents using conventional treatments (chlorination) and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) such as UV irradiation, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)/solar irradiation, and photo-Fenton processes. In addition, an analysis of the operational costs of each tre...

The purpose of this work was to study the efficiency of different treatments, based on the combination of O3, H2O2, and TiO2, on fresh surface water samples fortified with wild strains of Escherichia coli. Moreover, an exhaustive assessment of the influence of the different agents involved in the treatment has been carried out by kinetic modeling o...

This research work is focused on the application and assessment of effectiveness of the Fenton-like processes induced by radiofrequency for the inactivation of faecal bacteria (Escherichia coli and Enterococcus sp.) present in treated urban wastewater effluents. Fenton processes were carried out at near neutral pH (pH 5) with different iron sources...

This work aims to assess the effectiveness of a mild solar photo-Fenton system (low reagent concentrations and near neutral pH) for the removal of fecal bacteria in urban wastewater effluents. Escherichia colt and Enterococcus faecalis were simultaneously evaluated in real and simulated effluents at initial concentrations of 10(3) and 10(6) CFU/mL....

The aim of this research work is to identify the presence of pathogens, bacteria and protozoa, in different treated urban wastewaters and to relate biological pollution with the processes used in wastewater treatment plants. A study of the possibilities for water reuse is carried out taking into account bacterial and parasite composition. The analy...

The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the inactivation of three different kinds of bacteria usually present in municipal wastewater treatment effluents (Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) using a coagulation-flocculation-decantation (CFD) process combined with photo-Fenton treatment at pH 5. Different conc...

The aim of this work is to apply a factorial experimental design in the disinfection of Escherichia coli present in treated urban wastewater by means of Fenton and photo-Fenton processes.As a consequence of the large number of existing variables including the matrix, irradiation (λ = 320–800 nm), and doses of H2O2 (20–50 mg L−1) and Fe3+ (2.5–5 mg...

The aim of this work is the application of Fenton processes in heterogeneous phase using a clay as catalyst in order to remove Enterococcus sp. and Escherichia coli present in treated urban wastewater. In addition, the concentration and size particle of the catalyst are studied. The combination of catalyst with H2O2 and artificial sunlight radiatio...

The aim of this research work is to study the effectiveness of the activated carbon adsorption to remove 44 organic pesticides controlled systematically in waters of the Ebro river basin. The treatment is carried out with solutions of 500 ng L -1 of pesticides using powered activated carbon (PAC) which origin is mineral or vegetal. Pesticides remov...