Noemí Merayo

Noemí Merayo
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid | UPM · Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica Química y Diseño Industrial

PhD

About

55
Publications
15,545
Reads
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2,026
Citations
Introduction
Main research lines are focused on papermaking process, wastewater treatment and nanocellulose production and application. Anaerobic treatment improvement, new radiation sources of UV light, development of support systems for heterogeneous catalysis and the evaluation of optimum treatments combinations to handle problematic wastewaters. New applications of nanocellulose, such as the use of nanocellulose in the wastewater treatment field.
Additional affiliations
January 2015 - November 2015
Complutense University of Madrid
Position
  • PostDoc Position

Publications

Publications (55)
Article
Full-text available
The recovery of Co(II), Mn(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II) from black mass e-waste solutions through cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) and nanocrystals (CNCs) was investigated. These materials were synthetized by TEMPO-oxidation followed by high-pressure homogenization, and acid hydrolysis, respectively. The NC characterization included the measurement of consis...
Article
Full-text available
Selective critical metal recovery from black mass leachates (BML) is a great challenge for the Li-ion batteries recycling sector. This paper shows the potential of nanocellulose products as green adsorbents for a selective recovery of critical metals through multibatch sorption processes. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs...
Preprint
Full-text available
9 Cellulose nanofibers (CNF) are used in many new applications due to their renewable nature, 10 biodegradability and potential high availability. Most CNF are produced from virgin chemical 11 pulps. However, current studies are focused on the use of agricultural and forestry residues to 12 isolate CNF, not only to entail the obtaining of a high va...
Article
Full-text available
Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a highly crystalline nanosized material with a high number of active groups. This study focuses on the synthesis of BC membranes through fermentation, their characterization and application to remove Ni(II) and Pb(II) from wastewater by adsorption under different conditions. Four-day-grown BC membranes form three-dimensi...
Article
Full-text available
Cationic cellulose nanocrystals (CCNC) are lignocellulosic bio-nanomaterials that present large, specific areas rich with active surface cationic groups. This study shows the adsorption removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) from industrial wastewaters by the CCNC. The CCNC were synthetized through periodate oxidation and Girard’s reagent-T cation...
Article
Full-text available
Cellulose nanofibers (CNF) are sustainable nanomaterials, obtained by the mechanical disintegration of cellulose, whose properties make them an interesting adsorbent material due to their high specific area and active groups. CNF are easily functionalized to optimize the performance for different uses. The hypothesis of this work is that hydrophobi...
Article
Cooling water circuits represent a high-water saving potential that has not been fully exploited yet due to the risk of Legionella outbreaks. According to legislation, cooling circuits are subjected to specific biocide treatments which must be considered when water reuse is planned. Biocide effectiveness mainly depends on the type of installation,...
Article
Circular economy approach is needed in order to move towards sustainable development. In this frame, the current work is aimed at improving the sustainability of a food industrial plant through circular economy approach, using a waste stream, coming from the washing and disinfection of bottles before product packaging, as source of water for the co...
Article
Full-text available
This work outlines a systematic and detailed study of the modification of anatase TiO2 with tungsten (W). The impact this coupling has on the temperature of the anatase to rutile phase transition and the photocatalytic degradation of 1,4-dioxane, a highly toxic compound that is increasingly present in water bodies is also studied. TiO2 composite ph...
Article
Full-text available
Formaldehyde is a recalcitrant pollutant, which is difficult to remove from wastewater using conventional and advanced treatments. The objective of this research was to remove the organic matter from formaldehyde from an industrial wastewater, achieving its total mineralization and allowing the reuse of the water. The treatment was based on the rea...
Article
Full-text available
Nanocelluloses (NC) increase mechanical and barrier paper properties allowing the use of paper in applications actually covered by other materials. Despite the exponential increase of information, NC have not been fully implemented in papermaking yet, due to the challenges of using NC. This paper provides a review of the main new findings and emerg...
Article
Full-text available
This paper examines the modification of anatase TiO2 with hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and the impact this coupling has on the temperature of the anatase to rutile phase transition and photocatalytic activity. All samples were 100% anatase when calcined up to 500 °C. At 600 °C, all BN-modified samples contain mixed rutile and anatase phases, with...
Article
Full-text available
Glycerol remains a bottleneck for the biodiesel industry as well as an opportunity from the biorefinery perspective, having a notable reactivity as a platform chemical. In particular, glycerol ketals can be envisaged as oxygenates for fuel formulation. In this study, we have focused on the green synthesis of glycerol ketals by reacting glycerol wit...
Article
This paper shows that incorporation of Cu inhibits the anatase to rutile phase transition at temperatures above 500 °C. The control sample, with 0% Cu contained 34.3% anatase at 600 °C and transitioned to 100% rutile by 650 °C. All copper doped samples maintained 100% anatase up to 600 °C. With 2% Cu doping, anatase fully transformed to rutile at 6...
Article
Full-text available
The recycled paper and board industry needs to improve the quality of their products to meet customer demands. The refining process and strength additives are commonly used to increase mechanical properties. Interfiber bonding can also be improved using cellulose nanofibers (CNF). A circular economy approach in the industrial implementation of CNF...
Article
Full-text available
Greywater is wastewater collected from household sources without input from toilet or commode streams. Greywater represent ca. 65% of total household wastewaters globally. Different aspects of greywater, including its production sources, its characteristics, the barriers and the global scenarios of its reuse, have been critically reviewed in this p...
Article
Since 2013 a group of professors from the Chemical Engineering Department of Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) has implemented a teaching tool based on the concept of “learning by doing” that has been successfully used in the US to increase motivation of students. This tool consists of a competition, called Chem-E-Car® which helps to teach not...
Chapter
Nanocellulose materials have emerged as a new family of nanomaterials of great interest. That is due to their environmental advantages, including their production from renewable resources, their biodegradability, biocompatibility and their high potential availability. The production processes and the properties of CNF, CNC and BC (aspect ratio, mec...
Article
Full-text available
This study focusses on the in-situ production of bacterial cellulose in recycled pulps to increase the quality of fibers in the suspension. The effect of different dosages of the upgraded pulp on the mechanical, physical and optical properties of handsheets was assessed. Papers produced with pulps cultivated in agitation exhibited increments in bot...
Article
Full-text available
Bacterial cellulose is a biological macromolecule synthesized by bacteria of high purity and crystallinity. Bacterial cellulose nanofibers (BCNF) have been produced by soft homogenization and added to a recycled pulp to improve its quality. The benefits of BCNF on mechanical, physical and optical paper properties have been quantified and the retent...
Article
Full-text available
The production of high filler-loaded recycled papers is often affected by high values of linting and low values of strength. In the first case, the accumulation of lint particles from paper’s surface on the printing blanket affects the quality of the printed paper and the pressroom’s productivity. In the second case, increasing the use of fillers a...
Article
Full-text available
The use of nanocelluloses as strength-enhancing additives in papermaking is widely known since both cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and nanocrystals (CNC) present similar composition than paper but their exceptional properties in the nanometer scale confers a paper quality enhancement. However, some agglomeration problems in CNF and CNC through hydrogen...
Preprint
Full-text available
The production of high filler-loaded recycled papers is often affected by high values of linting and low values of strength. In the first case, the accumulation of lint particles from paper’s surface on the printing blanket affects the quality of the printed paper and the pressroom’s productivity. In the second case, increasing the use of fillers a...
Article
The present work shows the suitability of using recovered cardboard boxes for the development of high-performance papers through the use of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-Na). CNF were prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis using bleached kraft hardwood pulp, while a commercial grade of CMC-Na was used. Both were added...
Article
Full-text available
Cellulose nanofibers (CNF) have increasing relevance in different applications, for instance, in the paper industry as a sustainable strength additive. This application is especially beneficial for recycled paper, which reaches higher product quality despite its limitations. CNF change paper properties and also can affect the production process, es...
Article
In the present work, lignocellulosic micro/nanofibers (LCMNF) were produced from pine sawdust. For that, pine sawdust was submitted to alkali treatment and subsequent bleaching stages, tailoring its chemical composition with the purpose of obtaining effective LCMNF. The obtained LCMNF were characterized and incorporated to recycled cardboard boxes...
Article
Full-text available
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) are high added value products which can be used in many applications. In this research, CNC were directly produced from two recycled papers: old newspapers (ONP) and 100% recycled newsprint (NP). CNC were also obtained from NP by previously isolating the cellulose particles by alkali and bleaching treatments. CNC yield...
Article
Agro-wastes valorization focusses on production of high value-added products, such as cellulose nanofibers (CNF), and contributes to reduce the environmental impact of these residues. CNF have been used successfully as papermaking additives and some previsions maintain that this sector will become the most important, demanding CNF at a reasonable c...
Article
Full-text available
Although the positive effect that cellulose nanofibers (CNF) can have on paper strength is known, their effect on flocculation during papermaking is not well understood, and most relevant studies have been carried out in presence of only cationic starch. Flocculation is the key to ensuring retention of fibers, fines, and fillers, and furthermore fl...
Article
The application of Fenton processes is limited by the production of iron sludge and its pH-dependence efficiency. UV-light assistance and the use of alternative catalysts as zero-valent iron (ZVI) may avoid both drawbacks favoring its potential industrial application. The use of ZVI microspheres as the catalyst of Fenton processes is herein assesse...
Preprint
Full-text available
Cellulose nanofibers (CNF) have increasing relevance in different applications, for instance in paper industry as sustainable strength additive. This application is especially beneficial to recycled paper, which would reach higher product quality despite its limitations. CNF do not only change paper properties, but also can affect the production pr...
Article
Extending the limits of paper recycling by increasing the number of recycling cycles results in decreased mechanical properties due to the irreversible hornification of cellulose fibers. This process alters the fiber structure and properties because of the repeated chemical and mechanical treatments that occur during wetting and drying. As a result...
Article
Valuable chemical compounds can be produced from corn stalk in a biorefinery by means of the organosolv process. However, 41% of the corn stalk is cellulose, which is commonly used to produce bioethanol whose profitability is not high because of the cost of the process. The use of this cellulose to produce nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) could impr...
Article
Corn stalk, an agricultural waste, was valorized by the production of cellulose nanofibers (CNF), which were tested for improving recycled paper properties. CNF from eucalyptus kraft pulp (E-CNF) was used as a reference. Addition of 0.5% wt. CNF produced from corn organosolv pulp (C-CNF) to recycled paper increased the tensile index by 20%, whereas...
Article
The removal of particles from the paper surface and its accumulation on the printing blanket, or linting, is one of the most recurrent problems encountered in newsprint printing, and is aggravated in high filler-loaded recycled papers. Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) is currently receiving a great deal of attention due to its enormous potential as...
Article
On-line FTIR-methodology was used to study the routes of 1,4-dioxane degradation in heterogeneous photocatalysis with titanium dioxide (TiO2) and heterogeneous photo-Fenton with zero valent iron (Fe0). To determine the multiple decomposition mechanisms of this environmental pollutant, heterogeneous Fe0-catalyst was compared with a homogenous iron c...
Article
The influence of carbonates on TiO2 photocatalysis and the photo-Fenton process using Fe0 as catalyst is unraveled. The aggregation behavior of each catalyst was monitored under different reaction conditions in order to assess the effect of carbonates on their performance. Carbonates drastically reduced the efficiency of photocatalysis because of a...
Article
The paper industry is adopting zero liquid effluent technologies to reduce freshwater use and meet environmental regulations, which implies closure of water circuits and the progressive accumulation of pollutants that must be removed before water reuse and final wastewater discharge. The traditional water treatment technologies that are used in pap...
Article
Full-text available
The significant percentage of the world’s water consumption devoted to industrial use, along with an increasingly higher environmental concern of society, have awaken the interest of industry on using municipal reclaimed water for replacing fresh water use coming from utilities or natural resources. Depending on the type of industry and the specifi...
Article
1,4-Dioxane is a non-biodegradable, toxic, hazardous, and priority pollutant widely used in the chemical industry as a solvent; as well as it is a resulting by-product of many industrial processes. The optimization of the Fenton treatment of 1,4-dioxane, and the on-line FTIR monitoring of its degradation route, including the assessment of the enhan...
Article
The efficiency of advanced oxidation processes is usually optimized measuring the evolution of some water quality parameters sampling aliquots at pre-selected time intervals, such as particular undesired contaminants contents, or the reduction of chemical oxygen demand and total organic carbon. Besides providing good information regarding overall t...
Article
The closure of water circuits within pulp and paper mills has resulted in a higher contamination load of the final mill effluent, which must consequently be further treated in many cases to meet the standards imposed by the legislation in force. Different treatment strategies based on advanced oxidation processes (ozonation and TiO2-photocatalysis)...
Article
Full-text available
There is increasing concern about chemical pollutants that have the ability to mimic hormones, the so-called endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs). One of the main reasons for concern is the possible effect of EDCs on human health. EDCs may be released into the environment in different ways, and one of the most significant sources is industrial was...
Article
According to current environmental legislation concerned with water scarcity, paper industry is being forced to adopt a zero liquid effluent policy. In consequence, reverse osmosis (RO) systems are being assessed as the final step of effluent treatment trains aiming to recover final wastewater and reuse it as process water. One of the most importan...
Chapter
Full-text available
An endocrine disrupter is an exogenous agent that interferes with the synthesis, binding, secretion, transport, action or elimination of natural hormones in the body that are responsible for the maintenance of homeostasis, reproduction, development, and behaviour. Some of them are suspected of causing abnormalities in sperm and increasing hormone-r...

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