INTERACT attend in Iberian Congress
The results of the research project INTERACT (Integrative Research in Environment, Agro-Chains and Technology) will be present at the 25th edition of the “Encontro Galego Portugués de Química”. Through oral lectures, the aim is to promote what is done in this project.
Professor José Alcides Peres from University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD),will be at this congress, which will start on November 20th and will last until November 22nd in the City of Culture of Galicia, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Presence in these events allows “exchange of ideas and networking”
The presence of the INTERACT researcher in this Iberian congress consists of two oral lectures on the work developed in the project “Treatment of Agro-industrial effluents and residues”, inserted in the task “By products, waste management and valorization of agrarian chain production” of the BEST line (“Bio-Economy and Sustainability”).
The two lectures will have the theme “the treatment and valorization of wine effluents”, something that José Alcides Peres considers a “fundamental concern” and a “very common environmental issue in the North region of the country and, especially, in the Douro region”. The researcher stresses that “wine effluents are very problematic due to the high content of organic matter, polyphenols and reduced biodegradability they present”.
The first oral lecture will focus on the work “White winery wastewater treatment by coagulation/flocculation optimized by a Simplex Lattice Design and O3/Fe2+/UV process”, by Nuno Jorge, André Cunha, Ana Teixeira, Marco Lucas and José Alcides Peres. The research focused on “a chemical coagulation-flocculation-decantation (CFD) process, with the use of oenological coagulants such as potassium caseinate, bentonite and PVPP”, Peres explain, adding that “as a complementary process, the application of ozone (O3) was combined with UV radiation to increase the efficiency of the global removal of organic matter from wine effluents”.
The second lecture focused on “Modeling circular economy on combined treatment of chemical adsorption by bentonite and sulfate radical thermal activation-catalyzed sodium percarbonate of red winery wastewater”, also by Nuno Jorge, André Cunha, Ana Teixeira, Marco Lucas and José Alcides Peres. The research carried out allowed the development of a “combined process of adsorption with bentonite and thermal activation involving radical sodium percarbonate catalysed sulfate, which allowed excellent results in the reduction of COD, TOC, turbidity, SST and polyphenols contents of wine wastewater”, researcher describes.
As the Portuguese Galician Chemistry Meeting is an international meeting where chemists meet on both sides of the border, José Alcides Peres considers that “it’s always important” to be present at these events: “It allows us to make our research results known” and “to see works that are taking place in other Universities and Research Centres”, the researcher indicates . In addition, the teacher stresses that these meetings allow “the exchange of experiences, ideas and networking with other groups, particularly in northern Portugal and Galicia”.
“Encontro Galego Portugués de Química” is an annual event that takes place alternately between Portugal and Galicia, Spain. Considered as a reference congress for researchers and students working in the areas of Basic and Advanced Chemistry, the event is organized this year by the Colexio Oficial de Químicos de Galicia) and the Asociación de Químicos de Galicia.
