Project description
This research project aims to address the current limitations of the recovery and concentration of AGV for downstream transformation as PHA using membrane processes. Among the membrane processes, direct osmosis (DO) and reverse osmosis (RO) are the most attractive for concentrating AGV, as they have the smallest cut-off size and can retain small organic molecules. The doctoral thesis will be carried out at the company VEnvirotech and the LEQUIA research group of the UdG. Thus, VEnvirotech's existing experience in the transformation of industrial waste into AGV for the production of PHA will be taken into account and with the support of LEQUIA in terms of facilities, research experience and analytical equipment.
Based on the current state of the art, the following challenges have been defined:
1. Evaluate the fundamentals and mechanisms of how RO and RO reject VFA and how process parameters (pH, contact time, etc.) can affect rejection and effective concentration.
2. Work on effluents from real/complex streams: most existing studies have been carried out with synthetic or specific effluents.
3. Study the process in terms of concentration factor, to achieve high concentration.
4. Develop optimal pretreatments for DO and RO 5. Definition of optimized membrane types and module design.
