Group 2-Renewable Energy and Environmental Protection

Nanomaterials Laboratory: intended for the study of materials for specific applications aimed at improving the quality of life. The laboratory activity focuses on the synthesis, characterization and applications of different nanostructures, such as mesoporous silica nanomaterials, oxide materials, carbon materials and composites.

The aim is to obtain new micro and mesoporous materials with personalized absorbent properties for catalytic remediation of ecosystems (oxidation of organic pollutants and photocatalytic treatment of wastewater) and development of “green chemistry” (efficiency of classical catalysts by immobilizing them on mesoporous materials); synthesis and post-synthesis modification of mesoporous materials used as vectors for the controlled administration and release of bioactive agents (drugs and substances with therapeutic potential); and identification of new materials with added value, based on improving the stability of some natural or synthetic active principles, and fixing them on different porous substrates for their application in areas such as environmental, food, and pharmaceutical pollution. In this regard, we target research concerning the development of:

• selective materials for gas separation/purification processes (N2, Ar, He, Ne, H2, CH4, etc.) such as carbon molecular sieves and activated carbon, zeolite molecular sieves, alumina, silica, ceramics, or glass, composites (metal/carbon, metal/zeolite, metal/ceramic, metal/glass, etc.) and selective membranes;
• materials for environmental applications, namely catalysts for the conversion of greenhouse gases into harmless compounds for the environment, catalysts for recycling solid waste, selective materials for retaining heavy metals in the air and polluted water and materials for capturing and storing CO₂;
• materials for energy applications, especially for the recovery of hydrogen from waste gases and for its storage, but also catalytic materials for the conversion of biomass and residues into energy products (gases, liquids, solids).

The main research equipment within the laboratory is:

Laboratory for Gas and Fuel Characterization: designed to develop, validate and implement advanced methods for gas analysis (pure or mixed), to monitor imissions and emissions, and physico-chemical characterization of fuels (liquids, solids and gases) in order to select the best energy conversion process.

The primary expertise of the laboratory is in the application of mass spectrometry for quantitative analysis of impurities in gas samples and gas chromatography in investigating the compositional profile of natural gas, mixtures of two-component or complex gases and pure gases (eg H₂, He, O₂, CO₂, Ar, N₂, C₂H₂) used for industrial/ technological, food or medicinal use.

We develop researches to capitalize some types of waste for energy purposes, together with creating a database of quality parameters, specific to fuels (eg C-N-H-S/O content, calorific value, humidity, ash, volatile and non-volatile substances, for solid fuels.; elemental composition, water level, ash and calorific value, for liquid fuels).

The main research equipment within the laboratory is:

Other auxiliary equipment: Drying oven, Analytical balance, Calcining oven, Steel and Zirconium Ball Grinding Mill, Stainless Steel Roller Mill, Mobile Weather Station

Chemistry Laboratory: it is constituted as a support element for conducting environmental studies, evaluating the impact of anthropogenic factors on the environment and establishing technical solutions for remediation of pollution, by developing and applying complex analytical methods specific to the characterization of water and soil quality parameters. The multitude of analytical investigations carried out covers a variety of activities, such as monitoring environmental pollution and identifying risk factors, assessing the level of contamination and estimating the degree of safety or quality of water and soil, determining the chemical composition of soils, alloys and solid residues.

The main research equipment within the laboratory is: