Description

The solar photocatalysis is a good solution due to the low cost of the installations, its simplicity and availability of the renewable energy.  The purification or treatment of residual effluents of low contamination load but difficult repair using conventional techniques through photocatalysis, has become one of the most promising alternatives for its low cost, ease of use, high efficiency and indiscriminate destruction of a wide range of pollutant, generating final products mostly safe. The photocatalytical oxidation in gas-phase emerges as a new technology that is being researched for its potential use in the elimination of volatile organic compounds and other problematic inorganic pollutants present in gaseous effluents. It has been proved that the heterogeneous photocatalysis is useful in the oxidation of a wide range of these pollutants that show the broad application that these processes can have.  Some potential applications of the photocatalysis in gas-phase are cleaning of indoor environments in buildings, factories and homes, reduction of problematic pollutants in cities and points of emission of industrial gases, etc. The membrane technology is an emerging market in the treatment and management of urban and industrial waste water and process water.  The reduction of costs has encouraged the interest in these systems and so in the past few years it has become a prioritized technology with specific international programs for its development like the Acqueau-Eureka of 2010. This momentum is allowing the development of new applications as the treatment of residual water of high load or the elimination of emerging pollutants in water. Furthermore, the anaerobic processes are very important in the treatment of waste with a high content of organic matter, like those from the agri-food industry, since they allow to regain energy in methane gas. The relevance of the issue proposed is expressed by the rise that nowadays are taking the processes of energetic evaluation of waste. In the past years the need has emerged of reducing the consumption of fossil energy sources. This is because the growing demand of energy by our Society (domestic and industrial) for our better comfort and wellness.  We must also take into account the demand of the emerging countries, that need the energy for their development. All this has contributed to the emission of greenhouse gases which contribute to an increasing effect of global warming and take measures to reduce it internationally, having to settle an international law like the Kyoto Protocol. In this respect the work group of this research line believes that the biomass could be the basis for the future development, able to offer the needed services to the Society without increasing the content of greenhouse gases and so ensuring a series of processes of Sustainable Development. The use of biomass as an energy source and a source of co-products for the xylochemical industry is something that has been shown in the wide variety of projects undertaken and that the industry, specially the agri-food, of the Castilla y León region. The members of the work group ITAP have actively participated in all these projects.

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