Valorização de resíduos industriais em adsorventes magnéticos para remediação de águas

The research project aims at the preparation of novel magnetic porous carbon materials and their application as cost-efficient magnetic adsorbents for water remediation. The project intends to overcome some of the issues associated with adsorption procedures, namely adsorbent saturation, poor performance in real water, limited selectivity and secondary pollution. Magnetic porous carbon materials will be prepared from (i) MOFs and (ii) solid industrial wastes through pyrolysis under inert atmosphere. The proposed materials exhibit high porosity, stability and magnetic properties that will be crucial to produce cost-efficient, selective, recoverable and reusable adsorbents for water remediation. Moreover, the manufacturing of active, selective and magnetically recoverable adsorbents for the valorization of industrial wastes is highly desirable due to its availability and economic potential. The project meets the global demand for the production of value-added materials from wastes towards Circular Economy and global sustainability. The strategy devised aims at the valorization of industrial residues (cork waste and PPIW) through the preparation of simple-to-produce, non-toxic, low cost and magnetically recyclable adsorbents instead of the currently applied combustion or landfill disposal. The main objectives of the project are (a) the preparation of magnetic adsorbents based on MDPCs and chars obtained by pyrolysis under inert atmosphere of MOFs or industrial wastes, respectively; (b) evaluation of the influence of experimental parameters (precursors composition, pyrolysis conditions) on the final properties of the carbon materials (porosity, morphology, microstructure) aiming at the identification of structure-properties relationships; (c) the application of both sets of magnetic porous carbons in the removal of inorganic and organic water pollutants, addressing the influence of porosity, architecture and chemical composition in the adsorptive performance; (d) optimization of experimental adsorption parameters (pH, contact time, adsorbent mass); (e) study of the adsorption kinetics and isotherms followed by fitting of adequate models and (f) rational selection of the most promising magnetic adsorbents for application in the remediation of natural water (estuaries and rivers) and wastewaters from the treatment stations of the companies involved in the project (Altri-Celbi and Veiga de Macedo).