Towards a zero liquid discharge process from brine treatment: Water recovery, nitrate electrochemical elimination and potential valorization of hydrogen and salts.

This research addresses the issues related with treatment and valorization of brines and nitrate decontamination of surface and ground waters. The objective was to approximate to zero liquid discharge (ZLD) minimizing the environmental impact of brines of an electrodialysis reversal water treatment plant (EDRWTP) as an example. The innovative in flow process was developed from lab to pre-industrial scale and joined several main concepts: ion-exchange equilibrium for softening or demineralization of brines; reversed osmosis to recover suitable water and to enrich the waste in nitrate for efficient electrochemical reduction of NO to N; valorization of subproducts by direct use or by precipitation; and assessment of the whole process by measuring in-line several parameters.

Portable determinations for legislated dissolved nitrogen forms in several environmental water samples as a study case.

In this work, we have studied the main species involved in determining total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) in water samples for accommodating a variety of quantitation methodologies to portable instruments and with the goal to achieve in situ analysis. The rise of water eutrophication is becoming an ecological problem in the world and TDN contributes markedly to this. Traditionally the several forms of DN are measured in the laboratory using conventional instrumentation from grab samples, but their analysis in place and in real time is a current demand.

Plasmonic sensor for hydrogen sulphide in saliva: Multisensor platform and bag format.

In recent years, there is a growing demand for optical sensors given their analytical properties, and the possibility of in situ implementation. Among all the types of optical sensors, plasmonic sensors have aroused great interest in the scientific community. In this work, the ability of a plasmonic sensor based on AgNPs retained on a Nylon surface is studied to determine hydrogen sulfide, which can be an indicator of oral diseases.