Publications related to A novel proposition for a citrate-modified photo-Fenton process against bacterial contamination of microalgae cultures

Enabling simultaneous reprocessability and fire protection via incorporation of phosphine oxide monomer in epoxy vitrimer

The conception of epoxy thermosets with both reprocessability and flame retardancy delineates a new horizon in polymer science, offering a material solution that is not only superior in fire safety but is also environment friendly. Herein, a flame-retardan ...

Journal Mater Sci Technol2024

Oxidation processes and me

Urs von Gunten

This publication summarizes my journey in the field of chemical oxidation processes for water treatment over the last 30+ years. Initially, the efficiency of the application of chemical oxidants for micropollutant abatement was assessed by the abatement of ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2024

Sunshine and a pinch of tropical soils: A natural, low-cost photo-Fenton variation for safer water, assisted by H2O2 or percabonate

Michaël Bensimon, César Pulgarin, Stefanos Giannakis, Jérémie Decker, Thomas Guillaume

Clean water is essential for human survival, but access to safe drinking water remains a challenge in resource -limited regions. Herein, we explored a low-cost but effective solution for water potabilization using natural iron sources from soils along with ...

ELSEVIER2023

Mitochondrial nanomotion measured by optical microscopy

Sandor Kasas, María Inés Villalba, Priyanka Parmar

Nanometric scale size oscillations seem to be a fundamental feature of all living organisms on Earth. Their detection usually requires complex and very sensitive devices. However, some recent studies demonstrated that very simple optical microscopes and de ...

Frontiers Media SA2023

Mechanistic insights on interactions of dissolved organic matter with chemical oxidants: quantification of reactive sites and identification of oxidation byproducts

Joanna Maria Houska

Chemical oxidants including ozone (O3), chlorine (HOCl/OCl-) and chlorine dioxide (ClO2) are applied for disinfection of drinking water. To cope with water scarcity and the increased risks associated with the presence of micropollutants, water treatment sy ...

EPFL2023

The biofilm ecology of proglacial floodplain streams

Jade Brandani

Glacial forelands figure among the most dynamic landscapes on Earth, and their formation is currently accelerating given glacier shrinkage. Draining these forelands are streams hosting unique microbial communities, which have the capacity to impact both th ...

EPFL2023

Bacterial inactivation in sunlit surface waters is dominated by reactive species that emanate from the synergy between light, iron, and natural organic matter

César Pulgarin, Stefanos Giannakis, Jun Ma, Da Wang, Shuang Song

In this study, the synergistic and antagonistic effects of Fe species and coexisting natural organic matter (NOM) on the efficacy of solar light disinfection of water are investigated. Different initial iron species (Fe2+/Fe3+) and naturalorganic matter ty ...

Elsevier2023

Oxidative Water Treatment: The Track Ahead

Urs von Gunten, Yun Ho Lee

Chemical oxidation has been applied in municipal water treatment for more than a century, initially for disinfection. In the early decades, chlorine disinfection was adopted in the fight against waterborne disease. However, the oxidative properties of chlo ...

2023

Effective removal of the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus from a Chlorella vulgaris microalgal culture by homogeneous solar photo-Fenton at neutral pH

Horst Pick, Christian Ludwig, Adrian Pulgarin, Stefanos Giannakis, Jérémie Decker, Dominik Refardt, Jiahua Chen

In this study, a citrate-modified photo-Fenton process was successfully applied to decontaminate a Chlorella vulgaris microalgae culture spiked with the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus (5 individuals mL−1). The applied treatment (1 mg L−1 Fe2+, 20 mg L−1 H ...

2022

Solar water purification with photocatalytic nanocomposite filter based on TiO2 nanowires and carbon nanotubes

Luca Rossi, László Forró, Dominique Grandjean, Andrzej Sienkiewicz, Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider, Endre Horvath, Miriam Gaál

Water contamination due to environmental conditions and poor waste management in certain areas of the world represents a serious problem in accessing clean and safe drinking water. This problem is especially critical in electricity-poor regions, where adva ...

2022

Pretreatment options for micropollutant abatement before aquifer recharge in drinking water production: Assessment of UV/H2O2 and dense membranes

Robin Wünsch

Micropollutants (MP) such as residues of pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals or pesticides can be detected in almost all water resources. Various processes can be used to abate them in drinking water treatment, e.g., ozonation, advanced oxidation process ...

EPFL2022

Kinetic and mechanistic understanding of chlorite oxidation during chlorination: Optimization of ClO2 pre-oxidation for disinfection byproduct control

Urs von Gunten, Yun Ho Lee

Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) applications to drinking water are limited by the formation of chlorite (ClO2-) which is regulated in many countries. However, when ClO2 is used as a pre-oxidant, ClO2- can be oxidized by chlorine during subsequent disinfection. In ...

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD2022

Iodide sources in the aquatic environment and its fate during oxidative water treatment - A critical review

Urs von Gunten

Iodine is a naturally-occurring halogen in natural waters generally present in concentrations between 0.5 and 100 mu g L-1. During oxidative drinking water treatment, iodine-containing disinfection by-products (I-DBPs) can be formed. The formation of I-DBP ...

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD2022

Identifying the mediators of intracellular E. coli inactivation under UVA light: The (photo) Fenton process and singlet oxygen

César Pulgarin, Stefanos Giannakis

Solar disinfection (SODIS) was probed for its underlying mechanism. When Escherichia coli was exposed to UVA irradiation, the dominant solar fraction acting in SODIS process, cells exhibited a shoulder before death ensued. This profile resembles cell killi ...

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD2022

Toward biocontrol of waterborne pathogens: contributions of protists to virus removal and associated mechanisms

Margot Ninon Lauren Olive

Human viruses are widespread in the water environment and pose a risk to human health. Wastewater effluents represent the main source of viruses discharge in the environment, leading to contamination of aquatic ecosystems. Viral pathogens can persist on th ...

EPFL2022

Assessment of water, sanitation, and hygiene services in district health care facilities in rural area of Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Solomzi Makohliso, Klaus Benedikt Schönenberger

Access to sufficient water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services is a crucial requirement for patients during therapy and general well-being in the hospital. However, in low- and middle-income countries, these services are often inadequate, resulting in ...

SPRINGER2022

Superior visible light-mediated catalytic activity of a novel N-doped, Fe3O4-incorporating MgO nanosheet in presence of PMS: Imidacloprid degradation and implications on simultaneous bacterial inactivation

Stefanos Giannakis, Jérémie Decker

Impressive Imidacloprid (IMD) degradation and bacterial inactivation were attained through the photocatalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) via a novel, N-doped MgO@Fe3O4, under visible light. After complete characterization (XPS, XRD, FT-IR, FE-SE ...

ELSEVIER2022

Glacier shrinkage will accelerate downstream decomposition of organic matter and alters microbiome structure and function

Nicola Deluigi, Leïla Ezzat, Vincent Henri De Staercke, Tom Ian Battin, Paraskevi Pramateftaki, Hannes Markus Peter, Jade Brandani, Matteo Tolosano, Michail Styllas, Tyler Joe Kohler, Stylianos Fodelianakis, Massimo Bourquin, Martina Andrea Schön, Susheel Bhanu Busi, Grégoire Marie Octave Edouard Michoud

The shrinking of glaciers is among the most iconic consequences of climate change. Despite this, the downstream consequences for ecosystem processes and related microbiome structure and function remain poorly understood. Here, using a space-for-time substi ...

Wiley2022

SODIS potential: A novel parameter to assess the suitability of solar water disinfection worldwide

César Pulgarin, Sofia Samoili, Stefanos Giannakis, Giulio Farinelli

This paper studies the worldwide applicability of solar water disinfection (SODIS) technology through a novel parameter: the SODIS potential. This parameter is defined as the inverse ratio between the required exposure time to achieve a four log disinfecti ...

ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA2021

Robust and sustainable cultivation of microalgae: recycling of nitrogen from liquid digestate and control of biological contamination

Adrian Pulgarin

The present doctoral thesis aimed to achieve a robust cultivation of microalgae by recycling nitrogen from a liquid digestate. However, the use of non-sterile nutrient source increases the risks of contamination of undesired organisms such as bacteria, vir ...

EPFL2021