NEWS

22th Mostra U.Porto 2025

March 11, 2025

The 22st edition of the "Mostra Universidade do Porto" took place from 6 to 9 march at the Pavilhão Multiusos in Gondomar. Mostra U.Porto is an annual initiative promoted by the University of Porto with the aim of informing the general public, and especially schoolchildren, about the educational opportunities offered by the University and to highlight the research being carried out in the various fields of scientific knowledge.

Mostra U.Porto is a free event that brings together 14 faculties and several research centres integrated in the University of Porto, including ALiCE - Associated Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, composed of the R&D units CEFT, LEPABE and LSRE-LCM. The Associated Laboratory presented interactive activities of scientific experimentation and demonstration, aimed at pre-university participants and at recent graduates wishing to pursue studies in the field of chemical engineering.

The LSRE-LCM would like to thank the researchers who participated in this Mostra U.Porto event during the 4 days!

LSRE-LCM Researchers present at EMEC24

Janruary 15, 2025

LSRE-LCM researchers made significant contributions at the 24th European Meeting on Environmental Chemistry (EMEC24), held from November 26 to 29 2024 in Alicante, Spain, which brought together environmental scientists and engineers from across Europe to discuss the latest advancements in environmental chemistry.

Leonor Barroca won the Best Poster Communication Prize for Young Researchers, sponsored by the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water, for her poster entitled "Removal of Venlafaxine and Diclofenac from Drinking Water Using a Spirulina-Based Carbon Bio-Sorbent and a Commercial Adsorbent", L.R. Barroca, A.L.R. Cabral, M.F. Pedrosa, A.R.L. Ribeiro, A.M.T. Silva

Ana Rita Lado Ribeiro delivered a keynote presentation titled “Are We Aware of the Role of Enantioselectivity in the Environment?” and was awarded with the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water, reflecting the significance of her research.

André Torres Pinto, whose participation was supported by a grant from the Association for Chemistry and the Environment (ACE), presented two works at EMEC24:

- Oral Communication: “Promoting the Self-Immobilisation of Activated Carbon for Enhanced Adsorption of Organic Micropollutants”, A. Torres-Pinto, J.J.M. Dele, A.M. Chávez, A.M.T. Silva

- Poster Presentation: “Photocatalytic Activation of Hypochlorite with Graphitic Carbon Nitride under Simulated Sunlight Irradiation”, A. Torres-Pinto, I. Velo-Gala, C.G. Silva, J.L. Faria, A.M.T. Silva.

Congratulations to Leonor, André and Ana Rita on these achievements!

Photographs by Sladjana Savic

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

PUBLICATIONS

Almeida C.F., Manrique Y.A., Lopes J.C.B., Martins F.G., Dias M.M.. Recovery of ergosterol from Agaricus bisporus mushrooms via supercritical fluid extraction: A response surface methodology optimisation. Heliyon, 10, e21943, 2024
Lopes J.C., Albero J., Sampaio M.J., Silva C.G., García H., Faria J.L.. Selective oxidative coupling of amines through light-activated bismuth halide perovskites. ChemCatChem, 16, e202301432, 2024
Corrêa I., Faria R.P.V., Rodrigues A.E.. Enhanced simulated moving bed reactor performance for the synthesis of solketal by implementing the ModiCon strategy. Adsorption, 30, 79 - 93, 2024
Paulista L.O., Ferreira A.F.P., Castanheira B., Ðolić M.B., Martins R.J.E., Boaventura R.A.R., Vilar V.J.P., Silva T.F.C.V.. Solar-driven thermo-photocatalytic CO2 methanation over a structured RuO2:TiO2/SBA-15 nanocomposite at low temperature. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 340, 123232, 2024
Fdez-Sanromán A., Torres-Pinto A., Rosales E., Silva C.G., Faria J.L., Pazos M., Silva A.M.T.. Optimisation of a photoelectrochemical system for the removal of pharmaceuticals in water using graphitic carbon nitride. Catalysis Today, 432, 114578, 2024

APPROVED PROJECTS

SWMOF - Water capture from atmospheric humidity using ecological MOFs and integration with intelligent water distribution systems. Reference: Water4All/0003/2022. Funded by: FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Water4All - Water4All Partnership (co-funded by Horizon Europe). Starting Date: 2024/04/01. Duration: 36 months.
ReWateR - Recovery of Wastewater Resources in Agriculture. Reference: 82343. Funded by: “La Caixa” Foundation, INCF - Incoming Fellowship 2023. Starting Date: 2024/04/01. Duration: 36 months.
ERA-ARE - A new ERA for Environmental Risk Assessment: Chirality as a tool towards environmentally safe pharmaceuticals. Reference: ERC - 101039270. Funded by: European Comission, Horizon Europe | ERC | STARTING GRANTS. Starting Date: 2023/12/31. Duration: 60 months.
NEWater - Unconventional, natural and low-energy solutions for managing water sources. Reference: Water4All/0002/2022. Funded by: FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Water4All - Water4All Partnership (co-funded by Horizon Europe). Starting Date: 2023/12/01. Duration: 36 months.
RESURGENCE - Industrial Water Circularity: Reuse, resource recovery and energy efficiency for greener digitised EU process. Reference: 101138097. Funded by: European Comission, Horizonte Europa | Cluster 4: Digital, Industry and Space. Starting Date: 2023/12/01. Duration: 48 months.

THESIS DEFENSES

Patrícia Sofia Ferreira Ramalho
Selective reduction of nitric oxide (NOx) over carbon-based catalysts
Daniela Maria Vilaça Pereira
Innovative (photo) electrocatalytic technologies for the sustainable oxidation of organic compounds
Joana Carvalho Lopes
Photocatalytic synthesis of imines: Novel routes to ever-new molecules
Isabel Sofia Oliveira Barbosa
Technologies for Sustainable Ammonia Production: Reactor Design and Prototyping
Maria Amélia Gabriel de Barros
Photoactivated metal-free smart textiles with self-cleaning and antibacterial properties
Vinicius Viena Santana
Cyber-physical oriented chemical process for green and sustainable production