The Laboratory of Analysis and Environmental Research (LARA) occupies a wing on the third floor of Building 8 of the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at UNINA, with an area of approximately 200 m2, as well as a room on the ground floor where most of the experimental equipment is located
MAIN ANALYTICAL EQUIPMENT
- Ion chromatographs (IC), high-performance liquid chromatographs (HPLC), and gas chromatographs with mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and thermal conductivity detector (GC-TCD);
- Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS);
- Atomic absorption spectrometers (AAS) and atomic fluorescence spectrometers (AFS);
- Nuclear magnetic resonance with mass spectrometry (NMR-MS);
- UV/Vis and fluorescence spectrophotometers;
- Total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer;
- Elemental CHONS analyzer;
- Respirometer.
In addition to the aforementioned analytical equipment, LARA is equipped with the following instrumentation for sample pretreatment and preparation:
- Precision balances;
- Ovens;
- Muffle furnace;
- Lyophilizer;
- Microwave digester;
- Digester for chemical oxygen demand (COD) measurements;
- Distiller for ammoniacal nitrogen and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) measurements.
MAIN ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSES AND PROCEDURES
- pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, redox potential, conductivity, turbidity;
- Water content, total, suspended, dissolved, volatile, and non-volatile solids;
- Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and chemical oxygen demand (COD);
- Total organic and inorganic carbon (TOC and TIC);
- Total nitrogen and phosphorus;
- Ions (e.g., nitrates, nitrites, sulfates, selenates, thiosulfates, chlorides, phosphates);
- Heavy metals;
- Organic constituents (e.g., petroleum derivatives, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile fatty acids, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids);
- Constituents of gas mixtures and biogas (e.g., methane, carbon dioxide, and molecular hydrogen);
- Quantitative measurements of CH4 and H2 using the liquid displacement method;
- Extraction of metals and organic constituents from soils and solid residues;
- Dewaterability parameters of sewage sludge.
Research areas
Nutrients
Experimental studies and mathematical modeling on:
- Traditional systems (i.e., CAS) and innovative systems (e.g., MBR and MBBR) for the biological removal of nitrogen from urban and industrial wastewater;
- Autotrophic denitrification;
- Coupling of the biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen and sulfur;
- Colonization of multispecies biofilms with heterotrophic, nitrifying, denitrifying, AnAmmOx, and sulfate-reducing microorganisms;
- Biological sulfate and selenate reduction;
- Microalgae-based systems for N and P removal.
Metalli
- Stimulation, inhibition, and toxicity of metal addition in biological systems;
- Use of Fe(II) for the stimulation of autotrophic denitrification and production/recovery of biominerals; Precipitation of metals with biogenic sulfide;
- Co-precipitation of arsenic on iron biominerals;
- Recovery of metals and rare earth elements from waste electrical and electronic equipment;
- Removal of heavy metals from soils using chelating agents through soil washing and soil flushing;
- Mathematical modelling of the mechanisms (e.g. precipitation, complexation) related to the addition of trace metals in anaerobic digestion.
Disinfezione e acque potabili
- Control of disinfection by‑products in water distribution systems;
- Modeling of trihalomethane (THM) formation in water distribution networks; Evaluation of optimal chlorine dosing;
- Modeling of water quality decay in distribution networks.
Processi di ossidazione avanzata
- Removal of pharmaceutical compounds from wastewater using electrochemical processes;
- Fenton and Electro-Fenton processes;
- Removal of surfactants using anodic oxidation processes;
- Coupling of electrochemical and biological processes (e.g. BioelectroFenton);
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of different materials for anode and cathode;
- Photocatalysis of micropollutants;
- Assessment of the ecotoxicity of effluents upstream and downstream of advanced oxidation processes.
Bioenergia e biorisorse da rifiuti
- Anaerobic digestion and co-digestion of livestock wastewater, OFMSW, and lignocellulosic residues;
- Dry anaerobic digestion and mathematical modeling;
- Calibration and validation of mathematical models aimed at studying the influence of the particle size of organic substrates in biomethanation tests;
- Stability and dewaterability of CAS and MBR sludges;
- Dark and photo-fermentation for production of hydrogen (H2), volatile fatty acids (VFA), and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA);
- Utilizzo di colture ipertermofile pure per la produzione di H2 and lactic acid;
- Degradability of asbestos in cementitious waste through biogenic VFAs produced via dark fermentation;
- Biogas purification and biorefinery using microalgae systems.
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Idrocarburi policiclici aromatici
- Kinetics of volatilization, desorption, and adsorption of naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and benzo(a)pyrene in clays and peat;
- Land farming and composting of soils contaminated with PAHs;
- Removal of PAHs using techniques of bio-stimulation through the addition of digestate, OFMSW and nutrients to marine sediments;
- Phyto-remediation;
- Phenanthrene degradation through advanced oxidation processes of anodic oxidation.
