Design of biomimetic membranes for industrial wastewater treatment

The scarcity of natural resources and increasing waste production emphasize the need to design more efficient treatment technologies that prioritize recovery over removal. The final aim of this research is to develop an industrial wastewater treatment to selectively remove, recover, and concentrate metals using bio-synthetic membranes can be functionalized with specific proteins (metal transporters) for the selective removal and recovery of metals.

Investigation of metal stability in the sediments from legacy contamination in a river (Animas River, CO) (in collaboration with Jose Cerrato’s research group, University of New Mexico)

The principal goal of this research is to investigate the unique mechanisms governing the mobilization of metals and metal mixtures in the sediments from the Animas River, integrating the chemical and biological processes that will control the contaminants’ fate. The assessment of these mechanisms will be achieved through the identification and quantification of the magnitude and distribution concentrations of a mixture of metals in environmental media.

Investigation of the impact of microbial processes on arsenic stability in sediments from Cheyenne River (in collaboration with Jose Cerrato’s research group, University of New Mexico)

This project investigates the role of microbial processes on arsenic stability in sediments from the Cheyenne River and its potential for transport and mobilization to water and plants which represents a risk for Sioux Tribal lands. The research specifically focus in understanding the microbially-driven redox transformation of arsenic-bearing minerals under local environmentally-relevant conditions. 

Lucia Rodriguez-Freire
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
lrfreire@njit.edu