Search Results (70)
Plastic pollution in the hyporheic zone: occurrence and its interaction with microorganisms
Plastic pollution is a global issue, yet our understanding of its impact on organisms and ecosystems remains limited. My PhD thesis explores the presence of microplastics (MP) in river ecosystems, their interaction with freshwater hyporheic biofilms and specifically, the response of hyporheic biofilms to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) pollution in the …
Influence of temperature on the hydration of belite-calcium sulfoaluminate cements
In this doctoral thesis influence of different temperatures (5 °C - 60 °C) on the hydration of belite-ye’elimite-ferrite cement was studied. Fluctuations in temperature can cause changes in the phase assemblage, kinetics of hydration and mechanical properties. Besides temperature, other factors such as the cement clinker phase composition, calcium sulfate …
Licit and illicit drugs in waste- and environmental waters: epidemiological and environmental implications
The analysis of drug residues in waste and environmental waters offers valuable insights into the epidemiological and environmental implications of drug use. This study employs a wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) approach to estimate the use of licit and illicit drugs and new psychoactive substances (NPS) among both general and specific populations. …
Hybrid sol-gel coatings based on different acrylate derivatives for protection of aluminium alloy and steel against corrosion and biofouling
The subject of the doctoral dissertation is the development of coatings with improved protection of metals against corrosion and antifouling protection on structural steel S355 and aluminum alloy AA7075. S355 is a widely used metal in the construction, while AA7075 is mostly used in the transportation industry. Although they exhibit …
Characterization of Spirulina microalgae as a new alternative food source
A reduction in agricultural productivity associated with water scarcity and land degradation, combined with the growing world population and malnutrition highlights the need for new alternative food sources. In this challenging field, Spirulina microalgae emerges as a promising candidate thanks to its high nutritional value and beneficial effect on human …
Development and employment of untargeted and targeted tools for virus detection in the frame of water-based epidemiology
Traditional methods of studying viruses are limited in their ability to detect novel pathogens, but recent advances in high-throughput sequencing (HTS) are changing that. HTS allows researchers to probe deeply into the virome of various hosts and environments, identifying known and unknown viral species. However, a targeted approach, like quantitative …
Surface modifications of cellulose nanomaterials: mechanisms, kinetics and their applications
Synthesized in green plants, cellulose is the most abundant natural biopolymer on the planet and is thus widely available, cheap and renewable. Furthermore, its hierarchical structure allows extraction of nanosized particles in the form of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), obtained with hydrolysis or cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), isolated through chemical, biological pretreatment …
Interactions of azole molecules with copper ions and copper surfaces covered with chemisorbed H, O, Oh or Cl
In real environments, copper and other metal surfaces are never clean. Even during active dissolution in corrosion, they are likely to be covered with adsorbed corrosion-relevant species such as O, OH, H, and Cl. To explore the impact of such species on the bonding of imidazole, used herein as an …
Use of hydrated glass for synthesis of waste-based foamed glass
Thermal insulation materials have a strong impact on energy efficiency of buildings which are one of the main energy consumers in the EU. Thermal insulation materials are widely used and improving their properties or improving their production can therefore have a rapid impact on the efficient use of energy in …
Nanocomposites as electrocatalysts for the use in fuel cell and electrolyzer reactions
Electrochemical energy conversion devices such as fuel cells (FCs) and water electrolyzers (WE) have attracted attention from the scientific community for their unique ability to store electrical energy in the form of hydrogen and then generate electricity by the reverse process. Unfortunately, those devices rely on a significant amount of …