Faculty of Engineering

Z7_NQ5E12C0LOF160QDKRNCOGGJA1

Research group

Spanish

Environmental Catalysis

Academic Unit: Faculty of Engineering

Colombian Ministry of Science

A1

Call

894 GrupLAC

OECD

Area

Engineering and technology

Subarea

Chemical engineering

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Strategic Focus

The group strives to promote environmental improvement through the use of catalytic methods to control emissions polluting gases and the development of environmental-friendly routes to obtain value-added products. To achieve that, the group carries out applied research projects and spreads knowledge through papers.

Research Lines and/or Areas

Characterization and treatment of traces of organochlorine compounds.
Strategies of improvement for energetic and environmental processes.
Fixation of greenhouse gases and air pollution control.
Valorization of essential oils.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Group Coordinator

Aida Luz Villa Holguin, Ph.D.

Ph.D. in Agronomy, Catholic

University of Louvain.

Coordinator's Email

aida.villa@udea.edu.co

Research Group Email

grupocatalisisambiental@udea.edu.co

Scientific Cooperation

Collaborative Relationships

Pulpa y Papel Group UPB, MedellinGroup Coordinator.
Group of Professor Fabio Ribeiro Purdue University.
CIBIMOL Universidad Industrial de Santander.
Energy, Materials and Environment Group Universidad de La Sabana.

Academic Work on Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering Group Universidad Nacional, Manizales Campus.
Colombian Petroleum Institute.
Institute of Materials Science Universidad de Sevilla, Spain.

Highlighted Projects

Design of the production process of fuel alcohol from cassava starch through simultaneous saccharification-fermentation method using membranes for in situ removal of ethanol Fiduagraria S.A, Fundaunibán, Colombian Ministry of Science, and UdeA.
Reduction of particulate material and NOx emissions in the company Sumicol S.A. Colombian Ministry of Science, Sumicol, and UdeA.
CO2 fixation produced during biomass fermentation through environmental-friendly processes Ministry of Agriculture and UdeA.
Development of the value aggregation chain of oils obtained from species cultivated in Colombia through sustainable processes Colombian Ministry of Science and UdeA.
Temporary Union: National Research Center for Agro-industrialization of Aromatic and Medicinal Tropical Plants (CENIVAM).

Key Research Findings

Transformation of essential oils through clean processes.
Synthesis of catalytic materials.
Active materials for NOx reduction.
Materials for the elimination of organochlorine compounds.

Services and/or Products Portfolio

The group synthesizes and characterizes materials that can be used as catalysts.
Evaluation of catalysts activity in liquid and gas phases.
Analysis of NOx through chemiluminescence and gas IR.
Analysis of solid, liquid and gaseous samples through IR.
Characterization of solids through programmed temperature techniques (TPR, TPD, TPO) and chemisorption coupled to mass spectrometer.
Analysis of essential oils.
Modeling and simulation of chemical processes.

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