Low water quality due to hazardous contamination is a serious concern for health and sustainable future. The major sources of water contamination are industrial discharges, municipal discharges, and agricultural activities. From the contaminants, the pharmaceutical compounds from the aquatic ecosystems have become a concern in the last decade. Thus, the project’s aim is the preparation, characterization, and testing of a new composite based on hydrogel and fruit wastes for the removal of paracetamol from contaminated water and for improving soil and plant quality.
The novelty of this project: the combination of compost obtained from apple and orange wastes, with hydrogel based on alginate. The novelty of this project is: i) the encapsulation of the orange wastes in alginate; ii) the utilization of these composites for removing paracetamol from contaminated waters; iii) the evaluation of the effects of these composites on plant nutrient uptake under irrigation with paracetamol-contaminated water.
The present project will facilitate the researchers and experience exchange between INCDTIM and CU, and will create new opportunities for applicative collaborations with stakeholders from different areas of the world.