Elisabetta Gover
TOPIC / ACTIVITIES (ENG only)
APPLICATION OF PHOTODYNAMIC INACTIVATION ON WASTEWATER
PhD Project (ENG only)
Water is an essential element for life on earth but only 2.5% of water present on the earth's surface is available for human activities and the biological needs of living organisms. The progressive demographic increase, industrialization, climate change, inter-annual climatic variability and the use of water for energy production, have determined a constant decrease in the availability of freshwater. The gradual depletion of available water represents one of the more urgent environmental issues to be addressed and therefore included among the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations. To overcome the problems related to water scarcity, it is necessary to operate with strategies that involve the identification of unconventional water sources or through the recovery of wastewater which must be deprived of their chemical and biological pollutants. The PhD project is based on the application of photodynamic inactivation (PDI) on wastewater which is an unconventional technology capable of guaranteeing the reduction of the health risk associated with microbial contamination, while protecting environmental integrity.
The main objectives of the PhD project are:
- design and develop of new photoactive materials using PS potentially recoverable from vegetable processing waste;
- design and manufacture a bench prototype for the biological recovery of wastewater using photoactive materials;
- study the sustainability of the process in the scaling-up phase.
PROGRESS OF THE ACTIVITIES
The PhD student completed her PON (National Operational Programme) doctoral program in collaboration with CAFC S.p.A., combining her experience in microbiological technologies with fundamental aspects of organic materials chemistry, ultimately leading to her studies in Integrated Water Cycle Science and Engineering. This multidisciplinary approach was reach with exemplary commitment and continuity, successfully combining and deepening both aspects of organic chemistry under the excellent guidance of co-supervisor Prof. Clara Comuzzi, and microbiology under the invaluable guidance of co-supervisor Prof. Marilena Marino.
Pubblications
Gover, E; Rondinella, A; Marino, M; Brovedani, A; Tavani, A; Lopriore, M; Alongi, M; Manzocco, L; Fedrizzi, L; Goi, D; "Vanillin-based photoactive materials: A sustainable approach to antimicrobial solutions”, 2025, JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY A-CHEMISTRY, 468, DOI10.1016/j.jphotochem.2025.116501.
Rossi, A; Marroni, F; Renoldi, N; Di Filippo, G; Gover, E; Marino, M; Innocente, N; 2024, JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE, 107(7), DOI10.3168/jds.2024-24463.