Dr. Abdul Latif Imran, a researcher at the Institute of Chemical Sciences at Rennes University in France, emphasized the importance of enhancing scientific collaboration and exchanging academic expertise to adapt to new developments and research, comparing them with global standards. He mentioned that this also opens new horizons for cooperation and partnerships between national and international research laboratories, similar to the institute he works at, which is one of the largest research centers in the field of chemistry and chemical engineering in France, known for its scientific impact and abundant research output.
Dr. Imran, who works within the "Chemistry and Process Engineering" team, specifically in the "Chemistry, Analysis, and Environmental Methods" group, clarified that they are currently focusing on research activities related to the development of materials and techniques specifically for sustainable production and the reclamation of biomass, as well as innovating advanced methods for environmental protection and the purification of water, surfaces, and air, not to mention modeling and simulating phenomena of transfer and surface interactions, along with promising innovations in luminescent textiles and biopolymers.
The speaker touched on several innovative projects, the most notable of which is the development of woven fabrics made from luminescent optical fibers coated with titanium dioxide "TiO2" for photocatalytic processes, pointing out that the results showed that this new system, especially when used in a "dual-sided" configuration, achieves efficiency far exceeding that of conventional reactors in treating pollutants and molecular mining.
Dr. Imran noted other research that includes the production of biological filtration membranes based on synthesized materials from marine bacteria, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates, recycling catalytic glass foam for oxidation and reduction reactions, as well as research on electrochemical sensors to detect minute pollutants at extremely low concentrations.
Biological treatment technologies and electrochemical integration
The researcher highlighted mechanisms to improve the biological treatment of wastewater and air, reviewing two crucial concepts: biostimulation by adding nutrients to enhance the activity of local bacteria, and bioaugmentation by introducing specialized microorganisms, such as fungi, where this technique successfully increased the breakdown rate of the pharmaceutical compound "carbamazepine" from 10% to over 50%. The speaker also presented a comprehensive model that integrates absorption and biological treatment to purify air from volatile organic compounds, in addition to employing advanced electrochemical oxidation techniques as a primary treatment for compounds resistant to biological breakdown, such as the antibiotic "metronidazole" before sending them to biological systems to reduce their toxic effects, affirming that the future of environmental engineering depends on the integration of chemical engineering and sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions.