Project Abstract:

The rapid expansion of industrialization has increased the risks of pollution, which significantly affects the environment and indirectly the health of all living organisms. Heavy metal ions are the most harmful water contaminants because their high toxicity, bioaccumulation and long-term persistence into the ecosystem give rise to severe health effects. In this respect, our efforts are focused on minimizing the environmental impact of heavy metal ions using novel ligand-functionalized biocomposites with tuned porosity, which are based on eco-friendly and cheap natural resources. Our approach will be oriented towards both the design of ligand-functionalized biocomposites and the evaluation of their performance and feasibility as selective sorbents for removal/recovery of heavy metal ions. Moreover, the results obtained from modeling and optimization procedures using tools of artificial intelligence will provide very useful information for the experimental and industrial practice, in the sense of (i) substitution/prediction of experiments in order to save materials, energy, and time, as well as for a better planning of research activities, and (ii) emphasizing the maximum expected performance of a selected system and the conditions necessary to achieve it.