Carmen Zaharia studied chemical engineering, which permits her to graduate some speciality courses in chemistry, chemical processes and technological processes from chemical industry among others at „Gheorghe Asachi” Polytechnic Institute of Iaşi, Faculty of Industrial Chemistry, 1990 promotion (first of the group, specialization: Tehnology of Macromolecular Compounds - T.C.M.). It is teaching staff at the same faculty, and awarded the Ph.D. diploma in the field: Chemical Engineering, after the public presentation of Ph.D. thesis: „Optimization of some wastewaters treatment using polyelectrolytes” (2000). She had performed some abroad specialization stages during some international research contracts/university academic exchanges. Up to 2008, it is associate professor at department of Environmental Engineering and Management, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection, „Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iaşi. The principal interest fields in her didactic and research activity include among others: Technological treatment processes of wastewaters
This study aims to shortly present information on monomeric (electrolyte) and polymeric coagulant... more This study aims to shortly present information on monomeric (electrolyte) and polymeric coagulants / flocculants applied for industrial effluent treatment in association with the main technological optimization aspects, considering
(i) the optimization of coagulation-flocculation process associated with chemical
precipitation of phosphates and other species (e.g., process variables dependent
of the coagulant/flocculant type and doses, effluent characteristics as pH, initial
suspended solids content, turbidity, COD-Cr, agitation regime, temperature, operating time); (ii) the optimization of suspended solids separation in pre-treatment
step, and (iii) the optimization of final separation of formed agglomerates or flocs
to perform the highest treatment degree referring to suspended solids content,
turbidity and color. In this context, an experimental planning of the coagulationflocculation treatment step applied for an industrial effluent (i.e. industrial effluent
produced from a Romanian ceramic products manufacturing company) is discussed by applying a 23 central compositional rotatable design. The results of
this effluent treatment based on coagulation-flocculation step were found corresponding in terms of efficiency and cost. Our results underline the benefits
of using combination of monomeric and polymeric materials as coagulant and
flocculant in the industrial effluent treatment station, and their advantages when
mechanical-chemical treatment steps are applied.
The removal of organic pollutants is nowadays a very challenging aspect of the environmental rese... more The removal of organic pollutants is nowadays a very challenging aspect of the environmental research. There are strong interests to develop novel semiconducting photocatalysts able to efficiently promote advanced oxidation reactions. The development of photocatalysts based on the mixtures of mixed oxides derived from layered double hydroxides (LDHs) - a family of naturally occurring anionic clays - might offer novel environmental-friendly solutions for the cost effective removal of organic pollutants. This work presents ZnO/ZnAl2O4, ZnO/Zn2TiO4 and ZnO/ZnCr2O4 as novel photocatalytic formulations for phenol degradation under UV irradiation. They were obtained by the controlled thermal treatment of the layered double hydroxides matrices (LDHs), as precursors materials, type ZnM-LDH (M = Al3+, Cr3+ or Ti4+). The LDHs were synthesized by the co-precipitation method at a constant pH. Controlled calcination at 650°C gives rise to solutions of mixed metal oxides. The structural and nanoarchitectonics characteristics of the studied catalysts were described by: XRD, SEM/TEM and TG/DTG techniques. Results show that in the photocatalytic process of the phenol degradation from aqueous solutions, ZnO/ZnCr2O4 and ZnO/ZnAl2O4 showed the best performance degrading ~98% of phenol after 3.5 hs and 5 hs, respectively; while ZnO/Zn2TiO4 has degraded almost 80 % after 7.5 hs of UV irradiation. These results open new opportunities in the development of new cost effective photoresponsive formulations able to facilitate the photo-degradation of the organic pollution as "green" solution for removal of dangerous pollutants.
... Dire warnings of overpopulation, dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, and increasing energy co... more ... Dire warnings of overpopulation, dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, and increasing energy consumption are repeated often in the media. ... to support the world's population is greater than the total area of the planet, then the human population is in ecological overshoot, and the ...
Nowadays, wastewater (WW) treatment facilities are considered significant exposure pathways for s... more Nowadays, wastewater (WW) treatment facilities are considered significant exposure pathways for solid particles, and also significant concerns of any quality conscious manufacturer. Most solid particles have some forms of organic coating either used as active material or to suspend and/or stabilize different present solid materials, having increase in toxicity that must be reduced, or sometimes even totally eliminated, especially if effluent is either discharged directly to surface water, or distributed through industrial water supplies. Representatives providing innovative technologies, comprehensive supports and expertise in wastewater and sludge treatment field are known, each one using modern treatment technology and facilities. Mechanical treatment is indispensable in primary treatment steps of both municipal and industrial WW applications, its main goal being separation of floating, settling and suspended materials (especially into a primary sedimentation-based treatment step). The aim of this work is to present comparatively the performance in solids removal of conventional mechanical WW treatment stages, especially those based on primary sedimentation, or sedimentation-like operations applied for Romanian urban WW treatment plants (serving two towns with ca 18,000 inhabitants), industrial WW treatment plants (deserving industries of vegetal food processing and organic chemicals' manufacturing) and additional information on valorisation of separated solid material and improvement possibilities.
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Nov 1, 2021
This study aimed to develop polysaccharide-based emulsions incorporated with lavender essential o... more This study aimed to develop polysaccharide-based emulsions incorporated with lavender essential oil and their application on cellulosic support for patches obtaining. The lavender essential oil has been added to emulsions as an active compound mainly due to its antimicrobial properties. In this study, emulsions were used to deliver active ingredients (lavender essential oil). The chemical composition of essential oil was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). A total of seven emulsions (RiACL) were evaluated by determining rheological parameters and microbiological analysis. One of the emulsions (R7ACL) was applied to cellulosic support to obtain non-irritating textiles with controlled release of the active compound and moisturizing effects. Obtained cellulosic support was analyzed in terms of active compound controlled release, toxicity and antimicrobial testing, and skin analysis in healthy volunteers. It was found that the cellulosic supports treated with O/W emulsions are non-irritating, have softness and moisturizing effects, and can be used safely in topical applications for patches obtaining.
Journal of Applied Life Sciences and Environment, 2022
The biomass-based soils are used in the ecological agriculture, being already proposed in sustain... more The biomass-based soils are used in the ecological agriculture, being already proposed in sustainable organic production systems with reduced costs for assuring the good cropping productivity, and also high quality of the crops. For the elimination of the synthetic inorganic fertilizers’ utilization on soil, the use of certain types of residual biomass in mixture with the reference soil was proposed as they have a positive impact on the adsorption and absorption of nutrients and water for the nutrition of plants. The aim of this paper is to present four mixtures of reference soil and residual biomass, considered as biosoil used as support for development of wheat seeds. These biosoils were characterized in terms of real density, actual and potential pH, content of total organic carbon, humus, exchangeable calcium, total and available nitrogen and phosphorus, and the trends of grain seeds germination and plants growth were registered in association with the evolution of soil pH for a...
Natural polymers can themselves be efficient as materials with biosorptive properties but can als... more Natural polymers can themselves be efficient as materials with biosorptive properties but can also be used to transform microbial biomass into an easy-to-handle form, respectively, into biosorbents, through immobilization. The article aims to study biosorbents based on residual microbial biomass (Saccharomyces pastorianus yeast, separated after the brewing process by centrifugation and dried at 80 °C) immobilized in sodium alginate. The biosorptive properties of this type of biosorbent (spherical particles 2 and 4 mm in diameter) were studied for removal of reactive dye Brilliant Red HE-3B (with concentration in range of 16.88–174.08 mg/L) from aqueous media. The paper aims at three aspects: (i) the physico-chemical characterization of the biosorbent (Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra); (ii) the modeling of biosorption data in order to calculate the quantitative characteristic parameters using...
Using various techniques, natural polymers can be successfully used as a matrix to immobilize a r... more Using various techniques, natural polymers can be successfully used as a matrix to immobilize a residual microbial biomass in a form that is easy to handle, namely biosorbents, and which is capable of retaining chemical species from polluted aqueous media. The biosorption process of reactive Brilliant Red HE-3B dye on a new type of biosorbent, based on a residual microbial biomass of Saccharomyces pastorianus immobilized in sodium alginate, was studied using mathematical modeling of experimental data obtained under certain conditions. Different methods, such as computer-assisted statistical analysis, were applied, considering all independent and dependent variables involved in the reactive dye biosorption process. The optimal values achieved were compared, and the experimental data supported the possibility of using the immobilized residual biomass as a biosorbent for the studied reference dye. The results were sufficient to perform dye removals higher than 70–85% in an aqueous solu...
This study aims to shortly present information on monomeric (electrolyte) and polymeric coagulant... more This study aims to shortly present information on monomeric (electrolyte) and polymeric coagulants / flocculants applied for industrial effluent treatment in association with the main technological optimization aspects, considering
(i) the optimization of coagulation-flocculation process associated with chemical
precipitation of phosphates and other species (e.g., process variables dependent
of the coagulant/flocculant type and doses, effluent characteristics as pH, initial
suspended solids content, turbidity, COD-Cr, agitation regime, temperature, operating time); (ii) the optimization of suspended solids separation in pre-treatment
step, and (iii) the optimization of final separation of formed agglomerates or flocs
to perform the highest treatment degree referring to suspended solids content,
turbidity and color. In this context, an experimental planning of the coagulationflocculation treatment step applied for an industrial effluent (i.e. industrial effluent
produced from a Romanian ceramic products manufacturing company) is discussed by applying a 23 central compositional rotatable design. The results of
this effluent treatment based on coagulation-flocculation step were found corresponding in terms of efficiency and cost. Our results underline the benefits
of using combination of monomeric and polymeric materials as coagulant and
flocculant in the industrial effluent treatment station, and their advantages when
mechanical-chemical treatment steps are applied.
The removal of organic pollutants is nowadays a very challenging aspect of the environmental rese... more The removal of organic pollutants is nowadays a very challenging aspect of the environmental research. There are strong interests to develop novel semiconducting photocatalysts able to efficiently promote advanced oxidation reactions. The development of photocatalysts based on the mixtures of mixed oxides derived from layered double hydroxides (LDHs) - a family of naturally occurring anionic clays - might offer novel environmental-friendly solutions for the cost effective removal of organic pollutants. This work presents ZnO/ZnAl2O4, ZnO/Zn2TiO4 and ZnO/ZnCr2O4 as novel photocatalytic formulations for phenol degradation under UV irradiation. They were obtained by the controlled thermal treatment of the layered double hydroxides matrices (LDHs), as precursors materials, type ZnM-LDH (M = Al3+, Cr3+ or Ti4+). The LDHs were synthesized by the co-precipitation method at a constant pH. Controlled calcination at 650°C gives rise to solutions of mixed metal oxides. The structural and nanoarchitectonics characteristics of the studied catalysts were described by: XRD, SEM/TEM and TG/DTG techniques. Results show that in the photocatalytic process of the phenol degradation from aqueous solutions, ZnO/ZnCr2O4 and ZnO/ZnAl2O4 showed the best performance degrading ~98% of phenol after 3.5 hs and 5 hs, respectively; while ZnO/Zn2TiO4 has degraded almost 80 % after 7.5 hs of UV irradiation. These results open new opportunities in the development of new cost effective photoresponsive formulations able to facilitate the photo-degradation of the organic pollution as "green" solution for removal of dangerous pollutants.
... Dire warnings of overpopulation, dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, and increasing energy co... more ... Dire warnings of overpopulation, dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, and increasing energy consumption are repeated often in the media. ... to support the world's population is greater than the total area of the planet, then the human population is in ecological overshoot, and the ...
Nowadays, wastewater (WW) treatment facilities are considered significant exposure pathways for s... more Nowadays, wastewater (WW) treatment facilities are considered significant exposure pathways for solid particles, and also significant concerns of any quality conscious manufacturer. Most solid particles have some forms of organic coating either used as active material or to suspend and/or stabilize different present solid materials, having increase in toxicity that must be reduced, or sometimes even totally eliminated, especially if effluent is either discharged directly to surface water, or distributed through industrial water supplies. Representatives providing innovative technologies, comprehensive supports and expertise in wastewater and sludge treatment field are known, each one using modern treatment technology and facilities. Mechanical treatment is indispensable in primary treatment steps of both municipal and industrial WW applications, its main goal being separation of floating, settling and suspended materials (especially into a primary sedimentation-based treatment step). The aim of this work is to present comparatively the performance in solids removal of conventional mechanical WW treatment stages, especially those based on primary sedimentation, or sedimentation-like operations applied for Romanian urban WW treatment plants (serving two towns with ca 18,000 inhabitants), industrial WW treatment plants (deserving industries of vegetal food processing and organic chemicals' manufacturing) and additional information on valorisation of separated solid material and improvement possibilities.
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Nov 1, 2021
This study aimed to develop polysaccharide-based emulsions incorporated with lavender essential o... more This study aimed to develop polysaccharide-based emulsions incorporated with lavender essential oil and their application on cellulosic support for patches obtaining. The lavender essential oil has been added to emulsions as an active compound mainly due to its antimicrobial properties. In this study, emulsions were used to deliver active ingredients (lavender essential oil). The chemical composition of essential oil was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). A total of seven emulsions (RiACL) were evaluated by determining rheological parameters and microbiological analysis. One of the emulsions (R7ACL) was applied to cellulosic support to obtain non-irritating textiles with controlled release of the active compound and moisturizing effects. Obtained cellulosic support was analyzed in terms of active compound controlled release, toxicity and antimicrobial testing, and skin analysis in healthy volunteers. It was found that the cellulosic supports treated with O/W emulsions are non-irritating, have softness and moisturizing effects, and can be used safely in topical applications for patches obtaining.
Journal of Applied Life Sciences and Environment, 2022
The biomass-based soils are used in the ecological agriculture, being already proposed in sustain... more The biomass-based soils are used in the ecological agriculture, being already proposed in sustainable organic production systems with reduced costs for assuring the good cropping productivity, and also high quality of the crops. For the elimination of the synthetic inorganic fertilizers’ utilization on soil, the use of certain types of residual biomass in mixture with the reference soil was proposed as they have a positive impact on the adsorption and absorption of nutrients and water for the nutrition of plants. The aim of this paper is to present four mixtures of reference soil and residual biomass, considered as biosoil used as support for development of wheat seeds. These biosoils were characterized in terms of real density, actual and potential pH, content of total organic carbon, humus, exchangeable calcium, total and available nitrogen and phosphorus, and the trends of grain seeds germination and plants growth were registered in association with the evolution of soil pH for a...
Natural polymers can themselves be efficient as materials with biosorptive properties but can als... more Natural polymers can themselves be efficient as materials with biosorptive properties but can also be used to transform microbial biomass into an easy-to-handle form, respectively, into biosorbents, through immobilization. The article aims to study biosorbents based on residual microbial biomass (Saccharomyces pastorianus yeast, separated after the brewing process by centrifugation and dried at 80 °C) immobilized in sodium alginate. The biosorptive properties of this type of biosorbent (spherical particles 2 and 4 mm in diameter) were studied for removal of reactive dye Brilliant Red HE-3B (with concentration in range of 16.88–174.08 mg/L) from aqueous media. The paper aims at three aspects: (i) the physico-chemical characterization of the biosorbent (Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra); (ii) the modeling of biosorption data in order to calculate the quantitative characteristic parameters using...
Using various techniques, natural polymers can be successfully used as a matrix to immobilize a r... more Using various techniques, natural polymers can be successfully used as a matrix to immobilize a residual microbial biomass in a form that is easy to handle, namely biosorbents, and which is capable of retaining chemical species from polluted aqueous media. The biosorption process of reactive Brilliant Red HE-3B dye on a new type of biosorbent, based on a residual microbial biomass of Saccharomyces pastorianus immobilized in sodium alginate, was studied using mathematical modeling of experimental data obtained under certain conditions. Different methods, such as computer-assisted statistical analysis, were applied, considering all independent and dependent variables involved in the reactive dye biosorption process. The optimal values achieved were compared, and the experimental data supported the possibility of using the immobilized residual biomass as a biosorbent for the studied reference dye. The results were sufficient to perform dye removals higher than 70–85% in an aqueous solu...
It is a book chapter (Chapter 3), Part 1 High Concern Sources of Organic Pollutants, 55-88, in th... more It is a book chapter (Chapter 3), Part 1 High Concern Sources of Organic Pollutants, 55-88, in the book edited by Tomasz Puzyn and Aleksandra Mostrag-Szlichtyng - Organic Pollutants - Ten Years After the Stockholm Convention - Environmental and Analytical Update, Intech Open Science / Open Minds, Rijeka, Croatia, ISBN 978-953-307-917-2
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Papers by Carmen Zaharia
(i) the optimization of coagulation-flocculation process associated with chemical
precipitation of phosphates and other species (e.g., process variables dependent
of the coagulant/flocculant type and doses, effluent characteristics as pH, initial
suspended solids content, turbidity, COD-Cr, agitation regime, temperature, operating time); (ii) the optimization of suspended solids separation in pre-treatment
step, and (iii) the optimization of final separation of formed agglomerates or flocs
to perform the highest treatment degree referring to suspended solids content,
turbidity and color. In this context, an experimental planning of the coagulationflocculation treatment step applied for an industrial effluent (i.e. industrial effluent
produced from a Romanian ceramic products manufacturing company) is discussed by applying a 23 central compositional rotatable design. The results of
this effluent treatment based on coagulation-flocculation step were found corresponding in terms of efficiency and cost. Our results underline the benefits
of using combination of monomeric and polymeric materials as coagulant and
flocculant in the industrial effluent treatment station, and their advantages when
mechanical-chemical treatment steps are applied.
(i) the optimization of coagulation-flocculation process associated with chemical
precipitation of phosphates and other species (e.g., process variables dependent
of the coagulant/flocculant type and doses, effluent characteristics as pH, initial
suspended solids content, turbidity, COD-Cr, agitation regime, temperature, operating time); (ii) the optimization of suspended solids separation in pre-treatment
step, and (iii) the optimization of final separation of formed agglomerates or flocs
to perform the highest treatment degree referring to suspended solids content,
turbidity and color. In this context, an experimental planning of the coagulationflocculation treatment step applied for an industrial effluent (i.e. industrial effluent
produced from a Romanian ceramic products manufacturing company) is discussed by applying a 23 central compositional rotatable design. The results of
this effluent treatment based on coagulation-flocculation step were found corresponding in terms of efficiency and cost. Our results underline the benefits
of using combination of monomeric and polymeric materials as coagulant and
flocculant in the industrial effluent treatment station, and their advantages when
mechanical-chemical treatment steps are applied.