CHEE Seminar: Sergi Garcia-Segura
Monday, April 29, 2024 – 10:00 a.m.
Sergi Garcia-Segura, PhD
Assistant Professor
Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Arizona State University
"Electrochemically-driven Technologies Enabling Access to Clean Water: Decentralized Off-grid Water Treatment"
César Chávez Building, Room 400
ABSTRACT
Water scarcity and quality are critical issues on a global scale. Ensuring access to water and sanitation for all is a sustainable development goal identified by the United Nations. Emerging contaminants (e.g., nitrate, perfluoroalkyl substances, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, etc.) are becoming a recurrent water quality issue. Multidisciplinary research efforts are key to succeeding in the development of promising transformative water treatment technologies. In this scenario, electrochemically driven processes emerge as alternative new generation of advanced treatments. In this seminar, we will discuss some fundamental aspects of electrochemically driven technologies. Different challenges and research opportunities will be identified during the presentation through different case scenarios that exploit electrochemical technologies for decentralized water treatment. Examples of modular units based on electrochemical advanced oxidation processes, electrochemical advanced reduction processes, and electrodisinfection will be used to showcase competitiveness of electrified water treatment at different scales. We aim to discuss key questions that drive the research needs of today and tomorrow. How can electrochemical processes and engineering contribute to advance the next generation of smart and sustainable water treatment? Join us to discover some answers in this seminar.
BIOSKETCH
Dr. Garcia-Segura is currently an assistant professor at Arizona State University. He holds a BS degree in chemistry from the University of Barcelona and a BS degree in material science engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. He conducted an MS in electrochemistry science and engineering at the University of Alicante and completed his PhD in physical chemistry at the University of Barcelona. His research seeks to develop sustainable water treatment technologies by using interfacial catalytic processes (h=56). He has worked across four continents in multidisciplinary teams aiming to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. He is currently editor of Chemosphere (Elsevier), Catalysis Communications (Elsevier) and Water Science & Technology (IWA).