20 years of Science and Innovation
Low cost oxygen concentrator to respond to COVID-19 pandemic
Posted on June 1st, 2020
A team led by Prof. Adélio Mendes, from LEPABE, worked in collaboration with PARALAB and FEUP to develop an oxygen concentrator that can be used to delay the need to use ventilators.
This technology is a low cost oxygen concentrator that aims to postpone the need for patients to use the ventilator. Oxygen concentrators are devices that purify oxygen from atmospheric air, providing oxygen with a purity of up to 95%. They are devices that can play an important role in places where there is no access to the hospital gas network (as in the case of field hospitals) or even in patients who need respiratory care at home. The prototype is in the testing phase and then will follow for certification and validation by specialists. The idea will be to produce these concentrators locally, whenever requested, in a low cost version.
Know more about this here.
Francisco X. Malcata distinguished with the IDFA Teaching Award in Dairy Manufacturing
Posted on May 26th, 2020
Prof. Francisco X. Malcata, Senior Researcher at LEPABE, was distinguished by the American Dairy Science Association (USA) with the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) Teaching Award in Dairy Manufacturing 2020.
This award was created to recognize outstanding teaching of university students in dairy foods, and it is the first time that a Portuguese national is selected. For Francisco X. Malcata, this prize recognizes his work in advanced training in the area of dairy foods, over almost 3 decades of university career. More information about this award here.
Congratulations!
LEPABE returns to laboratory work after COVID-19 outbreak
Posted on May 19th, 2020
Webinar on CO2 capture and utilization
Posted on May 15th, 2020
In the framework of the FCT funded project entitled Power2Methane, the webinar “CO2 capture and utilization: insights from academia and industry” will be held on June 5th 2020 from 9:30-17:00 (GMT). The event will feature academia/research and industrial speakers in fields related to CO2 capture and/or utilization.
Registration is free but required. To register, please follow the link and fill in the form. Participants will subsequently receive, by email, a link to access the event through the Zoom platform. The webinar will be in English. More information available here.
PhD Thesis by Sara Ramos on emerging contaminants
May 13th, 2020
LEPABE would like to congratulate Dr. Sara Ramos for her PhD thesis of the Doctoral Program in Environmental Engineering, entitled “Emerging contaminants, from waste to taste? Ultraviolet-Filters and Synthetic Musk Compounds as case study” supervised by Prof. Lúcia Santos, defended on May 13th 2020 at FEUP.
LEPABE submitted 80 proposals to FCT projects call
Posted on May 7th, 2020
During the confinement period due to COVID-19 pandemic, the effort of LEPABE researchers who submitted proposals for R&D projects in the FCT call, that ended on April 30th, 2020, was noteworthy.
LEPABE submitted about 32% of FEUP's proposals (80 projects), of which 56 are led by LEPABE and the others in collaboration with other institutions. Note that 53 of the 80 applications are from LEPABE doctoral researchers.
LEPABE thanks everyone for their efforts in this process and wishes every proposal the greatest success.
PhD Thesis by Ameessa Tulcidas on pharmaceutical crystallization processes
April 27th, 2020
LEPABE would like to congratulate Dr. Ameessa Tulcidas for her PhD thesis of the Doctoral Program in Refining, Petrochemical and Chemical Engineering, entitled “Development of scale-up methodologies for pharmaceutical crystallization processes” supervised by Prof. Fernando Rocha, defended on April 27th 2020 at FEUP.
LEPABE participates in project to respond to COVID-19 pandemic
Posted on April 24th, 2020
The project NAM4Covid19: Nucleic acid mimic lateral flow assay (NAM-LFA) for the detection of Covid19 was approved in the FCT special call RESEARCH 4 COVID-19.
The solution proposed in this project will allow a faster detection of SARS-CoV-2 (<1 hour), when compared with the WHO recommended protocols that take more than 2 hours. It will also avoid the need for specialized technicians and equipment (needs only a simple heat block), and hence improve SNS' testing capacity to SARS-CoV-2 detection. In collaboration with INSA – National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, national reference laboratory for the SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis, this project proposes to develop a rapid and accurate point-of-care testing (POCT) method for SARS-CoV-2 detection.
Coordinated by INIAV, this project counts with the collaboration of a team from LEPABE/FEUP, led by Prof. Nuno Azevedo from the Biotechnology group.
Congratulations!
European Project 112CO2 granted to LEPABE
Posted on April 15th, 2020
LEPABE congratulates the team led by Prof. Adélio Mendes, of the Processes, Products and Energy group, for the approval of an European project under FET Proactive program - Boosting emerging technologies, with a total funding of 3,5 millions €, which of 840 000 € for LEPABE/FEUP.
The aim of the project 112CO2 - Low temperature catalytic methane decomposition for COx-free hydrogen production, is to develop a technology that allows production of energy without emission of greenhouse gases/pollutants. Through the decomposition of methane (from biomethane, natural gas or synthetic methane) into carbon and hydrogen, this technology intends to be efficient, stable and inexpensive, with no emissions of any other by-products. The hydrogen produced can be used in fuel cells to produce electricity, in the chemical and petrochemical industry, to supply hydrogen to city blocks, or to be used as fuel in ships, trains, buses and trucks, for example.
The project consortium is led by FEUP/LEPABE team, and counted with the contribution of Pedro Coelho (H2020 office). The other partners of the project are the Faculdade de Letras da U.Porto (FLUP), the Agência Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Spain, the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Germany, and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.
The industry partners involved are Quantis (Switzerland), Paul Wurth (Luxembourg) and PixelVoltaic (Portugal), a spin-off of FEUP.
Know more about this project here.
New ventilators from Sysadvance, a spin-off from LEPABE
Posted on April 20th, 2020
Sysadvance, a spin-off company from FEUP/LEPABE, linked to Prof. Adélio Mendes, is producing new ventilators in collaboration with the Portuguese Medical Association to reinforce the intensive care units (ICUs) in Portuguese hospitals.
The ventilator SYSVent will now begin the clinical trials to get the necessary certification according to the European Medical Devices Directive. “At a time when the covid-19 pandemic is creating great pressure on the Portuguese health system, namely in terms of availability of ventilation systems for Intensive Care Units (ICU), this equipment meets the requirements, namely administration and control of oxygen mixture, pressure and volume control, either in mandatory or assisted control mode, and will soon be able to reinforce hospitals across the country ”, explains the Association.
Know more here.
LEPABE Senior Research involved in NASA study
Posted on April 6th, 2020
LEPABE Senior Researcher and Advanced Cyclone Systems CTO, Prof. Romualdo Salcedo, was involved in a NASA study, through the client Physical Sciences, Mass, USA. The study "Radio Frequency Plasma Synthesis of Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNTs) for Structural Applications: Part II", developed in 2016, has now been made public.
In this study, a cyclone hybrid system "Recyclone EH", produced at Advanced Cyclone Systems, a spin-off of LEPABE, was the best option to collect the nano-sized particulates. This technology concept involves a wire-in-pipe electrostatic separator that is mounted atop a conventional cyclone, that allows top performance over all particle sizes. Confirmed 90% efficiency over particle sizes between 20-30 nm has been achieved.
The study is available here.
Notícias Magazine interviews Ana L. Gonçalves
Posted on April 9th, 2020
Ana L. Gonçalves, Research Fellow at LEPABE, was recently highlighted in the latest edition of Notícias Magazine, a supplement of Jornal de Notícias, and talked about her research on microalgae production processes and its application on the treatment of industrial wastewaters.
Read the article here (in Portuguese).
PhD Thesis by Vanessa Lima on the treatment of organic streams by Fenton's oxidation
March26th, 2020
LEPABE would like to congratulate Dr. Vanessa Lima for her PhD thesis of the Doctoral Program in Environmental Engineering, entitled “Simultaneous treatment of gaseous and liquid streams containing organic compounds by Fenton's oxidation” supervised by Prof. Luís Miguel Madeira, defended on March26th 2020 at FEUP.
European Project SurfSAFE granted to LEPABE
Posted on April 2nd, 2020
LEPABE congratulates the team of the Biotechnology group, led by Prof. Filipe Mergulhão for the approval of an European project under the Twinning call, with funding of 400 000 EUR for LEPABE/FEUP.
The aim of the project SurfSAFE - Surface modification to increase microbial SAFEty in the food industry, is to enhance the scientific and technological capacity of FEUP/UPORTO in the fields of surface modification and biofilm analysis, thus promoting a leading European Network that guides the future development of tailor-made antifouling and antimicrobial, non-biotoxic surfaces to reduce fouling and improve cleanability in the food industry, ensuring safe and good quality products to consumers.
The FEUP team is composed by Filipe Mergulhão, Luciana Gomes, Nuno Azevedo and Ana Pereira from the Biofilm Engineering Lab (BEL) - LEPABE and Pedro Coelho (H2020 office). The other partners of the project are the University of Copenhagen, University Medical Center Groningen and Manchester Metropolitan University. Know more here.
Congratulations!
LEPABE present in workshop about new challenges on waste evaluation
Posted on March 25th, 2020
Dr. Nuno Ratola, Principal Researcher from LEPABE, was invited under Project CONICYT REDES 170166 to participate on the International Workshop about technological and environmental challenges on waste re-evaluation. This event took place on March 10th, 2020, in Santiago, Chile.
In his opening presentation, he referred that the wealthy countries represent only 16% of the World's population while producing 34% of the waste. But citing estimates from the World Bank, he indicated that by 2050 the generation of waste is expected to triple in some areas, such as sub-Saharan Africa. To minimize this impact and improve the rate of waste valorization, Dr. Ratola gave as an example the promotion of biogas as an energy source of sustainable development.
Know more about this workshop here.
PhD Thesis by Márcia Andrade on new carbon molecular sieve materials
March 9th, 2020
LEPABE would like to congratulate Dr. Márcia Andrade for her PhD thesis of the Doctoral Program in Chemical and Biological Engineering, entitled “Carbon molecular sieve materials for gas separations” supervised by Prof. Adélio Mendes, defended on March 9th 2020 FEUP.
LEPABE present at workshop about prevention and combat of wildfires
Posted on March 4th, 2020
Dr. Sofia Sousa, assistant researcher from LEPABE, was invited to participate on the 1st Workshop about prevention and combat of wildfires. This event took place on February 14th, 2020, at University of Coimbra, Portugal.
The objective was presenting the results of 18 ongoing projects and promote synergies between the various research groups working in this area, resulting from the FCT call of 2017. LEPABE participated with the project: ArRiscO – Firefighters’ occupational exposure to air pollution – impact on COPD and asthma.
Know more about this project here.
European project EMPOWER 1st meeting
Posted on March 9th, 2020
The kick-off meeting of the European project “EMPOWER - European methanol powered fuel cell CHP” took place on February 4th, 2020, at VTT, in Espoo, Finland. A team from LEPABE, led by Prof. Adélio Mendes, is part of the project consortium, composed by 3 European companies and coordinated by VTT.
The EMPOWER project aims to develop, manufacture and validate a methanol fueled 5 kW combined heat and power (CHP) system based on high temperature PEM fuel cell technology. To achives its objectives, the project is receiving EU funding of 1.5 M€ from the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) programme, supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe research.
Know more here.
Pharmaceutics special issue on “PLGA Based Drug Carrier and Pharmaceutical Applications”
Posted on March 3rd, 2020
Prof. Maria do Carmo Pereira and Dr. Joana Loureiro, researchers from the Supramolecular Assemblies group of LEPABE, were Guest Editors of the special issue “PLGA Based Drug Carrier and Pharmaceutical Applications” published on the scientific journal Pharmaceutics.
This special issue counts with 19 selected papers that present the recent progress of PLGA as drug carriers for new pharmaceutical applications.
More information can be found here.
Ana Luísa Gonçalves distinguished with L'Oréal Portugal Medals of Honour for Women in Science 2019
Posted on February 19th, 2020
Dr. Ana Luísa Gonçalves, research fellow at LEPABE, is one of the 4 female scientists distinguished in the 16th edition of the L'Oréal Portugal Medals of Honour for Women in Science.
Her research on microalgae production processes caught the attention of L'Oréal, as it met its goals of innovation and sustainable growth. For 22 years L'Oréal has been promoting the role of women in science through the program “For Women in Science”, because it believes that “the World needs science and Science needs women”.
Congratulations!
Know more about this award here.
Separations special issue on “Computer-Aided Separation Analysis”
Posted on January 31st, 2020
Dr. Guillaume Erny, Researcher from the Environmental Sciences and Technology group of LEPABE, is Guest Editor of the special issue on “Computer-Aided Separation Analysis” to be published on the scientific journal Separations. The dead line for manuscript submissions is July 15th, 2020.
More information on this special issue can be found here.
Model-Based Innovation Prize 2019
Posted on January 28th, 2020
Process Systems Enterprise (PSE) awarded a runner-up prize to the paper: Model of an industrial multitubular reactor for methanol to formaldehyde oxidation in the presence of catalyst deactivation, co-authored by Prof. Adélio Mendes, member of LEPABE, in collaboration with CERENA/IST and EuroResinas.
This prize awards, every year, the best published papers describing the use of gPROMS family products in an innovative way or in a novel area of application or technology.
Know more about this prize here.
LEPABE Researchers won IACOBUS Program – Papers
Posted on January 24th, 2020
Nuno Ratola and Vera Homem, researchers from the Environmental Sciences and Technologies group of LEPABE, were beneficiaries of the 2019 edition of the IACOBUS Program – Papers for their participation as authors of the scientific publications “Footprints in the sand – Assessing the seasonal trends of volatile methylsiloxanes and UV-filters” and “Determination of multiclass personal care products in continental waters by solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry”.
The main objective of this Program is to encourage cross-border cooperation (North Portugal – Galicia) in research and scientific dissemination activities, through an economic support for the publication of high quality scientific papers.
Congratulations!
Habilitation title was granted to Prof. Fernão Magalhães
Posted on January 17th, 2020
LEPABE senior member Prof. Fernão Magalhães had his public defense for the attribution of the habilitation title, with the topic of “Opaque Polymers - strategies for synthesis of polymeric hollow microspheres for paint opacification”, on January 16-17th, 2020, at FEUP.
The habilitation title was approved unanimously by the members of the jury.
Congratulations!
Habilitation title was granted to Prof. Luís Madeira
Posted on January 14th, 2020
LEPABE senior member Prof. Luís Madeira had his public defense for the attribution of the habilitation title, with the topic of “Multifunctional Reactors”, on January 13-14th, 2020, at FEUP.
The habilitation title was approved unanimously by the members of the jury.
Congratulations!
Filipe Rocha was awarded “Best poster presentation” at EMEC20
Posted on January 9th, 2020
LEPABE project researcher Filipe Rocha, supervised by Dr. Vera Homem, was awarded a Scholarship by the Association of Chemistry and the Environment (ACE) to attend to the 20th European Meeting on Environmental Chemistry (EMEC20), held in Lodz, Poland, in December 2-5th, 2019.
Preliminary results of the AGRONAUT project were presented as poster communication under the theme “Development of an Analytical Method to Determine PAHs, PCBs, Synthetic Musks and Volatile Methylsiloxanes in Sewage Sludge” and was awarded "Best Poster Presentation".
Congratulations!
Two Senior LEPABE members pursue the habilitation title
Posted on January 6th, 2020
LEPABE members Prof. Luís Madeira and Prof. Fernão Magalhães will have their public defense for attribution of the habilitation title next 13-14th January and 16-17th January, respectively.
All researchers are invited to attend the event, particularly the Oral Lessons:
14th Jan – Multifunctional reactors (Prof. Miguel Madeira). More information here.
17th Jan - Opaque Polymers - strategies for synthesis of polymeric hollow microspheres for paint opacification (Prof Fernão Magalhães). More information here.
LEPABE whishes you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Posted on December 21st, 2019
Science & Technology Week 2019
Posted on December 13th, 2019
The Science & Technology Week 2019 took place at the Department of Chemical Engineering, from November 25 to 29th, with the motto: "Technological advances in emerging areas of chemical, environmental and biotechnology engineering". With the participation of LEPABE and the other research units, high school and university students visited our research laboratories to know more about what we do. Thank you for your visit!
Music and Physics: A tour to Maurice Ravel Artwork
Posted on December 2nd, 2019
LEPABE, together with other research units from FEUP, supports the Opera Concert “Música e Física Numa Visitação à obra de Maurice Ravel”. This concert will take place on December 5th, 2019, at FEUP’s auditorium and is performed by the orchestra of the Academia and City Opera (OAC).
The OAC orchestra will be directed by conductor Jiří Petrdlík, and will have Adriano Jordão (piano), Ana Maria Pinto (soprano) and Rómulo Assis (violin) as solo artists. Dedicated to the work of composer Maurice Ravel, the concert will be narrated and commented by Prof. João Seixas (Instituto Superior Técnico), who will establish the link between the work of Maurice Ravel and Physics.
Know more about this event here.
BioRemid 2019 conference was a success
Posted on November 15th, 2019
The 2nd International Meeting on New Strategies in Bioremediation Processes took place in Porto, on October, 24-25, 2019.
This conference was organized by researchers from LEPABE, LSRE-LCM and CERENA, and counted with 150 researchers and industrial professionals from four continents (Europe, America, Asia and Africa), which shared their work on the field, on a total of more than 135 contributions between oral and poster presentations.
We are thankful to the organizing committee, specially to the members of LEPABE: Prof. Olga C. Nunes, Prof. Nuno Azevedo, Prof. Joana Dias and Dr. José C. Pires and to LEPABE researchers and students involved in the supporting team.
Hurricane HR system featured in Bioénergie international magazine
Posted on November 11th, 2019
Members of LEPABE, Prof. Romualdo Salcedo and Júlio Paiva, worked in a new solution to replace the ancient system of cyclones for the company Vert Déshy, France.
This new optimized system Hurricane HR, from Advanced Cyclone Systems (ACS), a spin-off of LEPABE, allowed the company to reduce their emissions from 190 mg/Nm3 to less than 20 mg/Nm3 (below the emission limit of 60 mg/Nm3). This new solution was reported in the number 62 of the Bioénergie international magazine.
Know more about this technology here (in French).
LEPABE was present at the Water Festival AQUAPORTO 2019
Posted on October 30th, 2019
The 6th edition of the Water Festival Aquaporto entitled ‘Planeta Água’ took place at the City Park of Porto, on 11-13th October, under the organization of the municipal company Águas do Porto.
LEPABE research unit in collaboration with the Chemical Engineering Department (DEQ) of FEUP was present with some experimental setups designed to support the communication about water treatment processes and monitoring of water pollution. A group of researchers from different research units conducted brief scientific demonstrations and helped with the participants’ questions concerning water-related issues.
More information about Aquaporto 2019
CVMAR+i project has a newsletter
Posted on October 25th, 2019
The CVMAR+i project focuses on the industrial innovation through specific collaborations between companies and research centers in the field of marine biotechnology valorization.
The research team led by Prof. Luís Melo from LEPABE is one of the many partners of this project. Financially supported by INTERREG V-A Spain – Portugal (POCTEP), this project has now a newsletter where is possible to find recent news about the project and its development.
Access and subscribe here.
PhD Thesis by Inês Gomes on biofilm behaviour of drinking water bacteria
October 22th, 2019
LEPABE would like to congratulate Dr. Inês Gomes for her PhD thesis of the Doctoral Program in Chemical and Biological Engineering, entitled “Understanding the effects of copper surfaces and emerging contaminants on planktonic and biofilm behaviour of drinking water bacteria” supervised by Prof. Manuel Simões defended on October 22th 2019 at FEUP.
LEPABE present at Caminho da Inovação 2019
Posted on October 4th, 2019
Vera Homem, LEPABE Assistant Researcher and project coordinator of AGRONAUT and Idalina Bragança (Junior Researcher), were invited to participate as exhibitors at Caminho da Inovação 2019 - Expo & Networking, that took place at Fábrica da Água de Alcântara, Lisboa, on September 26th, and was organized by Águas do Tejo Atlântico.
LEPABE present at COST Action INDAIRPOLLNET
Posted on October 1st, 2019
LEPABE Researchers, Sofia Sousa and Pedro Branco, participated in the 2nd Meeting of COST Action INDAIRPOLLNET "Improving indoor air quality". This meeting took place in September 25-27th, in Porto, Portugal.
Pedro Branco was awarded best oral presentation at INDAIRPOLLNET Early Career Investigators Workshop, that occurred in the first day of the meeting, with the work "Indoor Air Quality in Nursery and Primary Schools: Impacts on Childhood Asthma".
Congratulations!
Project Lightwood at London Design Fair
Posted on September 30th, 2019
Project Lightwood, involving LEPABE senior researchers Luísa Carvalho, Jorge Martins, Cristina Coelho and Fernão Magalhães, was present at the London Design Fair within the stand of Associative Design and AIMMP (Associação das Indústrias de Madeira e Mobiliário de Portugal).
The products exposed, developed in the scope of the project in cooperation with a design team, are based on a recently patented new technology. The composite materials combine particles of wood or thistle with a polyurethane foam, in order to produce a light but mechanically resistant materials. These properties have drawn the attention of several representatives of European furniture industries.
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