The NANAQUA-UNISA research team is coordinated by Prof. Luigi Rizzo and involves two research groups associated to two laboratories. Specifically, Prof. Luigi Rizzo leads Water Science and Technology (WaSTe) group, including Antonios Kontogiannis (DC5), and relies on the Environmental Sanitary Engineering Laboratory (SEEL), Department of Civil Engineering. WaSTe expertise is in water and wastewater (urban and industrial) treatment using biological and chemical processes (particularly advanced oxidation processes (AOPs).
One of the main research areas is tertiary (disinfection) and quaternary treatment of urban wastewater by AOPs. SEEL is equipped with laboratory-scale and pilot-scale plants for water/wastewater treatment (e.g., ozonation reactor (7L capacity), UV light-related reactors (UV-A, B, C), natural solar light race pond reactors, biological reactors) as well as for chemical and microbiological analyses (e.g., instruments for routine water analysis (such as BOD (WTW OxiTop®, Fischer Scientific), COD (Hach), TOC analyzer (HiPerToc, Thermo), ICP-OES (iCAP 6000 Series, Thermo), Ionic chromatograph (ICS-90 Dionex) ), a laminar flow chamber and incubators for microbial analysis, an Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography (Dionex UHPLC UltiMate 3000, Thermo Fischer Scientific).
Prof Giuseppina Iervoino leads the “Industrial Chemistry Technology and Catalysis” laboratory at the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, including DC4 Qayam Ud Din”. This laboratory is a well-equipped research facility dedicated to the synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of advanced functional materials (catalysts and nanocatalysts), plasma-assisted processes, catalytic systems and environmental applications. The available infrastructure supports experimental research in materials science, nanotechnology, plasma catalysis, advanced oxidation processes (photocatalysis, Fenton and photo-Fenton), thermal catalysis, electrified structured catalysts, reactor configuration, advanced synthesis and analytical characterization.
The available equipment includes (among others) a Rigaku SmartLab X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) for structural and phase analysis, , Rigaku Supermini200 X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Quantachrome NOVA touch LX4 surface area and porosity analyzer for BET measurements, Langmuir and isotherms analysis, Hiden HPR20 Residual Gas Analyzer (RGA) mass
spectrometer for real-time gas composition monitoring, ABB AO2020 continuous gas analyzer system, Carbolite Gero ELF 1100 high-temperature laboratory furnace, REMI NEYA 8 bench-top centrifuge, POLOS spin coating system for thin-film preparation, OHAUS Pioneer analytical balance, plasma generator systems for plasma-assisted material treatment and catalytic studies, multichannel spectrometer systems, optical microscopy systems, digital oscilloscopes, peristaltic pumps, and several custom-designed plasma-assisted catalytic reactor setups.
The laboratory is equipped with experimental facilities for plasma-catalytic reactions, gas-phase reaction monitoring, thin-film fabrication, thermal treatment of materials, surface modification, adsorption studies, and electrochemical and catalytic investigations. The facility also supports advanced data acquisition, process monitoring, and real-time analytical
measurements for both laboratory-scale and pilot-scale experimental studies.
In addition to the experimental infrastructure, the laboratory has developed significant expertise in plasma-assisted catalysis, advanced oxidation and reaction processes, material synthesis and characterization, reaction engineering, process optimization, and environmental applications. The laboratory environment provides comprehensive technical and scientific training through continuous supervision and hands-on guidance for graduate students, doctoral researchers, and early-stage scientists.
