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Analysis of institutional authors

Rodriguez, JpAuthorRodriguez-Chueca, JAuthor

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January 1, 2026
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Article
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Environmental impacts and economic assessment of a large-scale pilot plant for micropollutants removal: Granular activated carbon vs. coupled advanced oxidation process-granular activated carbon treatments

Publicated to: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 14 (1): 120644- - 2026-02-01 14(1), DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2025.120644

Authors:

Núñez-Tafalla, P; Salmeron, I; Rodríguez, JP; Rodríguez-Chueca, J; Venditti, S; Hansen, J
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Affiliations

Univ Luxembourg, Fac Sci Technol & Med, Chair Urban Water Management, 6 rue Richard Coudenhove Kalergi - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Escuela Tecn Super Ingn Ind, Dept Ind Chem & Environm Engn, C-Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2 - Author

Abstract

Water scarcity requires efficient use, but also protection of surface water quality. Micropollutants are poorly removed in conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), necessitating the implementation of quaternary treatments to avoid their discharge. This study evaluates the environmental impacts and the cost of six treatment scenarios in a large-scale pilot plant (4-19 m(3) d(-1)) at Heiderscheidergrund WWTP (Luxembourg): stand-alone granular activated carbon (GAC) (fresh (F) and regenerated (R)), photo-Fenton (PF)+GAC (F and R), and UV/ H2O2+GAC (F and R). The environmental impacts were evaluated using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which identified five principal impacts: global warming (GHG), photochemical ozone formation (POCP), human toxicity-cancer effects (HTP-C), resource depletion-energy carriers (E-RD), and water resource depletion (W-RD) as the most affected categories. The overall ranking of impacts across scenarios was: PF+FGAC > PF+RGAC > UV/H2O2+FGAC > UV/H2O2+RGAC > FGAC > RGAC. Electricity was the main contributor in almost all cases, whereas chemical reagents were more relevant in toxicity-related impacts. Sensitivity analysis revealed that replacing the current electric mix with 100 % renewables reduced GHG by up to 72 %, whereas 100 % fossil energy increased it by up to 173 %. For GAC, W-RD was particularly sensitive to the activation method, with alternative datasets increased up to 473 % in the fresh GAC scenario. Cost assessment showed stand-alone GAC as the cheapest option and coupled AOP-GAC systems incurring higher costs, mainly from energy. This integrated evaluation provided quantitative evidence to support the selection of sustainable quaternary treatments in line with European Union water resilience objectives.
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Keywords

AdsorptionAdvanced oxidation processContaminants emerging concernLife cycle assessmentMicrocontaminantPost-treatment processesTechno-economic analysis

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2026, it was in position 25/176, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Engineering, Chemical.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2026-04-26:

  • Scopus: 3
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-26:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 10 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

    It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

    • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
    • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/95389/

    As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

    • Views: 12
    • Downloads: 4
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    Leadership analysis of institutional authors

    This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Luxembourg.

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