Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) at Bucaramanga is the state of Santander-Colombia flagship campus. UIS is a nationally ranked –top five- public academic institution offering a broad range of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs.
The university organizational structure comprises five faculties (Physical-Mechanical Engineering, Physical-Chemical Engineering, Sciences, Health Sciences and Humanities) and the Institute of Outreach Education. As of fall 2017 the university had an enrolment of 18,008 undergraduate students and 2,064 graduate students for a total of 20,082 students.
The science faculty (chemistry, physics, mathematics and biology) has more than thirty research groups recognized by the Colombian Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (Colciencias) and the National System of Science, Technology, and Innovation (SNCTI). Among those the Research Group in Theoretical and Experimental Physical-Chemistry (GIFTEX) and the Center for Environmental Studies (CEIAM), belonging to the Chemistry Department, rank at the top.
These interdisciplinary groups, with more than ten full-time professors in the fields of physical chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, organic chemistry, nanotechnology, chemical engineering and biology, share a line of work related to the development of cellulose-based functional materials for industrial applications (waste water remediation, advanced oxidation, enhanced oil recovery, emulsion breaking and inhibition, active ingredients carriers, and nutraceutics, among others).
Role in the project:
UIS (patent holder of Nanofique catalyst) will work with CPI and NFQ to scale-up the Nanofique catalyst and will co-lead (with NFQ) the development of the colour removal catalytic subsystem in WP4. UIS will also support all other work packages. In WP8, UIS will ensure that relevant project outputs are optimally disseminated and used to engage potential customers and stakeholders in Colombia and South America to speed up the adoption of Waste2Fresh in the country and region.
Relevant Publications:
Patents
- Material used in the removal of contaminants from liquid matrices (US Patent 9,828,265). Inventors: BLANCO-TIRADO, Cristian; (COL), COMBARIZA, Marianny Y.; (COL) Chacón Martha L.; (COL). UNIVERSIDAD INDUSTRIAL DE SANTANDER
Papers
- Ovalle-Serrano, S.A.; Gómez, F.N.; Blanco-Tirado, C.; Combariza, M.Y. “Isolation and characterization of Cellulose nanofibrils from Colombian Fique decortication by-products”, Carbohydrate Polymers, 2018, In press.
- Ovalle-Serrano, S.A.; Blanco-Tirado, C.; Combariza, M.Y. “Exploring the composition of raw and delignified Colombian Fique fibers, tow and pulp”, Cellulose, 2018, 25, 151–165.
- Gómez, F.N.; Combariza, M.Y.; Blanco-Tirado, C. “Facile cellulose nanofibrils amidation using a ‘one-pot’ approach”, Cellulose, 2017, 24, 717–730.
- Ovalle-Serrano, S.A.; Carrillo, V.S.; Blanco-Tirado, C.; Hinestroza, J.P.; Combariza, M. Y. “Controlled synthesis of ZnO particles on the surface of natural cellulosic fibers: effect of concentration, heating and sonication”, Cellulose, 2015, 22 (3), 1841–1852.
Relevant Projects:
- Pilar Network 2008
- ZIKALLIANCE: Control y prevención del virus Zika.
Infrastructure & Equipment:
The University provides access to a recently build research facility located 24 km away from the main campus (Guatiguará’s Technology Park, http:// http://gtechpark.com). More than 60 labs and equal number of research groups specialised in nanomaterials, biotechnology, new energy resources and informatics are based in this facility. All research groups have access to a central lab that provides analytical tools in:
- X-ray spectroscopy (single crystal, fluorescence, 1D and 2D powder)
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (400 MHz solids and 400MHz liquids)
- Mass Spectrometry (Ion trap, Maldi/TOF)
- Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM, STEM)
- X-ray Phtoelectron Microscopy (XPS)
- Molecular Spectroscopy (RAMAN Microscope, IR, UV-Vis, Reflectance, Fluorescence)
- Atomic Absorption
- Thermal Analysis (TGA, DSC)
- Particle size analysis (DLS, Zeta potential)
- Rheology
- High Performance Computing
- Chromatography (HPLC, Preparative Chromatography, GC, GC-MS)
GIFTEX and CEIAM groups also share three fully equipped (100 m2 each) that allow our researchers to design, synthesised and test new cellulose-based nanomaterials.