Blanca Calderón
R&D MANAGER
Blanca holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alicante, with a specialization in Nanotechnology. Following her completion of a Master's in Molecular Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, she embarked on her full-time research career in 2013 to pursue her doctoral thesis. During this period, she concentrated on developing carbon-encapsulated iron nanoparticles for environmental sector applications.
The primary goal of her research was to test the efficacy of these nanoparticles in contaminant remediation, while also seeking to develop more cost-effective synthesis methods to enable their use in industrial applications. The findings of her work are documented in her doctoral thesis titled "Application of iron-based nanostructures to contaminant remediation," which can be accessed at the following link: http://rua.ua.es/dspace/handle/10045/69809.
In addition to her thesis, Blanca has published several international scientific articles, sharing the discoveries and progress made in her research:
- Deodorization of a gas stream containing dimethyl disulfide with zero-valent iron nanoparticles. Calderon, B., Aracil, I., & Fullana, A. 2012. DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2011.08.008. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894711016408).
- Heavy metal release due to aging effect during zero valent iron nanoparticles remediation. Calderon, B., & Fullana, A. 2015. DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2015.07.024.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004313541530052X?via%3Dihub).
- Study of the presence of PCDDs/PCDFs on zero-valent iron nanoparticles. Calderon, B., Lundin, L., Aracil, I., & Fullana, A. 2017. DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2016.10.007.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653516316095?via%3Dihub).
- Green Synthesis of Thin Shell Carbon-Encapsulated Iron Nanoparticles via Hydrothermal Carbonization. Calderon, B., Lundin, L., Aracil, I., & Fullana, A. 2017. DOI:10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b01416.(https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b01416).
- The Effect of Different Oxygen Surface Functionalization of Carbon Nanotubes on the Electrical Resistivity and Strain Sensing Function of Cement Pastes. Del Moral, B., Martin Gullon, I., Navarro, R., Galao, O., Baeza, F. J., Zornoza, E., Calderón, B., … & Garcés, P. 2020. DOI: 10.3390/nano10040807 (https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/10/4/807).
- Heterogeneous Fenton Degradation of Patulin in Apple Juice Using Carbon-Encapsulated Nano Zero-Valent Iron (CE-nZVI). Silwana, N., Calderón, B., Ntwampe, S. K. O., & Fullana, A. 2020. DOI: 10.3390/foods9050674.(https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/9/5/674).
Additionally, it is worth mentioning that as a result of her thesis, Blanca Calderón received the national award for 'Best Patent by a Young Inventor' for her creation of a system to obtain iron nanoparticles from the waste of olive oil production.
The patent is:
- P202030780 and is titled "PROCEDURE FOR THE OBTENTION OF ZERO-VALENT IRON NANOPARTICLES."
