Gabriel Acosta

Mr. Gabriel Acosta

Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador
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Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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15 September 2026 in Processes
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
SSSantiago Guerra Salcedo
Santiago Guerra Salcedo
ARAntony C. Ramos Rivadeneira
Antony C. Ramos Rivadeneira
GAGabriel Acosta
Gabriel Acosta
MTMaria Torres
Maria Torres
CACarlos Aragón-Tobar
Carlos Aragón-Tobar
The growing demand for environmentally compatible water-treatment technologies has increased interest in bio-based coagulants as alternatives or complementary agents to conventional chemicals. This study evaluated polysaccharide-containing extracts from Opuntia ficus-indica and Subpilocereus repandus against polyaluminum chloride (PAC) using coagulation–flocculation jar tests with synthetic and natural raw-water matrices. In synthetic water (729 NTU turbidity; 610 Pt–Co apparent color), both cactus-derived biocoagulants showed their highest clarification performance at 10 mg/L. Opuntia ficus-indica achieved 94.65% turbidity and 83.33% apparent color removal, while Subpilocereus repandus achieved 89.49% and 73.72%, respectively. PAC produced faster clarification and higher overall removal; at 16 mg/L, turbidity and apparent color removals reached 99.81% and 99.51% after 60 min. In the exploratory natural raw-water assessment (41 NTU; 301 Pt–Co), Subpilocereus repandus at 10 mg/L achieved 97.12% turbidity and 90.03% apparent color removal. Cactus-derived extracts showed dose- and time-dependent behavior with limited pH variation. COD initially increased after cactus-extract addition, reflecting oxidizable organic matter introduced by the extracts, then decreased during treatment. These findings support their potential as alternative or complementary materials for water clarification.