Paula Oulego

Dr. Paula Oulego

Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

17Years (2010-Present)

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

Representative Publications

View All Publications
18 May 2020 in Water
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
SGSonia Guerra-Rodríguez
Sonia Guerra-Rodríguez
Paula OulegoPaula Oulego
Paula Oulego
EREncarnación Rodriguez
Encarnación Rodriguez
DSDevendra Narain Singh
Devendra Narain Singh
Jorge Rodríguez ChuecaJorge Rodríguez Chueca
Jorge Rodríguez Chueca
The advancement of science has facilitated increase in the human lifespan, reflected in economic and population growth, which unfortunately leads to increased exploitation of resources. This situation entails not only depletion of resources, but also increases environmental pollution, mainly due to atmospheric emissions, wastewater effluents, and solid wastes. In this scenario, it is compulsory to adopt a paradigm change, as far as the consumption of resources by the population is concerned, to achieve a circular economy. The recovery and reuse of resources are key points, leading to a decrease in the consumption of raw materials, waste reduction, and improvement of energy efficiency. This is the reason why the concept of the circular economy can be applied in any industrial activity, including the wastewater treatment sector. With this in view, this review manuscript focuses on demonstrating the challenges and opportunities in applying a circular economy in the water sector. For example, reclamation and reuse of wastewater to increase water resources, by paying particular attention to the risks for human health, recovery of nutrients, or highly added-value products (e.g., metals and biomolecules among others), valorisation of sewage sludge, and/or recovery of energy. Being aware of this situation, in the European, Union 18 out of 27 countries are already reusing reclaimed wastewater at some level. Moreover, many wastewater treatment plants have reached energy self-sufficiency, producing up to 150% of their energy requirements. Unfortunately, many of the opportunities presented in this work are far from becoming a reality. Still, the first step is always to become aware of the problem and work on optimizing the solution to make it possible.

1 November 2010 in Bioresource Technology
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
MGM. Victoria Gil
M. Victoria Gil
Paula OulegoPaula Oulego
Paula Oulego
MCM D Casal
M D Casal
Covadonga PevidaCovadonga Pevida
Covadonga Pevida
JPJ.J. Pis
J.J. Pis
Fernando RubieraFernando Rubiera
Fernando Rubiera

1 April 2017 in Chemical Engineering Journal
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
OSOctavio Suárez-Iglesias
Octavio Suárez-Iglesias
SCSergio Collado
Sergio Collado
Paula OulegoPaula Oulego
Paula Oulego
MDMario Díaz
Mario Díaz

1 April 2017 in Science of The Total Environment
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
OSOctavio Suárez-Iglesias
Octavio Suárez-Iglesias
JUJosé Luis Urrea
José Luis Urrea
Paula OulegoPaula Oulego
Paula Oulego
SCSergio Collado
Sergio Collado
MDMario Díaz
Mario Díaz

1 June 2017 in Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
NMNajeh MAALOUL
Najeh MAALOUL
Paula OulegoPaula Oulego
Paula Oulego
MRManuel Rendueles
Manuel Rendueles
Achraf GhorbalAchraf Ghorbal
Achraf Ghorbal
MDMario Díaz
Mario Díaz

1 January 2016 in Water Research
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
Paula OulegoPaula Oulego
Paula Oulego
SCSergio Collado
Sergio Collado
APAdriana Laca Perez
Adriana Laca Perez
MDMario Díaz
Mario Díaz