University of Pretoria Engineer Earns Fellowship for Water Quality Improvement Research in Africa
“This fellowship validates the significance of my research and empowers me to drive impactful industrial applications that address critical pollution challenges in Africa and beyond,” says UP PhD candidate Ruth Kasavo about being awarded the Excellence in Africa 100 PhDs for Africa fellowship for her doctoral research.
Ruth Kasavo, a PhD student in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, has been awarded the Excellence in Africa 100 PhDs for Africa fellowship of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Switzerland for her doctoral research.
This initiative funds science and engineering graduates who plan to complete their doctoral studies at an African higher education institution. The fellowship includes co-supervision by an academic employed by the awardee’s home institution in Africa and an academic from the EPFL. Professor Hendrik Brink, Kasavo’s main supervisor, is a specialist in environmental engineering, while Prof Francesco Stellacci, her co-supervisor from the EPFL, is a specialist in nanomaterials. She will also have the opportunity to perform some of her research in Prof Stellacci’s laboratory in Lausanne.
She describes her nomination for the programme as a tremendous honour that will greatly enhance her research career.
“This nomination provides me with invaluable opportunities for collaboration with leading experts, access to cutting-edge resources and a platform to contribute to meaningful advancements in environmental remediation technologies. It validates the significance of my research and empowers me to drive impactful industrial applications that address critical pollution challenges in Africa and beyond.”
Kasavo’s research project examines magnetic nanoparticles and polymer nanocomposites for the removal of organic, heavy metals and pharmaceutical pollutants. According to Kasavo, her research has the objective of finding an industrial application. She explains that the increasing presence of pollutants in the environment is a major global concern.
“Many researchers have found that adsorption using different material, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, metal oxides and polymer composites, is effective in the removal of pollutants from water and wastewater.”
As such, she will investigate the viability of using magnetic nanoparticles and polymer nanocomposites in a continuous flow system to remove pollutants from wastewater.
“My study will focus on how this technology can be applied to industry,” she explains. “A batch setup will optimise adsorption parameters such as solution pH, adsorbent loading, adsorption kinetics and isotherms.”
She describes how the optimised conditions will be used to explore the effectiveness of the composite to remove pollutants in a continuous system.
“The research approach will include a literature review, an experimental design, data collection and data analysis. The research methods will include synthesis of the materials, characterisation, batch and continuous system experiments, and result analysis.”