The Department’s very own Dr. Liza B. Patacsil is no stranger to leading a research project. Among which, her specialty on forward osmosis membrane fabrication and capacitive deionization for use in water purification and recovery, and its application on desalination delivers us with clean and safe water. Although some projects may have reached their completion, the journey for Dr. Patacsil is far from over. From spearheading her own research project to sharing her expertise, Dr. Patacsil provides the public plenty of options for wastewater treatment through her accumulated knowledge on the subject matter.
The latest addition to her growing research portfolio is serving as a consultant for the CRADLE Science for Change program under DOST, titled “Development of Wastewater Treatment Equipment for Wet-Type Finishing Spray Booth”. This was a collaborative project between DOST-FPRDI, UPLB, and RSU Manufacturing Corporation with Engr. Edward Marasigan as the Project Leader, which started on June 1, 2020. The focus of the project is the design and fabrication of a compact wastewater treatment system for use on the final stage of rattan furniture manufactured by RSU. The treatment process removes pollutants such as aromatics, benzene derivatives, alcohol, siloxanes, propanoic and pentanoic acid, which prove to be toxic toward Danio rerio or zebrafish, and Ceriodaphnia dubia, a species of water flea.
The team had successfully installed a compact wastewater treatment system consisting of the appropriate technology specifically designed to remove the abovementioned pollutants, including the removal of BOD, COD, TDS, turbidity, and color. The turn over of the facility to RSU Manufacturing Corporation, together with a patent application, marked the successful conclusion of the project. With this, Dr. Patacsil capped year 2021 with another milestone on her research career.
This year, Dr. Patacsil takes on the mantle again with two project proposals – one in antibiotic waste management and another in desalination via capacitive deionization – currently in their advanced stages of approval. She is set to be the program leader, and the project leader in the other. Currently, Dr. Patacsil has 13 publications with 63 citations to her name, which is sure to just grow from hereon as there’s no stopping a brilliant mind like hers. A true woman in engineering indeed.