In 2021 we produced 42 international scientific publications
This is the highest figure since the group’s foundation
83% of the publications are in the first quartile
LEQUIA has broken the glass ceiling of 40 anual publications. So far, the highest number of publications was 35 and it was recorded in 2018. This is an important achievement, both in terms of quantity and quality. In 2021 the group produced 36 articles, 4 reviews, 1 conference paper and 1 editorial, with 128 citations. At the individual level, thirteen researchers are co-authors of three or more publications. At the collective level, 25 of these publications are open access and 85% are in the first quartile of Journal Citation Reports. The average impact factor is 7,1.
With regard to topics tackled, water keeps playing a key role in our research lines, with publications that cover different phases of its urban cycle (drinking water treatment, distribution, sanitation, reuse…) and that explore new management strategies to increase its resilience and sustainability (resource recovery, decentralisation, digitalisation, nature-based solutions…). Carbon dioxide carbon capture and conversion to synthesise high-added-value products and biofuels consolidate itself as the other large application field of LEQUIA research.
In any case, the approach is multidisciplinary and, sometimes, interdisciplinary. We are a laboratory of chemical and environmental engineering, but we increasingly work and collaborate closely with other experimental and social sciences. The analysis of topics of these 42 publications by Scopus database is a good picture of this trend.
Citations are also significant. In spite of its short life, three of these publications have more than 15 citations. This is the case for the article “Biochar production from sewage sludge and microalgae mixtures: properties, sustainability and possible role in circular economy”, with 30 citations; for the review “Microbial electrosynthesis: Towards sustainable biorefineries for the production of green chemicals from CO2 emissions”, with 16 citations; and for the article “Nature-based solutions in the urban context: terminology, classification and scoring for urban challenges and ecosystem services”, with 15.
These three publications depict very well the collaborative and international nature of our research. The first one, which addresses sewage sludge valorisation, was carried out within the framework of a joint doctoral thesis with the University of Pavia. The second one, a review on microbial electrosynthesis, has as a first author a postdoctoral researcher of the National University of Galway that will join our group in 2022 thanks to a Marie Sklodowska Curie fellowship. Finally, the third one, which classifies and assesses different nature-based solutions for cities, was conceived in the European project Edicitnet, of which we are partners.
Collaboration also took place at the national level with renowned academic institutions like ICRA, IMDEA Water, UAB, UPC, or Eurecat, but also with water utilities like Ens d’Abastament d’Aigua Ter Llobregat. Within UdG, we should highlight our partnership with the research group on molecular microbial ecology, the research group on environmental analytical chemistry, the physics department of the faculty of tourism.
You will find references and abstracts of our 2021 publications on our website.
