MKovacic 21oct2025

CAPT/PCM Seminar - Pr Marin KovačićMardi 21 Octobre 2025, 14h30 - Amphi IPREM

Pr Marin Kovačić
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology at the University of Zagreb.

" Can Advanced Oxidation Processes Solve the Microplastics Problem – or Make It Smaller?"

 

Marin Kovačić, Stefani Tonković, Anamarija Pulitika, Zvonimir Katančić, Hrvoje Kušić, Ana Lončarić Božić
University of Zagreb Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Trg Marka Marulića 19, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are widely investigated for the removal of persistent organic contaminants in wastewaters by generating in situ highly reactive species, most notably hydroxyl radicals (•OH). Building on extensive experience with homogeneous/heterogeneous Fenton, photocatalysis, and UV photo-oxidation; and polymer engineering, we bridge two perspectives on (micro)plastic contamination: (i) how photo-aging reshapes microplastics (MPs), and (ii) how oxidative treatment affects their removal. Using polypropylene (PP) as a weathering model, we identified structural changes, fragmentation trends, leaching, ecotoxicity and biodegradability impacts occurring under forced UV aging. Weathering notably increases the fragmentation rate of PP MPs, shifting size distributions towards smaller particles, and markedly increases the leaching of polymerization catalyst residues and organics. Furthermore, we investigated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as a model for AOP based water treatment. Weathering introduced oxygenated surface groups that facilitated •OH attack and enhanced removal. Taken together, oxidative (pre)treatment can aid the removal of MPs in wastewater treatment; however, the operating process window needs to be finely tuned to mitigate the release of nanoplastics and the release of catalyst-derived metals into effluents.

Short biography : Marin Kovačić earned his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, in 2018 with a dissertation on solar-active photocatalysis for the degradation of pharmaceutical contaminants in water. In 2019 he joined the Faculty as an assistant professor and was promoted to the rank of an associate professor in 2024. He was participated as an associate researcher on three national research projects financed by the Croatian Science Foundation, and currently leads one national and one bilateral project. His scientific interests focus on advanced oxidation processes, with a keen interest in photocatalysis, material characterization, biomass pyrolysis, applications of density functional theory in solving engineering challenges, and the issue of nano- and microplastics in the environment. He teaches environmental management systems, life-cycle assessment, advanced oxidation processes and industrial organic processes. As of 15 October 2025, he has co-authored 45 peer-reviewed papers indexed in Scopus (762 citations, h-index 18).