I am a Brazilian national born in Rio Claro, SP, in 1966, married, and the father of two daughters. Before entering academia, I spent 15 years in the industry, gaining solid experience in wastewater treatment and environmental control. I completed my Master's (1996–1999) while working, and in 2001, I dedicated myself full-time to my PhD with a FAPESP fellowship. After teaching at private colleges and as a substitute professor at UNESP and UNICAMP, I became a tenured professor at UNICAMP in 2012. Personally, I enjoy making friends, spending time with family, and listening to a wide variety of music.
EDUCATION
Degree in Sanitary Technology (1989) from the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and Civil Engineer (2014) from the Piracicaba School of Engineering (EEP). Master's (1999), PhD (2005), and Postdoctoral studies (2012) in Hydraulic Engineering and Sanitation from the University of São Paulo (USP). Associate Professor at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP, 2022).
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Pollution, Water Science and Technology
Thermochemical Pretreatment for Improving the Psychrophilic Anaerobic Digestion of Coffee Husks Tzyy Shyuan Yang, Carla Flores-Rodriguez, Lorena Torres-Albarracin, Ariovaldo José da Silva Methane, 2024 Psychrophilic anaerobic digestion emerges as an appealing integrated solution for the management of agricultural waste, particularly for farmers in regions where the average temperature does not exceed 26 °C, as seen in coffee cultivation. Therefore, this study seeks to assess the biomethane potential of thermochemical-treated coffee husk through psychrophilic anaerobic digestion (C3-20 °C-w/pretreatment). To examine its viability, outcomes were compared with reactors operating at both mesophilic (C1-35 °C) and psychrophilic (C2-20 °C) conditions, albeit without the use of pretreated coffee husk. The C3-20 °C-w/pretreatment test demonstrated a 36.89% increase (150.47 NmL CH4/g VS; 161.04 NmL CH4/g COD), while the C1-35 °C test exhibited a 24.03% increase (124.99 NmL CH4/g VS; 133.77 NmL CH4/g COD), both in comparison to the C2-20 °C test (94.96 NmL CH4/g VS; 101.63 NmL CH4/g COD). Notably, the C3-20 °C-w/pretreatment trial yielded superior outcomes, accompanied by an associated energy output of 3199.25 GWh/year, sufficient to meet the annual energy demands of 494 residences. This marks an increase of 83 and 182 million residences compared to the mesophilic and psychrophilic AD of CH without pretreatment, respectively.
Melanoidin Content Determines the Primary Pathways in Glucose Dark Fermentation: A Preliminary Assessment of Kinetic and Microbial Aspects Carolina Nemeth Comparato, Matheus Neves de Araujo, Isabel Kimiko Sakamoto, Lucas Tadeu Fuess, Márcia Helena Rissato Zamariolli Damianovic, et al. Fermentation, 2024 Melanoidins are heterogeneous polymers with a high molecular weight and brown color formed during the Maillard reaction by the combination of sugars and amino acids at high temperatures with the potential to inhibit the microbial activity in bioprocesses. This study assessed the impacts of melanoidins on the kinetic of substrate conversion and production of organic acids via dark fermentation using microbial consortia as inoculum. The investigations were carried out in fed-batch reactors using synthetic melanoidins following glucose-to-melanoidin ratios (G/M; g-glucose g−1 melanoidins) of 0.50, 1.50, 1.62, 1.67, and 5.00, also considering a melanoidin-free control reactor. The results showed that melanoidins negatively impacted the kinetics of glucose fermentation by decreasing the first-order decay constant (k1): when dosing equivalent initial concentrations of glucose (ca. 3 g L−1), the absence of melanoidins led to a k1 of 0.62 d−1, whilst dosing 2 g L−1 (G/M = 1.5) and 6.0 g L−1 (G/M = 0.5) of melanoidins produced k1 values of 0.37 d−1 and 0.27 d−1, respectively. The production of butyric and acetic acids was also negatively impacted by melanoidins, whilst the lactic activity was not impaired by the presence of these compounds. Lactate production reached ca. 1000 mg L−1 in G/M = 1.67, whilst no lactate was detected in the control reactor. The presence of melanoidins was demonstrated to be a selective metabolic driver, decreasing the microbial diversity compared to the control reactor and favoring the growth of Lactobacillus. These results highlight the importance of further understanding the impacts of melanoidins on melanoidin-rich organic wastewater bioconversion, such as sugarcane vinasse, which are abundantly available in biorefineries.
Nitrogen and phosphorus removal from synthetic aquaculture water through electrocoagulation Kiane Cristina Leal Visconcin, Bruno Lodovico Meneghel, Ariovaldo José da Silva, Carlos Tadeu dos Santos Dias Revista Ambiente E Agua, 2024 In this research, we utilized multivariate analysis to evaluate the efficient removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from synthetic aquaculture water using the electrocoagulation process. The elimination of nitrogen and phosphorus is a critical issue in various wastewater treatment plants and aquaculture systems, especially in instances of intensive or super-intensive cultivation. To avert the buildup of pollutants in the water, be it within internal recirculation systems or bodies of water receiving effluents from rearing tanks, it is imperative to employ treatment methodologies designed to effectively eliminate nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients. These nutrients have the potential to induce eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems. However, conventional biological treatment technologies can be ineffective, as they often only remove one pollutant or the other. Furthermore, the individual operations for these systems are complex and require substantial space. Electrocoagulation is a compact and promising technology for treating aquaculture water and effluents for raw nutrient removal. In this context, our findings showcase the simultaneous removal of both nitrogen and phosphorus through the electrocoagulation method. The best treatment was verified for the highest electrical current density (74 A. m-2), the shortest distance between electrodes (4 cm), and the lowest electrolysis time (50 min). In these conditions, the efficiency removal in ammonia nitrogen and total phosphorus were 30.5% and 100% respectively.Keywords: electrochemical treatment, eutrophication, water pollution control.
Risk Evaluation of Chemical Clogging of Irrigation Emitters via Geostatistics and Multivariate Analysis in the Northern Region of Minas Gerais, Brazil Gustavo Lopes Muniz, Agda Loureiro Gonçalves Oliveira, Maria Geralda Benedito, Nicolás Duarte Cano, Antonio Pires de Camargo, et al. Water Switzerland, 2023 In this study, we analyzed the hydrogeochemistry of 350 underground wells in the northern region of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, for water-chemical parameters that may contribute to the chemical clogging of emitters in drip irrigation systems. Risk class maps were generated for each parameter, and the area was classified based on the water characteristics, considering the degree of water-use restriction in micro-irrigation (i.e., no, moderate, and severe restriction). Inverse distance-weighted, random forest, and ordinary kriging methods were used as interpolation methods. Moreover, a multivariate analysis was conducted to analyze the results. Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed a strong and significant correlation between pH and carbonates, hardness, total dissolved solids (TDS), and electrical conductivity (EC) and between TDS and EC. Principal component analysis revealed that most of the variations in the water quality of the wells could be explained by water–rock interactions with the consequent dissolution of minerals. The principal components were natural sources of ionic salt groups, dissolution of minerals rich in alkaline cations, chemical weathering of iron–magnesium minerals, and increased pH with the conversion of bicarbonates into carbonates. In the parameter cluster analysis, three possible mechanisms that contribute to emitter clogging in the study area were identified: precipitation of calcium and magnesium salts; oxidation of iron and manganese ions forming oxides and insoluble hydroxides; an increase in pH, which converts bicarbonates into carbonates. Clustering analysis revealed the wells that are susceptible to clogging with the exact cause.
Biogas production: Technologies and applications Bruna de Souza Moraes, Reynaldo Palacios-Bereche, Gilberto Martins, Silvia Azucena Nebra, Lucas Tadeu Fuess, et al. Biofuels and Biorefining Volume 1 Current Technologies for Biomass Conversion, 2022
Methane production from sugarcane vinasse: The alkalinizing potential of fermentative-sulfidogenic processes in two-stage anaerobic digestion RC Rogeri, LT Fuess, MN de Araujo, F Eng, A do Vale Borges, ... Energy Nexus 14, 100303 , 2024 2024 Citations: 11
Nitrogen and phosphorus removal from synthetic aquaculture water through electrocoagulation KCL Visconcin, BL Meneghel, AJ Silva, CTS Dias Revista Ambiente & Água 19, e2977 , 2024 2024 Citations: 4
Remoção de fósforo e nitrogênio de água sintética de aquicultura por meio da eletrocoagulação KCL Visconcin, BL Meneghel, AJ Silva, CTS Dias Revista Ambiente & Água 19, e2977 , 2024 2024
Thermochemical Pretreatment for Improving the Psychrophilic Anaerobic Digestion of Coffee Husks TS Yang, C Flores-Rodriguez, L Torres-Albarracin, AJ Silva Methane 3 (2), 214-226 , 2024 2024 Citations: 4
Risk evaluation of chemical clogging of irrigation emitters via geostatistics and multivariate analysis in the northern region of Minas Gerais, Brazil GL Muniz, ALG Oliveira, MG Benedito, ND Cano, AP Camargo, AJ Silva Water 15 (4), 790 , 2023 2023 Citations: 15
Use of treated wastewater in irrigation: productive and nutritional aspects of millet and chemical properties of clay and sandy loam soils M Mendes Reis, AJ da Silva, EM Goncalves Lopes, LM Silva Donato, ... Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science 67 (14), 2063-2076 , 2021 2021 Citations: 8
Evaluation of anaerobic and anoxic reactors installed in serial to treat fish tank effluent ML Carra, VT Gonçalves, TP Delforno, VM Oliveira, AJ Silva Revista Ambiente & Água 16 (3), e2678 , 2021 2021
Eletrocoagulação: uma alternativa para remoção de nitrogênio e fósforo de águas residuárias de aquicultura KCL Visconcin, AJ Silva, RN Costanzi, ED Bidóia [sn] , 2021 2021
Estratégias de alcalinização no processamento acidogênico da vinhaça de cana-de-açúcar: desempenho do sistema e influência na produção de biogás RC Rogeri Universidade de São Paulo , 2021 2021 Citations: 2
Anaerobic digestion of solid wastes from coffee wet processing Y Gomez-Salcedo, R Jose Baquerizo-Crespo, A Jose da Silva, ... REVISTA INTERNACIONAL DE CONTAMINACION AMBIENTAL 37, 281-292 , 2021 2021 Citations: 1
Digestión anaerobia de residuales sólidos del beneficio húmedo del café Y Gómez-Salcedo, R Baquerizo-Crespo, AJ Silva, D Oliva-Merencio, ... Revista internacional de contaminación ambiental 37 , 2021 2021 Citations: 7
Biochemical butyrate production via dark fermentation as an energetically efficient alternative management approach for vinasse in sugarcane biorefineries LT Fuess, GM dos Santos, TP Delforno, B de Souza Moraes, AJ da Silva Renewable Energy 158, 3-12 , 2020 2020 Citations: 33
Produção de biocombustível e ácidos orgânicos para agregar valor ao efluente de mandioca MAN Chogi, ACV Araujo, PF Prado, DB Silva, AJ Silva, GF Silva, I Duarte Revista Virtual de Química 12 (1), 89-98 , 2020 2020 Citations: 3
Biological Treatment of Sulfate-Rich Wastewater AJ da Silva, BS de Mello, A Sarti Contaminants and Clean Technologies, 13-23 , 2020 2020
Metais pesados em solos e plantas forrageiras irrigadas com água do Rio Vieira, Montes Claros, Brasil, contaminada com efluentes de esgoto MM Reis, LDT Santos, AJ Silva, GP Pinho, LM Rocha Revista Ambiente & Água 15 (2) , 2020 2020 Citations: 1
Heavy metals in soils and forage grasses irrigated with Vieira River water, Montes Claros, Brazil, contaminated with sewage wastewater MM Reis, LDT Santos, AJ Silva, GP Pinho, LM Rocha Revista Ambiente & Água 15 (2) , 2020 2020 Citations: 9
Metal Contamination of Water and Sediments of the Vieira River, Montes Claros, Brazil MM Reis, LDT Santos, AJ da Silva, GP de Pinho, WG Montes Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology 77 (4), 527-536 , 2019 2019 Citations: 34
Empirical and learning machine approaches to estimating reference evapotranspiration based on temperature data MM Reis, AJ da Silva, JZ Junior, LDT Santos, AM Azevedo, ÉMG Lopes Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 165, 104937 , 2019 2019 Citations: 86
Enriched microbial consortia for dark fermentation of sugarcane vinasse towards value-added short-chain organic acids and alcohol production B de Souza Moraes, GM dos Santos, TP Delforno, LT Fuess, AJ da Silva Journal of bioscience and bioengineering 127 (5), 594-601 , 2019 2019 Citations: 53
Irrigação de milheto com água residuária tratada: Resposta de trocas gasosas e acúmulo de nutriente MM Reis, AJ Silva, LDT Santos, ÉMG Lopes, RE Barros, LMS Donato Ciência e Agrotecnologia 43 , 2019 2019 Citations: 2
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Sulphate removal from industrial wastewater using a packed-bed anaerobic reactor AJ Silva, MB Varesche, E Foresti, M Zaiat Process Biochemistry 37 (9), 927-935 , 2002 2002 Citations: 261
Evaluation of support materials for the immobilization of sulfate-reducing bacteria and methanogenic archaea AJ Silva, JS Hirasawa, MB Varesche, E Foresti, M Zaiat Anaerobe 12 (2), 93-98 , 2006 2006 Citations: 165
Empirical and learning machine approaches to estimating reference evapotranspiration based on temperature data MM Reis, AJ da Silva, JZ Junior, LDT Santos, AM Azevedo, ÉMG Lopes Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 165, 104937 , 2019 2019 Citations: 86
Enriched microbial consortia for dark fermentation of sugarcane vinasse towards value-added short-chain organic acids and alcohol production B de Souza Moraes, GM dos Santos, TP Delforno, LT Fuess, AJ da Silva Journal of bioscience and bioengineering 127 (5), 594-601 , 2019 2019 Citations: 53
On-line determination of Sb (III) and total Sb using baker's yeast immobilized on polyurethane foam and hydride generation inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry AA Menegário, AJ Silva, E Pozzi, SF Durrant, CH Abreu Jr Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy 61 (9), 1074-1079 , 2006 2006 Citations: 50
The treatment of sulfate-rich wastewater using an anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm pilot-scale reactor A Sarti, AJ Silva, M Zaiat, E Foresti Desalination 249 (1), 241-246 , 2009 2009 Citations: 45
Metal Contamination of Water and Sediments of the Vieira River, Montes Claros, Brazil MM Reis, LDT Santos, AJ da Silva, GP de Pinho, WG Montes Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology 77 (4), 527-536 , 2019 2019 Citations: 34
Biochemical butyrate production via dark fermentation as an energetically efficient alternative management approach for vinasse in sugarcane biorefineries LT Fuess, GM dos Santos, TP Delforno, B de Souza Moraes, AJ da Silva Renewable Energy 158, 3-12 , 2020 2020 Citations: 33
Kinetic modeling and microbial assessment by fluorescent in situ hybridization in anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm reactors treating sulfate-rich wastewater AJ Silva, MR Domingues, JS Hirasawa, MB Varesche, E Foresti, M Zaiat Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering 28, 209-219 , 2011 2011 Citations: 20
Bioavailability and dosing strategies of mineral in anaerobic mono‐digestion of maize straw A González‐Suárez, I Pereda‐Reyes, D Oliva‐Merencio, ... Engineering in life Sciences 18 (8), 562-569 , 2018 2018 Citations: 19
The influence of the buffering capacity on the production of organic acids and alcohols from wastewater in anaerobic reactor AJ Silva, E Pozzi, E Foresti, M Zaiat Applied biochemistry and biotechnology 175 (4), 2258-2265 , 2015 2015 Citations: 16
Risk evaluation of chemical clogging of irrigation emitters via geostatistics and multivariate analysis in the northern region of Minas Gerais, Brazil GL Muniz, ALG Oliveira, MG Benedito, ND Cano, AP Camargo, AJ Silva Water 15 (4), 790 , 2023 2023 Citations: 15
Sulfate removal from industrial wastewaters in fixed film anaerobic sequential batch reactor A Sarti, AJ Silva, RS Côrtes, E Foresti Engenharia Sanitaria e Ambiental 13 (1), 15-22 , 2008 2008 Citations: 13
Remoção de sulfato de águas residuárias industriais em reator anaeróbio de leito fixo operado em bateladas sequenciais A Sarti, AJ Silva, RS Côrtes, E Foresti Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental , 2008 2008 Citations: 12
Methane production from sugarcane vinasse: The alkalinizing potential of fermentative-sulfidogenic processes in two-stage anaerobic digestion RC Rogeri, LT Fuess, MN de Araujo, F Eng, A do Vale Borges, ... Energy Nexus 14, 100303 , 2024 2024 Citations: 11
Effect of natural mineral on methane production and process stability during semi-continuous mono-digestion of maize straw A González-Suárez, I Pereda-Reyes, E Pozzi, AJ Da Silva, ... Applied biochemistry and biotechnology 178 (8), 1522-1533 , 2016 2016 Citations: 11
Full-scale anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm reactor for sulfate-rich wastewater treatment A Sarti, AJ Silva, M Zaiat, E Foresti Desalination and Water Treatment 25 (1-3), 13-19 , 2011 2011 Citations: 11
Efeito da Adição de Enzima (celulase) na digestão anaeróbia de silagem de milho em operação descontínua D Oliva-Merencio, U Schimpf, S Köhler, AJ da Silva, I Pereda-Reyes Engenharia Agrícola 35 (5) , 2016 2016 Citations: 10
Heavy metals in soils and forage grasses irrigated with Vieira River water, Montes Claros, Brazil, contaminated with sewage wastewater MM Reis, LDT Santos, AJ Silva, GP Pinho, LM Rocha Revista Ambiente & Água 15 (2) , 2020 2020 Citations: 9
Use of treated wastewater in irrigation: productive and nutritional aspects of millet and chemical properties of clay and sandy loam soils M Mendes Reis, AJ da Silva, EM Goncalves Lopes, LM Silva Donato, ... Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science 67 (14), 2063-2076 , 2021 2021 Citations: 8
