The project addresses the threat posed by persistent and emerging contaminants (industrial plastic additives, novel flame retardants, and microplastics) in freshwater aquatic environments and their food webs, under the influence of anthropogenic disturbances such as global warming. It aims to understand their distribution, transport, and bioaccumulation processes, as well as their interactions with the carbon cycle.
CIRCULAR-BIOMED aims for the circular and sustainable production of pharmaceutical and cosmetic products using unexplored extremophilic organisms and advanced biotechnology. It integrates a novel two-step biorefinery concept where low-quality, non-hazardous waste is first converted into a clean gaseous feedstock through dark fermentation. This gas stream is subsequently valorized in a second step into fine chemicals using extremophilic gas fermentation.
The ARCPOL project focuses on the interplay between two global environmental issues: climate change and pollution in the Arctic, caused by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their metabolites (OH-PAHs), as well as emerging contaminants such as microplastics. The project aims to understand the fate and cycling of these pollutants under a global warming scenario.
OILI is dedicated to developing a more sustainable oil production pathway based on biotechnology and focused on waste valorization. In doing so, it contributes to a smooth transition from a linear economy to a renewable circular economy and helps reduce dependence on fossil-based oils.
The overall objective of the project is to assess the economic, energy, and carbon efficiency of water utilities in order to gain a better understanding of the water-energy nexus within the urban water cycle.
