WAstewater Treatment with Conductive Copolymer Hydrogels covered with Microbial Biofilm (WATCHμBIO)
Development of an innovative hydrogel microbial material for removing nutrients and pollutants from wastewater inclusive validation.
Description
The WATCHµBio project develops and validates an innovative hydrogel-based microbial solution to treat wastewater (WW). The innovative carrier is designed to remove N-based nutrients and specific Emerging Contaminants (ECs) by the combined effect of physical adsorption and microbial activity. The developed system is designed in controlled laboratory conditions and tested and validated on aquaculture and municipal WW in the different partners’ sites.
The qualitative and quantitative composition of WW across countries shares several common characteristics, but it is strongly influenced geographically by factors such as economic status, industrial activities, and domestic practices. Therefore, innovative solutions need to be ad hoc validated.
Key data
Projectlead
Deputy Projectlead
Project team
Eugenia Bonora, Prof. Dr. Pakorn Pasitsuparoad (Prince of Songkla University), Prof. Dr. Pamela Principi (Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana SUPSI), Prof. Dr. Filiz Dadaser-Celik (Erciyes University)
Project partners
Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana SUPSI; Prince of Songkla University; Erciyes University
Project status
ongoing, started 01/2026
Institute/Centre
Institute of Materials and Process Engineering (IMPE)
Funding partner
Southeast Asia – Europe Joint Funding Scheme for Science, Technology and Innovation / 9th Joint Call
Project budget
544'987 CHF
School of Engineering
Technikumstrasse 9
8400 Winterthur