On the 2nd of October, the INCLUE project was featured at the STOWA Slib Symposium 2025, where researchers and industry experts gathered to discuss the future of sludge (“slib” in Dutch) management in the Netherlands under the theme “Zijn we klaar voor 2050?” (“Are we ready for 2050?”). Andrea Deiana (DC4) presented a pitch on his research, ensuring that the fate of emerging contaminants would not slib out of the talks. Covering topics from sludge incineration capacity to the presence of contaminants of emerging concern, from dewatering to alternative uses

On Friday, 5 and 19 September 2025, KU Leuven’s Doctoral Researcher Paniz Pouryaghoubi (DC8) hosted two interactive workshops on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology and the use of GaBi (Sphera) software for environmental sustainability evaluations. The goal of the sessions was to deepen participants’ understanding of sustainability metrics and environmental impact analyses while equipping them with the essential knowledge to conduct LCA modeling. LCA is a powerful methodology for evaluating the environmental impacts of a product or process throughout its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to disposal. As highlighted

The INCLUE project is proud to announce that our researcher, Tiago Martins, has been selected as the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Fellow of the Month for August. The MSCA Fellow of the Month is a monthly spotlight initiative by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, showcasing the achievements of outstanding fellows across Europe and beyond. The recognition highlights not only scientific excellence but also the impact of fellows’ work on society, sustainability, and international collaboration. This recognition highlights Tiago’s outstanding contribution to sustainable innovation in wastewater treatment. His research at KU Leuven

From June to August 2025, INCLUE Doctoral Candidate Andrea Deiana (DC4) completed his first secondment in collaboration with Torwash, one of the project’s most active associate partners. Under the guidance of Jan Pels, researcher and co-founder of Torwash, Andrea conducted a series of tests on the thermal treatment of microplastics and sludge under varying conditions. This work is part of a joint research effort with Doctoral Candidate Martine (DC6), based at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). Together, they are investigating the effects of combining thermal processes and anaerobic

Francisco Ayala, DC1 from KU Leuven, has begun on July 2nd his secondment at James Kwan’s research group (University of Oxford), internationally recognized for its expertise in sonochemistry and reactor engineering. Here, Francisco will deepen his research on ultrasound degradation and defluorination of PFAS. Prof. Kwan’s group is uniquely equipped with state-of-the-art and in-lab developed ultrasound reactors that can operate across a wide range of frequencies and pressures. This will allow Francisco to explore how mid- and high-frequency and pressures influence PFAS degradation pathways, defluorination efficiency, energy consumption, and by-product

Tiago Martins, our DC3 PhD candidate from KU Leuven and Nijhuis Saur Industries, has officially started the first part of his secondment at WatchFrog, a leading biotechnology company specialising in endocrine disruption testing. This marks a significant step in his research on the sustainable treatment of sludge. Building on his expertise in electrochemical sludge treatment, Tiago’s secondment will focus on evaluating how electrowinning— the technique he is using to extract metals—affects the endocrine-disrupting potential and toxicity of various sludge types. By using WatchFrog’s advanced bioassays, XETA (Xenopus Eleutheroembryonic Thyroid Assay)

On Friday, 20th of June 2025, TU Delft WaterLab hosted a visit as part of the WaterMicro 2025 conference, where INCLUE Doctoral Candidate 4, Andrea, shared insights into the underexplored fate of organic micropollutants during Thermal Hydrolysis of wastewater sludge. Thermal Hydrolysis is a well-established process developed to produce Class A biosolids, enabling the safe reuse of sludge in agriculture by eliminating pathogens through high-temperature treatment (typically around 180°C for 30 minutes). While the process is widely recognised for its sterilising effect, its impact on organic micropollutants remains less understood. The presented research showed

From the 11th to the 15th of May 2025, the INCLUE project was actively represented at the SETAC Europe 35th Annual Meeting, held in Vienna, Austria. The annual SETAC meeting is a key international event that gathers over 2,000 scientists, practitioners, and policy experts working on environmental science, ecotoxicology, and chemical safety. This year’s theme, “Innovation for Tomorrow: Progress in Safe and Sustainable Concepts”, resonated strongly with INCLUE’s interdisciplinary mission to address emerging pollution risks in water and especially sludge management. Two doctoral Candidates, Sara Cvetkovic (DC10) and Andrea Deiana (DC4), represented

We are pleased to share that Tiago Martins, Doctoral Candidate (DC3), recently participated in the IWA Resource Recovery 2025 Conference, held in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, a leading global event focused on advancing sustainable practices in water and resource recovery. At this prestigious conference, Tiago presented the first communication of his PhD research through a scientific poster titled: “Metal Removal from Wastewater Sludge through Electrochemical Processes” Tiago’s work addresses one of the major environmental and technical challenges in wastewater treatment: how to deal with the vast volumes of sludge produced globally

We’re excited to share that Tiago Martins, our Doctoral Candidate (DC3), is participating in the prestigious Jong KNCV Spotlight Prize, a national science communication competition hosted by the Young Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (Jong KNCV). This annual event challenges emerging scientists to distil their cutting-edge research into a compelling one-minute pitch for both expert and general audiences. Tiago’s research tackles a major yet often ignored issue in wastewater treatment: sludge. Typically seen as waste, sludge is generated in enormous quantities across Europe every year. But instead of viewing it as