From waste to resource: Training young researchers on developing innovative, circular solutions for wastewater treatment sludge - INCLUE
INCLUE - HORIZON-MSCA-DN

Developing innovative, circular solutions for wastewater treatment sludge

Learn more about INCLUE project

INCLUE Project Objectives

INCLUE will set up the first European doctoral training network on developing innovative, circular solutions for the treatment of sludge containing pollutants.

INCLUE will train 11 creative and entrepreneurially-minded DCs via an international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary research training program in the field of sludge pre-treatment combined with state-of-the-art bioconversion techniques and multi-level toxicity assessment, for the effective removal and/or recovery of both hazardous and valuable compounds from municipal and industrial sludges.

The success of the program is guaranteed via a unique combination of state-of-the-art PhD research, intersectoral secondments, international mobility and interdisciplinary platform-wide courses.

Research Objectives

Develop and optimise sustainable techniques to enhance the properties and composition of sludge through removal of (in)organic pollutants to eliminate any adverse effects for sludge application (i) in a subsequent bioconversion process or (ii) directly as a fertiliser on land.

Develop augmented fermentative bioconversion processes to produce renewable chemicals and fuels, and to recover nutrients from municipal and industrial sludges, potentially combined with pre-treatment technologies.

Create tools to assess the overall environmental performance of treated sludges towards toxicity, pollutant soil dynamics and agricultural
fertilising value in a combined decision support tool (WP3) for 5 different types of pollutants: pesticides, endocrine disrupting compounds, heavy metals, PFAS and antibiotics. Develop a socio-economic evaluation tool, to support decision-making and societal acceptance.

INCLUE: an interdisciplinary project and a truly intersectoral and international consortium

Learn more about INCLUE consortium

INCLUE RESEARCH FOCUS

WP1

Upgrading sludge properties via innovative treatment processes

More about WP1

WP2

Renewable chemicals and fuels production via augmented sludge bioconversion

More about WP2

WP3

Eco-Impact Assessment

More about WP3

News & Blog

Between Posters and Cliffs: Notes from a PhD’s First Conference

June 6, 2025

As I write my first blog post, I’m sitting at the airport, waiting to board my flight back to Belgium after an intense and inspiring week. At the end of May, I had the opportunity to attend The 5th International Conference on Biogas Microbiology (ICBM5) in Galway, Ireland – my very first scientific conference as a PhD researcher. I proudly represented the INCLUE project by exhibiting my first doctoral research poster, titled “Stimulation of Diuron anaerobic biodegradation: insights from semi-continuous adaptation”. It showcased some early findings from the first, major

Read More

SETAC conference Vienna, Austria 2025 – Science, Friends, and a Touch of Viennese Magic

June 4, 2025

This May, I had the opportunity to attend the SETAC Europe conference in Vienna—a week that blended exciting scientific exchange with memorable social moments and a touch of travel bliss. I presented my research titled “Elucidating the Mode of Action of Priority Pollutants on the Thyroid Axis by Combining Two Eleuthero-embryonic Bioassays”, and it was both an exciting and rewarding experience to share and discuss my work with an engaged, expert audience. At the conference, I also met with Andrea (DC4) who presented his poster, so it was exciting sharing

Read More

Expanding Our Research Perspectives: My first secondment at Nijhuis Industries in The Netherlands

May 29, 2025

It’s incredible how quickly time flies when you’re learning so much in such a stimulating and welcoming environment. During my time at Nijhuis, I had the opportunity to meet researchers, process and commissioning engineers, expand my professional network, and engage with industrial partners. These interactions allowed me to explore the topic from new perspectives, consider critical aspects I hadn’t previously examined, and gain a broader understanding of the future of sludge processing in the European Union. Together with Tiago, I deepened into the process details of wastewater treatment and its

Read More

INCLUE(ded) at SETAC Europe 2025: Sharing Research on Micropollutants and Endocrine Disruption

May 23, 2025

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

Read More

Sharing Research, Building Connections: Tiago Martins (DC3) Presents at IWA Resource Recovery 2025

May 22, 2025

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

Read More

Between Posters and Cliffs: Notes from a PhD’s First Conference

June 6, 2025

As I write my first blog post, I’m sitting at the airport, waiting to board my flight back to Belgium after an intense and inspiring week. At the end of May, I had the opportunity to attend The 5th International Conference on Biogas Microbiology (ICBM5) in Galway, Ireland – my very first scientific conference as a PhD researcher. I proudly represented the INCLUE project by exhibiting my first doctoral research poster, titled “Stimulation of Diuron anaerobic biodegradation: insights from semi-continuous adaptation”. It showcased some early findings from the first, major

Read More

SETAC conference Vienna, Austria 2025 – Science, Friends, and a Touch of Viennese Magic

June 4, 2025

This May, I had the opportunity to attend the SETAC Europe conference in Vienna—a week that blended exciting scientific exchange with memorable social moments and a touch of travel bliss. I presented my research titled “Elucidating the Mode of Action of Priority Pollutants on the Thyroid Axis by Combining Two Eleuthero-embryonic Bioassays”, and it was both an exciting and rewarding experience to share and discuss my work with an engaged, expert audience. At the conference, I also met with Andrea (DC4) who presented his poster, so it was exciting sharing

Read More

Expanding Our Research Perspectives: My first secondment at Nijhuis Industries in The Netherlands

May 29, 2025

It’s incredible how quickly time flies when you’re learning so much in such a stimulating and welcoming environment. During my time at Nijhuis, I had the opportunity to meet researchers, process and commissioning engineers, expand my professional network, and engage with industrial partners. These interactions allowed me to explore the topic from new perspectives, consider critical aspects I hadn’t previously examined, and gain a broader understanding of the future of sludge processing in the European Union. Together with Tiago, I deepened into the process details of wastewater treatment and its

Read More

INCLUE(ded) at SETAC Europe 2025: Sharing Research on Micropollutants and Endocrine Disruption

May 23, 2025

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

Read More

Sharing Research, Building Connections: Tiago Martins (DC3) Presents at IWA Resource Recovery 2025

May 22, 2025

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

Read More

Doctoral Candidates Positions

INCLUE in numbers

Doctoral Candidates
0
Beneficiaries
0
Associated parners
0