REE-based wastewater treatment and sludge valorisation

I am interested in developing a joint R&D project integrating advanced wastewater and sewage sludge treatment with resource recovery and subsequent hydrothermal or thermochemical valorisation.

A particular research focus is the use of rare earth elements (REEs), especially cerium and lanthanum, for phosphorus removal and recovery, sewage sludge conditioning and other wastewater treatment applications. An important part of the proposed research would be to investigate the fate, transformation and potential catalytic role of REEs and phosphorus compounds during subsequent sludge processing.

The project could include hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC), hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), pyrolysis and gasification, with particular attention to product distribution, recovery of valuable inorganic components and the production of useful carbon-based or energy products.

The overall objective is to develop an integrated circular approach combining efficient wastewater treatment, recovery and reuse of valuable elements, and valorisation of sewage sludge and other waste streams.

I am looking for research organisations and industrial partners from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein with complementary expertise in wastewater and sludge treatment, rare earth elements, phosphorus recovery, hydrothermal and thermochemical processing, catalysis, advanced analytical techniques, pilot-scale testing, process scale-up, life-cycle assessment or techno-economic analysis.

The cooperation could form the basis for a joint proposal within the POLNORIS programme.