New Publication “Environmental Risk and Removal Efficiency of NSAIDs in Wastewater Treatment Plants in Sfax, Tunisia”

📢 New publication from the SPORE-MED project! PRIMA Partnership

Congratulations to our colleague Ksibi Mohamed ( Institute of Biotechnology of Sfax (ISBS), University of Sfax) and co-authors on their new article: “Environmental Risk and Removal Efficiency of NSAIDs in Wastewater Treatment Plants in Sfax, Tunisia”.

The study investigates the occurrence, removal performance and environmental risks associated with pharmaceutical residues in WWTPs under Mediterranean conditions.

The findings highlight the importance of improving wastewater treatment strategies to address emerging contaminants and support safer water reuse practices in water-scarce regions.

👏 Congratulations to all authors for this valuable contribution towards more sustainable and resilient water management systems. primafamily

📄 Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/egwH8Swr

SPORE-MED General Assembly and Scientific Board Meeting

📢 Today, the SPORE-MED consortium gathered online for our General Assembly. PRIMA Partnership

It was a pleasure to see the progress achieved so far and the outcomes of the strong collaboration between partners.

Thank you to all partners for their commitment and dedication as we continue working towards more sustainable water and resource management solutions across the Mediterranean. 🌍♻️

Participation in Workshop “Sustainable Livestock Farming: EmissioCap and DEPURHOB projects”

♻️ Great to participate in the workshop “Sustainable Livestock Farming: EmissioCap and DEPURHOB projects”, organised by BETA Technological Centre and LEQUIA at the Universitat de Girona.

As part of SPORE-MED (PRIMA Partnership), Alba Ceballos-Escalera LEQUIA contributed with a talk on struvite recovery in wastewater treatment plants, highlighting the role of phosphorus recovery in advancing circular nutrient management.

We also joined the technical visit to the APERGAS biogas plant in Vilanant, where the DEPURHOB pilot plant showcases innovative solutions to valorise anaerobic digestate into fertilisers.

👏 Thank you to the organisers and all participants for an inspiring event promoting sustainable and circular agri-food systems.

e-Cristalyser technology

This week, we had the opportunity to present e-Cristalyser technology at the workshop organised by the ESPP European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform, which focused on Article 20 of the new Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.
Developed as part of the SPORE-MED project, e-Cristalyser provides an innovative approach to efficiently recover phosphorus from sewage sludge, supporting the transition towards a circular economy and enhancing the sustainable use of strategic resources 🌱

SPORE-MED at NRR2026 Conference

Oriol Carbó Monmany GS Inima Environment presented his outcomes on “Towards energy neutral WWTPs: mainstream HRAS, partial nitritation AGS and anammox” at the NRR2026 Conference.
The study outlines a high-efficiency framework to minimize the energy demand and carbon footprint of municipal wastewater treatment. Emma Company Masó LEQUIA also presented her last outcomes on electrochemical precipitation of struvite.

Both researches are funded by the SPORE-MED Project by the PRIMA Partnership.

Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) Workshop at Sfax in Tunisia

The second phase of the Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) workshop was successfully held on 19–20 May 2026 at the Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Sfax (ISBS), University of Sfax, within the framework of the SPORE-MED Project (PRIMA Programme).

We were honored to welcome Ms. Stavri Karasiali in person for advanced training sessions on qPCR workflows, DNA extraction, QA/QC procedures, and microbial quantification in wastewater systems.
This workshop represented an important step toward strengthening regional expertise in molecular environmental monitoring and translating research into practical tools for public health and wastewater surveillance.
A great achievement made possible through international collaboration, scientific exchange, and the strong engagement of researchers and students.

Students’ Visit to LEQUIA

We were pleased to welcome 20 students from the Laboratory Operations training program at Institut Montilivi (Girona), who visited our partner LEQUIA as part of the SPORE-MED project PRIMA Partnership.
During the visit, LEQUIA researchers showcased their work on validating an innovative electro-precipitation process to recover struvite, a mineral with valuable fertilizing properties.

Operations Started with Pilot Plant in Terrassa

Exciting milestone for the SPORE-MED project! PRIMA Partnership
We are proud to announce that the LEQUIA team (Jesus Colprim, Alba Ceballos-Escalera & Emma Company Masó) has officially started operations with its pilot plant in Terrassa to recover (through electrochemical crystallization) phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) as struvite from the sludge line of the Terrassa WWTP – turning waste into valuable resources ♻️.

🔬 This marks a key scale-up step, building on successful laboratory-scale research and bringing our innovation into real-world conditions.

🔎We look forward to sharing insights and results as the project progresses under real conditions.

Training Workshop “A Wastewater Surveillance System for Public Health Monitoring” in Sfax, Tunisia

We are pleased to announce a training workshop entitled: A Wastewater Surveillance System for Public Health Monitoring
– Monitoring pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in urban wastewater

This workshop will be organized by researchers at ISBS – University of Sfax within the framework of the SPORE-MED project, in collaboration with the University of Cyprus and the University of Sfax, and in partnership with ONAS.

Dates: March 24–26, 2026
Location: ISBS, Sfax – Tunisia

The training will introduce the principles and laboratory methods of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for monitoring pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in urban wastewater. Participants will gain hands-on experience in sample processing, nucleic acid extraction, and qPCR analysis.
Trainer: Stavri Karasiali
MSc in Toxicology and Environmental Health
Nireas International Water Research Center – University of Cyprus

This workshop is organized within the SPORE-MED project, funded by PRIMA and the European Union, and aims to strengthen scientific capacity in wastewater surveillance for public health monitoring.
Feel free to share this announcement with colleagues and researchers interested in environmental monitoring, public health, and wastewater-based epidemiology.

SPORE-MED at 4YFN26

LEQUIA Universitat de Girona showcased one of Spore-Med’s Key Exploitable Results at 4YFN26, part of MWCBarcelona 2026 in Barcelona.

🔬 The featured innovation: an electrochemical struvite recovery technology that enables nutrient recovery from wastewater, supporting circular economy solutions and sustainable agriculture.

By bringing this technology to 4YFN, we accelerate market uptake and cross-sector collaboration.