The scarcity of freshwater is expected to have significant economic global impacts. Revalorizing and reusing all wastewater are a must to decrease the burden on freshwater demand. Being dairy wastewater a worldwide expanded by-product, the recovery of organic matter and nutrients should not be underestimated. Application of treated or recovered water for different purposes instead of freshwater can be help mediating worldwide water stress.
Huge volumes of dairy wastewater are generated globally and dairies and cheese producers may invest in specialized treatment systems of challenging wastewater and whey. Based on this fact, this project proposes an innovative approach that maximizes the value of the entire wastewater matrix, aiming to recover clean water for irrigation and to produce bioplastics. This integrated solution contributes to reducing water stress and promotes circularity in both water and the economy.
The primary objective of this project is to develop an integrated process that incorporates microbial-based biotechnologies for the reuse and conversion of dairy wastewater into new bioplastics (WAVE). To achieve this aim, dairy wastewater containing whey will be used as feedstock to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in an anaerobic fermentation. Then, SCFAs will be subsequently converted into single cell proteins (SCP) by non-conventional yeasts. WAVE will additionally exploit the physical properties Debaryomyces-derived SCP to develop new bioplastic materials joining forces of materials science and biotechnology for the development of bio-based compounds.
WAVE is envisaged as a promising method for treating wastewater while generating two key outputs: i) treated water with low salinity suitable for irrigating urban green spaces, and ii) bioplastics. WAVE seeks to create synergies between resource recovery and water reuse, assessing the applicability of the effluents and biocompounds produced.
The success of WAVE is guaranteed by a multidisciplinary consortium with high expertise for setting cutting-edge and innovative solutions from complementary fields including Chemistry, Material Science, Biotechnology, Engineering and Economics. The expected outcomes of WAVE include technological advances that will open new venues of research. Likewise, WAVE has been designed by considering the societal needs and because of that WAVE has identified a significant list of stakeholders. Dissemination efforts will target these groups using tailored materials and tools. The project aims to foster market and policy changes by establishing an international network of researchers, innovators, stakeholders, and policymakers to promote sustainable economic growth and protect vital water resources.
Partners: IMDEA Energy Institute (Spain); Technical University of Denmark (Denmark); Universidad de Valladolid (Spain); KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden); International Hellenic University (Greece); 21st BIO A/S (Denmark).
Funding Institution/Program: European Union & Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities MICIU / Spanish National Agency AEI
Water4All 2024 Joint Transnational Call (CIRCECO-WATER4ALL-279 / PCI2025-167116-2)
Call: Water4All 2024 Joint Transnational Call / 2nd Spanish National Call for grants 2025 for International Collaborative Projects (PCI2025-2)
Type of action: Research and Innovation Action
Period: December 2025 – November 2028
IMDEA Energy Institute external funding: 173.750€
Principal Investigator: Dr. Elia Tomás-Pejó
