AquaConSoil addresses the dynamic interfaces between soil, sediment and water systems under anthropogenic stress. This year’s conference in Liege on 16-20 June 2025 spotlighted themes such as integrated SoilâSedimentâWater System Management, Sustainable Remediation Strategies, Digital Innovation, and Systems Thinking. These core areas for advancing and harnessing the power of environmental biotechnology align closely with EBNetâs Pollutants & Media theme, and with the mission of the Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre (EBIC), which translates these concepts into real-world applications in bioremediation and resource recovery.
Prof Frederic Coulon, who is Chair of AquaConSoil, EBNet Co-I and EBIC Director said “The conference highlights how systems-level thinking, molecular precision and microbial interfaces spanning soil, sediment and water are driving the next generation of environmental biotechnologiesâ.
The conference featured an outstanding presentation from EBIC ECR Mahsa Baniasadi on enzymatic PFAS degradation, based on an EBNet-funded POC project in this area. “Using molecular docking to engineer defluorinase enzymes with enhanced substrate binding offers a promising path to biodegrade the persistent carbonâfluorine bonds which are one of the major hurdles in addressing PFAS, the so-called ‘forever chemicals’. The concept exemplifies how computational enzyme engineering can enable scalable solutions for complex pollutants”.
More coverage on the presentation and the AquaConSoil conference is also available in the latest EBIC Newsletter.
