Date and venue: 24 Nov 2026 10:00 UK online, or in person 10-14:00 at Cranfield University with additional discussions and visit Microbubbles and their even smaller relatives nanobubbles are a hot topic in Environmental Biotechnology at present due to their many potential applications in conjunction with biochemical treatment and remediation …
This year’s Biofilm Week runs from 18-24 Sept 2026. The event is organised by the National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC) and covers biofilms of all types. It is billed as ‘A celebration of all things biofilm!‘ and aims to raise awareness of the economic and physical impacts of biofilms while …
For those who couldn’t make it on the day, the big-ticket webinar by Prof Bruce Rittmann is now available on Better Water 4 All’s YouTube channel. Highlights include an inspirational description of how the partnership between microbes and human ingenuity lies at the heart of Environmental Biotech. Some favourite take-out …
A thought-provoking publication looks at the potential for application of machine learning to the non-invasive monitoring of biofilms as a means of increasing their application and enhancing their performance in wastewater treatment. The paper lies at the intersection of several key areas of interest to many EBNet members, including those …
Congratulations to Dr Seongbong Heo and co-authors for their recent paper on enhancing PHA enrichment in granular sludges through control of settling strategies. This paper is an excellent example of several key issues and themes within EBNet: the importance of interactions between engineering-scale interventions and complex microbial systems; the need …
A very successful ECR conference by the Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre (EBIC) this week, with excellent presentations – and participants not just from the EBIC partner universities, but across the UK and around the world. Good to meet up with many EBNet members there too. See the EBIC LinkedIn page …
A piece in the latest issue of CIWEM’s The Environment magazine describes Scottish Water’s newly-upgraded Winchburg wastewater treatment works (WWTW). The upgrade was required both because the existing facility was reaching the end of its operational life, and as the local area is projected to experience significant growth over the …
Date: 16 Oct 2026, 16:00 UK Don’t miss this much-anticipated webinar on Environmental Biotechnology: How to Partner with Microbial Communities; a topic at the heart of EBNet’s Theme 2, and central to many of the processes and systems that we work on. The speaker is the internationally-renowned Prof Bruce Rittmann …
We quite often highlight publications by EBNet members that are relevant to our themes. But this is the big one, as far as our remit to look at engineered microbial systems is concerned. A newly-published paper puts forward equations that govern some simple but vitally important processes in microbial ecology. …
Congratulations to Dr Maria Ramos Suarez and co-Authors on the publication of a new paper on the implications of producing bio-based commodity chemicals from waste feedstocks for the selection and testing of bioreactor materials. The paper identifies the top 10 commodity chemicals that can be derived from waste-related feedstocks in …
Two recent papers by EBIC and EBNet’s Prof Frederic Coulon and colleagues look at different aspects of bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils. The first carries out an extensive review of the challenges associated with field-scale bioaugmentation and bioremediation techniques, covering key factors that affect microbial survival and the practicalities of application …
Date and venue: 7 Oct 2026, Natural History Museum, London The Elemental Hub is running a 1-day event exploring the role of Engineering Biology in the environmental recovery and processing of metals. This event brings together researchers, industry leaders, policymakers, and strategic organisations, the event to provide a platform for …
Date: 4 August 2026 16:00 UK, online The Better Water for All Network+ invites participants to a webinar on Biotransformation of Emerging Organic Contaminants. The speaker is Dr Yaochun Yu of Stanford University. His talk will describe the biological processes behind contaminant removal, and how these processes can improve our …
An interesting item from Suzy Hill, an Engineering Innovation Project Manager at United Utilities, in CIWEM’s News pages. Talking to Jo Caird, the Editor of CIWEM’s Environment magazine, she briefly outlines how the Making Microbes Matter project is using metagenomics to analyse and track microbial communities with a view to improving …
Microenvironments can be defined as localised zones with chemical, biological or physical characteristics that differ significantly from those of the larger-scale surrounding environment. Because microbes respond primarily to these immediate conditions, microenvironments strongly influence the performance of microbially-based systems. Understanding and controlling these influences is essential for engineering improved systems. …
