University of Algarve

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Responsible: Prof. Maria Clara Costa

The University of the Algarve is a teaching institution, whose relevant areas are science and technology, specifically the sciences of the earth, sea and environment. The UAlg group is composed of doctors in Chemistry and Biology with experience in the development of (bio) remediation processes in mining and coastal areas and, more recently, in obtaining and identifying bacterial consortiums selected for degradation of emerging compounds from the pharmaceutical industry. These researchers have participated in several national and international projects financed by the EU and have the necessary techniques and resources both material and human to achieve the objectives proposed in the project.

The UAlg group’s mission is to develop environmental remediation processes, with a particular focus for those who take into account the cleansing of abandoned mining areas and in particular their greatest threat that are the acidic waters generated in those environments. This project will allow the exploration of obtaining new bacterial strains and consortiums specially adapted to mining environments, with characteristics particularly suitable for the rehabilitation of these areas, which abound in the Iberian Pyrite Belt. This group has recently initiated biodegradation studies of emerging pharmaceutical compounds and this project will also be an opportunity to obtain new microorganisms and bioactive compounds for that purpose.

The UAlg group has extensive experience in the study of abandoned mines and acidic drainage waters, as well as in the recovery of these areas, having participated in several projects, such as the BIOMETAL DEMO that implemented a pilot treatment plant for acid waters in a mine.