CARING NATURE was represented at the 19th International Conference on Anaerobic Digestion (IWA AD19), held in Valencia, Spain by partner Ioaanis Vyrides and his team at the Environmental Engineering Laboratory of the Cyprus University of  Technology. The conference brought together leading researchers, industry experts and practitioners from around the world to discuss the latest advances in anaerobic digestion, resource recovery and the circular bioeconomy.

The event provided an excellent opportunity to showcase CARING NATURE’s research activities, exchange knowledge with the international scientific community and strengthen collaborations supporting more sustainable healthcare systems. Especially, two contributions highlighted innovative approaches to waste valorisation and renewable energy production developed in the CARING NATURE project:

  • Despina Constantinou prsented a study entitled “From Hygienisation to Upgrading: Zero-Valent Iron Improves Methane Recovery during 70 °C Pretreatment of Food Waste”, demonstrating how the addition of zero-valent iron can significantly enhance methane recovery following high-temperature food waste pretreatment, contributing to more efficient anaerobic digestion processes.
  • Panagiota Karachaliou presented a poster entitled “Two-Stage Cheese Whey Biorefinery with Anaerobic Granular Sludge: K. marxianus Ethanol and Micro-ZVI–Enhanced Caproate”. The research explores an innovative biorefinery approach to convert cheese whey into valuable bio-based products, further supporting circular resource management.

These scientific contributions illustrate how CARING NATURE is advancing innovative solutions to improve resource efficiency and reduce the environmental footprint of healthcare through cutting-edge research and international collaboration.

We warmly congratulate the Cyprus University of Technology team for their outstanding work and thank the organisers of IWA AD19 for providing an inspiring platform for scientific exchange and collaboration.